Studying online might feel difficult to structure, but there are different options to help you manage your time.

• Use a calendar application like Google Calendar or a paper diary to block out time for different tasks.
• Create a to-do list, either digitally or physically, and add how long you might need for each task.

Tip: You can use Google Keep or Tasks for to-do lists, or you can use this Google Sheet template to create a more detailed to-do list with dates that you can use to tick off items.

• Schedule in breaks as well as work. If possible, move away from the screen for your break.

Trying to get things done when the entire internet is just sitting there can be difficult. Our Being Organised slides have some ideas, but here's some top tips:

Limit your time on certain websites. If you need it, there are a range of tools out there for blocking certain websites or limiting your time on them each day.

Turn off notifications. You can set Do Not Disturb on both Android and iOS to stop notifications temporarily on a phone or tablet.

Separate work and fun. Use different web browsers or profiles to separate out work and fun on one device. For example, you can set up a personal and a university profile in Chrome by adding multiple profiles.

Embrace distractions (sometimes). Give yourself set times to get distracted by the internet. Let yourself scroll news sites or catch up on messages from friends at certain times.

It is always important to keep your files and folders organised and save and back your work up regularly. When studying online, you can have a lot of windows and files open at once, so it is good to keep track of them.

Give all files and folders meaningful names. If you're creating multiple drafts, use dates to help keep track of timelines, and make sure notes on texts can be clearly matched to the text in question without having to open them.

Back up your work, preferably using a cloud storage system like Google Drive. Drive also allows you to easily share your work with other people at the University.

A lot of reading is done digitally these days, using websites and PDFs, and this makes material much more readily accessible. Reading digitally can bring different challenges, however: distractions, screen size, and eye strain. It is important to find a set up that works for you, for example using full screen where possible, adjusting font size, and taking breaks to look away from the screen.

It is also vital to keep track of any online reading, as you don't have the books sat beside you! You might want to use reference management software, or just record texts in a document or spreadsheet - the tool doesn't matter as long as you have a record so you can know what you're read and cite it later if needed.

If you're going to be reading a lot of PDFs of articles online, you might want to try Paperpile, a reference management tool that works in the Chrome web browser. It is good for collecting PDFs with their reference information so they can be found and cited later.

When reading, learning, and researching online, you might want to change some of your note taking tools and techniques. For example, you might want to use a Word document rather than a notebook (or, conversely, it might be easier if you have a small screen to take notes in a notebook whilst reading on screen).

It is important to make sure that whatever tool(s) you use, you are taking good, active notes. Whether you're watching a recording of a lecture, participating in a video seminar, or reading online articles, you need to not just copy down material, but make sure to actively think about material and make notes that will be useful to you now and in the future. See our Note taking Skills Guide for more information on note taking techniques and tools.

You might find it useful to annotate documents as you read them. There are lots of free tools that allow you to annotate PDF documents, including the Microsoft Edge web brower, the Preview application on a Mac, and iBooks on iOS devices. Make sure to save any annotated PDFs with clear names and locations so you can find notes again.

Whether you're reading digitally or with physical books, it is vital to think critically about what you are reading, and to evaluate the sources you use.

When studying online, you'll find a wealth of internet sources, but it is important to evaluate these for reliability and credibility, as well as thinking about tone and purpose. See our Evaluating Information Skills Guide for more on not believing everything you read on the internet, and on finding reliable sources of academic information.

Video calling (aka conferencing) is crucial when studying online. Teaching sessions and office hours may be held using Collaborate Ultra, a video calling tool that is built into the VLE. Other meetings and events might be held in other tools, like Zoom or Google Meet.

It is useful to familiarise yourself with these tools to ensure you know how to log in and use their features during teaching sessions and meetings. You can find out more about attending a Collaborate Ultra session arranged by your tutor or look at the UoY guide for joining a Zoom meeting or check out Google's Meet cheat sheet for further help on a specific platform.

You may use tools like Google Meet or Zoom to keep in touch with friends, family, and classmates, hold group study sessions, and find new ways to relax and hold social events. Group video calls or chats can be a place to keep up with work on your course and share ideas and questions, though it might be worth planning ahead whether the call is for specific work to keep focused!

Video calling is also a great way to socialise outside of your course. Watch films and TV simultaneously, play games, or have food and drink together over the internet to recreate your favourite social spaces.

