Online driver’s education is a newer concept given the health situation but it comes with all the same distractions as a regular online school. With all the technological advancements in the last few years as well as the current COVID-19 crisis all learning institutions have decided to continue educating through alternate formats. This includes your local driving school. The majority of the people partaking in online driver’s education are teenagers and young adults and they typically do not have the longest attention span, which is why we are going to provide you with tips and tricks on how to stay focused. 

Social Media vs. Online Driver’s Education

Snapchat, Instagram, and maybe even Facebook. Teenagers and young adults are the main consumers of social media and about 51% of them check social networking on a daily basis. While it might seem like you don’t need to pay attention to online driver’s education, you are not only learning information to put towards your G1 but also general knowledge to remember on the road. Something you can learn during class lessons could save you from being pulled over in the future. For example, road signs, the difference between solid and dashed white and yellow lines, even situational examples like 4-way stops. 

Millennials spend 3.1 hours per day surfing the web on their mobile devices (this number equates to almost one entire day per week).

A good way to avoid being distracted by social media is to put your phone on Do Not Disturb. This feature mutes all noise/vibration notifications so that you will not know when you receive updates. This feature has its pros and cons however, because it mutes all notifications if someone is trying to reach you it will take a bit of effort. The way around the DND feature is that if someone needs you they can call you twice in 5 minutes to break through. Another feature to stay focused in online driver’s education is app’s that limit your screen time or even block you out of even opening certain applications on your phone. Some examples are “Moment” for IOS and also “AppDetox” for Android. This way you’re covered regardless of the type of phone you use. 

Family/Environment Distractions

Your smartphone is not the only distraction that can pull your focus, your surrounding environment can be a factor as well. Every family situation is different but parents and siblings can be distracting as well, especially if your family decided lockdown was the perfect time for adopting a puppy. In any situation the main thing you can do is communicate. Communication is key and if you are in the middle of online driver’s education or any online school in general you need to discuss that with your family. It is possible that you paid for your driving lessons by yourself so not paying attention to your learning will only negatively affect you. There are plenty of other students and while your instructors care about your success they cannot do much when it comes down to actually doing the test or retaining knowledge. 

Television (Netflix or Youtube)

This distraction can come from you intentionally or someone in your family. Either way, this one is probably the worst distraction for online driver’s education and online school in general. With social media at least you’re only consuming with your eyes but with streaming apps like Netflix and Disney + or even regular cable TV you’re not only consuming useless information with your eyes but also your ears. In the end, you’re listening more to the show than to the information your instructors are trying to tell you. If you plan on doing these things in class then you should not waste your money on online education in the first place. The classes are meant to help you pass your G1 and some driving schools choose to do in-house testing at the end of their lessons. In any case, you need to retain the information given to you by these lessons in order for your success. 

Gaming

While this option may not apply to everybody there are many games on the iPhone and on browsers. Either way, both are bad options to do while in online driver’s education. Like television, gaming requires your attention. If you take a game like Candy Crush it requires a bit of strategy to pass the game levels. While you might think you’re multitasking, you aren’t. Retaining information requires you to be an active listener. Active listening is a process in which you are listening and retaining information in a positive way. Most instructors know when their students are not listening to them and there can be times when they could ask you a question and if you do not answer at all or do not know the answer in the first place it could be embarrassing for you in front of your peers. 

All in all, online driver’s education requires students to pay attention for it to be successful for everybody. The best place to do online schooling is a quiet place with minimal distractions. Sometime’s your bedroom isn’t the best option. Try a home office or maybe even the dining room table. Putting yourself in a school mindset is important for you to be able to pass both your G1 and in-house practice tests. Your G2 test practitioner could also ask you comprehensive road questions that could have been discussed during in-class lessons and if you don’t know the answer it might get points taken off and you could end up failing. At Hi-Tech Driver Education we want all our students to be successful in becoming fully licensed which is why we offer our classes in an online format to meet with current restrictions caused by the pandemic.