Tips for studying CONTENTED courses
Most people race through our online courses in website writing and even ask for more! But if you are having trouble finding time to study, here are some tips from others who have successfully completed the courses.
Start soon, start now
The only bad thing you can do is to delay starting. And delay. And delay. Time flies, and you have only 3 months for each course. You can learn a lot in a mere 10 minutes, believe it or not. We designed the courses so that simply skim-reading a course curriculum will start you thinking and give you some valuable tips on website writing. Once you've done that first 10 minutes, you see the benefit, and you'll be keen to resume study.
Go into hiding
It's almost impossible to study at your work station. Phone, email, and human beings distract you, and study slithers to the bottom of your to-do list. So if you have a door, shut it firmly and turn off the phones. Or find a training room or meeting room—anywhere you can work undisturbed. Half an hour studying in isolation is worth at least 2 hours of multitasking with interruptions!
Study in a group
Some managers have found that group study motivates everyone. They might set aside a training room for one hour a week, so that a group can study a course together. Then you can all bounce ideas off each other, giving help when needed. Group training is extra desirable before launching a new CMS or other web project: suddenly, 20 or 100 staff urgently need tips and standards for website writing.
Apply what you learn to real documents
Nothing beats looking at your own, genuine web content and testing it against your new knowledge. That's a great thing to do straight after completing each course. It doesn't even need to be website writing that you review: a report or other work document is worth scrutinising too.
Be a study buddy
Sharing ideas with one other person is really helpful. Maybe your manager, or neighbour: and preferably someone who also does the same courses in website writing.
Enjoy the Try this exercises
Try this exercises are sprinkled through CONTENTED courses. You can write down your answers or just think. Then compare your answers with the ones we provide. They're an excellent way to make your learning stick.
Example web pages: study the text, not the design
Many times in CONTENTED courses, you'll find a link to a web page which demonstrates a concept. Most example pages are small, simple pages, and they are all on our own site, so they are quick and safe to download.
You may wonder why we use the same simple design in all the example pages. It's because we want you to study the content, not the design. A colourful design can disguise bad content, and it certainly demands attention.
Our hyperlinks won't hurt you
You'll find our courses have hyperlinks to many web pages. To view them, you may need to permit pop-ups from www.contented.com. The links all open in a new window, and go to our own web site. So don't worry: you can safely click!
But wait a minute! Sometimes you'll click, and nothing happens: these are just dummy links, training you to write successful link-text.
We know you'll enjoy your study—welcome aboard!