Talking over video can have different etiquette to what you might be used to, especially if you've not used it in an academic context before. Use the 'mute' button when you're not speaking to minimise extra noise, allow for delay and technical issues, and use built in features like text chat or hand raise buttons to indicate you have something say. Remember, you don't have to turn your video camera on if you don't want (or don't have one)!

Email may seem pretty straightforward, but it's important to think about how you're using it. Whether that's making sure you're using good etiquette when writing and sending emails or being aware of spam and phishing emails that might be trying to access your personal details, take a moment to consider how you're using email.

If you're finding your email inbox overwhelming, you might want to use different features of email to help keep it under control. If you're using Gmail at the University of York, you can use labels to organise emails, or move them out of your inbox into somewhere you can find them again. You can create filters in Gmail, which are rules that affect incoming emails, for example starring important ones or moving less useful ones out of your inbox.

Another top tip is to not store important information only in your email inbox. Instead, use to-do tools like Google Keep or Google Tasks, store important details in a document on your device, and put events into Google Calendar so you don't forget when they are.

Social media can be incredibly helpful for keeping in contact with people, including classmates when studying online. Check in on other people and use social media to orchestrate group study sessions to keep each other motivated.

Some platforms are used for academic and professional purposes as well, so you might find them useful to your studies or for future employment. Our Social Media Skills Guide has more information on various uses for social media platforms.

Your tutor may set up VLE discussion forums to consider weekly seminar topics, for groupwork or as a place to ask questions about the module.

Padlet can also be used in a similar way to discussion boards. You can also create your own Padlets for groupwork communication.

When choosing a tool, a task-based approach is best: what is it you actually need to do? Defining your tasks before you try looking for or using any new applications will make evaluating them easier.

When searching for digital tools, you'll want to think about:

• What do you need to do?
• What devices do you have and which do you ideally want to use the tool on?
• Are there free tools? Does the university provide one? Is there a 'standard' tool for the task that people in your discipline use?
• How much time do you have to dedicate to learning to use the tool? Is this for a big recurring task, or a small quick one?

It is important to try out the tool(s) you're looking at to see if they do what you want and work on your device. You might start using one tool, then find it wastes more time than it saves, and try another, or go back to a different method - that's okay! Sometimes it is important to know when technology is being more of a hindance than a help.

Computers come with a range of keyboard shortcuts, or keys you can press to do actions more quickly. For example, you can typically use keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste text and images. Our Operating Systems guide (linked below) has some common Windows and Mac shortcuts and links to full lists of shortcuts so you can find the tasks you do most often.

Also on the Operating Systems guide is how to take screenshots on different devices. Screenshots are images of your screen at a certain point that you can save or paste into documents. These are very useful not only for troubleshooting problems (as you can send error messages to other people for help), but for documenting things you might need again, like which settings you've chosen.

Staying safe online is a key skill in the digital world. When studying online, it is important to be aware of things like the information you are giving out, and who really sent that email.

Just because something says it comes from the University, it might not do. Check the email address it came from, and if you're not sure, contact IT Support.

Keeping any devices and software up to date is also important for IT security, as these protect devices from malware or a security breach. IT Services has guidance on how to keep your devices up to date.

Also think about the information you share online, about yourself and about others. Be aware of the information you're giving particular platforms and be critical about whether they need that data from you.

Devices these days have a range of useful accessibility features, which can be really useful when studying online and using digital tools.

Voice typing is available in Word (only the Office 365 version) and Google Docs, allowing you to speak your notes rather than type them.

You can also often get your device to read aloud material to you, so worth trying this out if you find it hard reading long chunks of text. Adobe Reader, which you can get for free, has the ability to read aloud PDFs.

Changing magnification, colours, and contrast on your device can help when you're doing a lot of work digitally, making content easier to read and reducing eye strain.

Learning the keyboard shortcuts for your device and most used applications can also make navigating screens easier.

Further details on these can be found on our Accessibility Skills Guide page.

Written assignments are probably the most common assessments, including essays, reports, reflective writing and other written work.

Titles and instructions are released in advance, to give you time to prepare and write the assignment. You'll have a deadline to submit the assignment on the VLE.

Some modules may have online exams through the VLE, usually with multiple-choice or short answer questions.

You might also have group assignments or presentations that you prepare or complete online.