Surviving the Online Class

(adapted from College of the Siskiyous,  Technology Learning Center)

Who Should Take an Online Course?

Some really good reasons for enrolling in an online course:

• You have a full-time job, a family, would like to get an education, and still have a life.
• Because of your work schedule, you can't take classes at regularly scheduled times.
• You are mobility impaired.
• You can't find or afford reliable childcare.
• You live too far from campus to attend classes.
• You are shy and hate having to speak in class.
• English is your second language. You read and write English reasonably well, but you have trouble understanding or being understood in English.

Online students must:

• Be self-starters—have the maturity and motivation to work on their own
• Have the necessary hardware and software
• Have basic computer skills
  

Common Misconceptions about Online Courses

• You think that an online class will be easier than a traditional course. Actually, online courses are as difficult as, if not more difficult than, traditional courses.
• You think it will take less time because you won't have to sit in a classroom. The reality is that an online course can take as much or more time and effort as a traditional course.
• You want to learn how to use a computer or surf the web. Understand that you must know how to use your computer and get around on the Internet before taking an online course.

The Reality of Taking an Online Course

Online courses are not for everyone:

1. Contrary to popular belief, online courses are just as hard and are more time consuming than traditional courses.
   • Rather than sitting in a physical classroom listening to your instructor lecture for 3 hours a week, you will be reading your lectures from a computer screen.
   • Online courses typically require much more reading and writing than traditional classes.
   • Instead of asking questions and receiving an instantaneous answer from your instructor, you will be either posting or e-mailing your questions. While most online instructors will respond to your concerns as soon as possible, you will need to be patient.
   • As you will not be in the classroom, you will need to be much more self-directed than it might seem. In other words, you have to take responsibility for your own learning.
2. Some students truly need the face-to-face interaction with instructor and peers.
3. Other students find that they lack the high level of responsibility it takes to tackle an online class.
4. At a minimum, an online course requires students to use their time wisely, be organized, be self-directed, and be willing to try new modes of communication and learning.
5. Successful students often use the weekly assignment sheets to create a course calendar so that they have an overview of all assignments. Good time management and planning are necessary skills.
6. Students who do well are those who are willing to put in the needed time, read the text carefully (even the dull sections), and participate in the discussion boards the best they can.
7. You will be expected to check your e-mail frequently, get all assignments in on time, not allow yourself to fall behind at all, discuss your concerns and questions with instructor and classmates, perhaps arrange to swap e-mail addresses with other students in the class, and participate fully each week.

The Best Things about Online Courses:

1. Flexibility—for those of you unable to attend a regularly scheduled course, you will not be restricted by time and place--you get to do the weekly coursework when and where you want to do it.
2. The asynchronous discussions allow everyone to have his/her say on the issues, and students can take the time to form thoughtful and clear opinions before sharing them with the rest of the class.
3. No commuting to and from college: while others are driving in inclement weather or running through rain and snow to make it to class, you can be warm and dry working from your home computer.
4. No transportation or parking problems to worry about.
5. No need for childcare.

Equipment and Skills

What Mimimum equipment you will need:

• A Pentium PC, a Power Macintosh, or any similar computer capable of connecting to the Internet.
• DSL or Cable Modem High Speed internet connection
• An Internet Service Provider (ISP).
• A graphical Internet browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 (it is worthwhile to download the latest browser)
• A word processing program such as Microsoft Word.

You should also have the following minimum skills:

• Good basic computer and Internet skills:
  • Ability to install software on your computer.
  • Ability to download and install files from the Internet.
  • Excellent knowledge in navigating the Internet.
  • Proficient in use of search engines for research.
  • Ability to send and receive e-mail with attachments.
  • File management skills: copy files from a floppy or the Internet to a specific directory on the hard drive.
  • Word processing skills such as: how to create files, open files, save files, print files, and edit documents.
  • Converting word processing documents to rich text format (*.rtf). Click here for an example of how to convert Microsoft Word documents to rich text format. Other word processing programs have similar procedures for converting documents.
• The ability to read carefully and follow written instructions.
• Self-motivation and self-discipline
  • Excellent time management skills.
  • Ability to be responsible for self-learning.

