World economies have changed dramatically over the last few years, and will continue to change at an increasing pace. And with these changes have come corresponding changes in our work and our lives. Lifelong education becomes particularly important in this constantly changing, highly competitive, environment.

Education on-campus at university or college is a fixed place, fixed time activity that is not possible for many people because of jobs or other commitments. Online learning, on the other hand, is an anywhere, anytime, any place activity that provides a flexible learning solution for such people. However, all too often learners are disappointed with their first experience of online learning because they didn’t realize the problems they would face. Here are six things that the learner should watch out for.

Online education is a flexible form of education, but it doesn’t mean that you can keep putting off your learning day after day. All too often, that is what often happens ” and this results in failure to learn. So be organized ” manage your time. Set aside a regular time in your diary for study of the material and completion of assignments.

Living and working in todays ever-changing world demands life-long learning. And so if you wish to continue to be part of it, you must have a desire to learn and be motivated to learn for the rest of your life. So this means wanting to learn even when there is no extrinsic motivation (e.g., a salary increase).

Unfortunately, many of us were not taught how to learn. Instead we were only taught to remember things and to apply rules. Somewhere along the way we were expected to acquire the skills to acquire knowledge. In todays world it is essential that we know how to learn. In particular, learning online requires that you develop these skills. This not only means having the technical skills of how find books or web sites on a topic, it also means having well-developed critical reading and thinking skills.

For many people, school taught them to be passive learners and such learning seemed to be a useful strategy for success. But it is not a useful strategy for success in todays world, or, indeed, in online learning. If you are learning online, the course ware often includes questions, exercises and further reading so that your learning can be active rather than passive. You must make sure that you complete all the exercises and that you thoroughly interact with the material so as to gain the most out of it. Do not be a passive learner.

Lectures in high school classrooms and in undergraduate classes can all so easily encourage the passive learning already referred to. But real learning takes place when you are interacting with the materials and with others. So try to find a learning group, either in your area or online, and exchange ideas regularly. Also, make sure that you respond to all the e-Tutors requests for participation in the discussion forums. There may even be a mark allocated for such participation.

Don’t be tempted to buy a qualification from a diploma mill – a business that simply prints diplomas and degrees. Such qualifications are worthless in the eyes of employers and genuine educational institutions, so will just be a waste of your money. Always take an accredited program from an accredited institution.