Welcome to Coursera. To help you learn faster and better, this video will show you seven pro tips for using the platform. Our tips are from successful course completers and community mentors. So check them out to become a super learner today. Number one, motivate yourself with deadlines. You may already notice there's a due date for each graded assignment. Those are suggested deadlines to help you plan learning and maintain motivation. Our data shows having the suggested deadlines can help you increase completion rate by 17 percent. However, don't panic if you have to miss one of those deadlines, there's no grade penalty. If you miss two deadlines in a row or miss a deadline by two weeks you'll see an option that says reset my deadlines, even if you don't see that option yet you can still submit work. Number two, join the discussion. The discussion forum is a great place to seek help understanding course content or ask questions about something you read or learned in the course. Course forums let you search to see whether your question has been asked before or post your own question. You can also read and reply to other people's questions and discussions. Forum posts will be read and responded to you by your peer learners in the course for active mentors. Research shows learners who post in the discussion forum are 37 percent more likely to complete a course. So make a post today. Number three, take notes. You may wish you could take notes while learning online just as you did in school. Now you can, you can do it fully on Coursera without opening a second tab or tool. Click on Save note under any video in the course you'll be able to add your own notes alongside the transcripts snippet. You can also highlight and safe pieces of transcript text. Number four, learn with your peers. You may see peer graded assignments in some courses on Coursera. That is a great opportunity for you to get feedback from other people taking the same course. You'll also need to review other people's assignments and give them feedback. You may wonder is peer grading accurate and helpful? Research says yes. Studies from Penn State University indicate that peer grading scores are fairly consistent and highly similar to instructor grading scores. When you see a peer graded assignment plans will work on it earlier. You can leave enough time for others to read your work and write insightful feedback. If you submit a peer graded assignment after your personalized deadline you might not get enough peer reviews. If you need more peer reviews you can post in the forums asking for more peer feedback. Number five, use the Coursera app. You can download the Coursera app to access your course on the go. It's available for both iOS and Android devices. Got some time while waiting for your coffee? Watch Coursera video on your phone. Number six, prove your skills with a certificate. A course certificate is an excellent proof you completed the course and mastered the skills. You can see all the course certificates you've earned on your accomplishment page. You can also share it on your LinkedIn profile or using a secure Coursera URL. So how can you earn their certificate? There are three simple requirements. Complete the name verification, pass all required assignments and pay for the course. Remember if you take a course in audit mode you cannot access the graded assignments or earn the certificate. But you can upgrade to a paid certificate at anytime during or after your audit. Number seven, the learner help center is your friend. Got more questions on the Coursera platform? You can find the answer in our learner help Center. There are great articles covering each step of your learning. Okay. I hope these pro tips can help you learn better and faster on Coursera. Last but not least remember the platform is built to support mastery learning. So keep trying and learning from the failures until you succeed, happy learning.