Tips to Ensure Online Success

• Have a back up plan. All computers eventually suffer failures. Have a plan in case yours goes down; know where you can find a back up computer in case of emergency and know how to operate its various programs. Back up or copy your homework onto a disk regularly.
• Logon Frequently. You should try to log on at least once a day (at least five days a week and more often if possible). Develop a logon routine that's comfortable with your schedule. online classes tend to generate a large number of e-mails and web announcements. If you don't logon for a few days you will be overwhelmed and might have trouble catching up.
• Respond promptly to e-mail. In the online environment you are invisible to the rest of the class. If you don't respond, we will think you didn't get the e-mail or don't want to respond. When you respond it's like saying, "I'm here!" If you can't respond immediately, at least send a quick note saying "I received your message and will reply this evening."
• Include the previous message when responding to e-mails. This will help the person receiving your response to refresh his or her memory about the original discussion. (Note: It is appropriate to include only the pertinent portion of the original message).
• Don't change e-mail addresses. Changing or using different e-mail addresses only creates confusion and delays.
• Identify yourself. Make sure that you sign your e-mail with your full name (first and last). E-mail addresses cannot always be associated with the name of the sender.
• Participate. You attend the online class by participating. You send messages and complete assignments before the due date; that's how you show that you are "present." If you lurk (remain silent) then you are "absent."
• Make your e-mail subject lines meaningful. Use something in the subject line header that lets the receiver know which task you're submitting for his or her review; the title of the assignment as your subject line is always good. Always identify your class by putting the class number in the e-mail subject line.
• Use .rtf format for attachments. If you send an instructor or classmate an attachment by e-mail, convert it to text rich format (.rft) format before e-mailing.
• Accuracy. Double check e-mail addresses. Sending e-mail to the wrong address will cause the intended receiver to be cut out of the communication loop. If you send a URL make sure you cut and paste it in from the web page. Inaccurate URLs cause others to waste time trying to figure out why they can't get to the web page.
• Flexibility and calm: These are the hallmark of successful online classroom experiences. Problems will arise and when they do, the ability to remain calm and be flexible in your thinking will keep them from becoming unmanageable. Don' t panic; if you don't get an answer to your pleas for help right away, remain calm, wait 24 hours and if you still haven't resolved your problem or gotten help, send me a message with the words "URGENT HELP" in the subject line. Instructors usually check e-mail each day, but they can also receive several a hundred e-mails in a week, so if I your urgent message is not answered within 24-48 hours e-mail your instructor again.
• Pay attention to deadlines: When you don't get your assignments in on time it causes other students who need to read and comment on your work to also be late in their work.
• Netiquette: Because the student and instructor can't see each other they lose much of the ability to read between the lines in our online communications. Without facial expressions and body language the written word can easily be misinterpreted. The use of smiley's is a good way to provide insight of your intent when composing e-mails. Look over the suggestions at: Netiquette and The Unofficial Smiley Dictionary.
• Don't Flame: The purpose of class discussion boards is to learn from one another and hopefully gain an appreciation of another point of view. We all need to show respect for one another's opinions and be sensitive in our comments. If you receive an upsetting message, wait to respond for at least 24 hours. Waiting before responding, will allow everyone to cool off and rethink the wisdom of sending their first response. Verbal attacks (flaming) is not be tolerated. Let your instructor know if you feel you have been verbally abused by a classmate.
• Make meaningful comments: During the semester you will likely be commenting on one another's work. Think of this as a chance to help one another. Meaningful comments will be appreciated by your classmates. Avoid comments like "Good ideas." Instead, list specific points that you thought were good, and suggest ways that the person can improve.
• Read and print out course "first day" information. Be sure you understand all course policies, know how you will be graded and are aware of important due dates.