Embrace different ways of thinking and make online learning work for you. Whether you’re enrolled as an external student, or if you need to learn from home during a period of interruption, there’s a few things you should do first before you get stuck into a study session.
Equipment, tools and apps
Have you organised where, how and what you’ll be learning from? Having all the essentials ready to go will help getting into the swing of learning from home.
- Laptop or PC – have you installed the software you need and anti-virus protection?
- Internet connection – do you have a reliable connection with enough data?
- Do you need access to a printer or other equipment? You might need to organise to come onto campus to use labs, equipment or studios, so chat with your unit coordinator.
- A suitable study space – do you have regular access to a safe and comfortable environment where you will be uninterrupted?
- Have you bookmarked your frequently used tools and apps including Microsoft Office 365 - you can download for free!
Save your frequent contacts
Make sure you know who to contact for what and how:
- Your Unit Coordinator is your main contact for all queries related to your units.
- Fellow students – if you haven’t already, decide the best way to contact each other. You might offer your phone number or email, or you could set up a course Whatsapp group (or similar platform you prefer) to chat through your ideas outside of the formal unit online channel.
- Peer Academic Coaches (PAC) – you can get free online academic assistance from successful students via LMS.
Exams and assignments
Generally, submitting your assignments is the same as how students who attend campus submit them. Besides practical assessments, you will submit your assignments online via your unit pages on myMurdoch Learning (LMS).
If you’re an external student, find out how your postal address determines where you will sit your exams.
If you’re not an external student and Murdoch needs to reschedule an exam or change the standard format, you will be notified by email and on your unit pages in the LMS so be sure to check in regularly for updates.
If you’re temporarily transitioning to learning from home due to a time of disruption, you do not need to change your enrolment to reflect that you’re learning online.
Online lecturers and tutorials
Online lectures and tutorials will be run in a range of ways to best meet your learning needs and this will be decided by each unit coordinator. Check your unit pages on LMS for specific messages and updates.
Familiarise yourself with relevant policies and guidelines
Learning from home means you could explore a range of formats, including discussion boards, online seminars, collaborative workspaces, social media and email. It’s important to remember that all online communication and conduct needs to meet Murdoch’s standards and policies, as well as the community standards and terms of use of any external platforms you’re using.
Where to get help
Learning from home is a great opportunity to develop your resilience, problem solving skills and initiative, but sometimes things go wrong. Whether it’s IT related and you’ve already tried the ‘turning it off and on again’ trick, or if you’re feeling overwhelmed and need someone to talk to, we’re here to help.