Distance learning demands a dedicated effort on your part to
make and maintain your own schedule for working on your courses. Many students
find that they fall behind and never catch up. Don't let this happen to you. You
might want to review the study
guides site to help you be a success in distance learning. Consider
using the strategies to avoid
procrastination and time
management.
Active learning:
The online learning process is less structured and requires significantly more input from you, the
student, to make it successful.
An online learning environment is constructivist/active learning wherein students construct their own understanding.
An online course places greater burden on you, the
student, to acquire knowledge; it requires you to work harder, or at least
differently, to synthesize the knowledge you gain.
While there may be no travel time or physical attendance
requirements, don't expect that there is less work in an online course. In
fact, you will likely find that you have to write more and spend even more
time and effort on such a class then in a "face-to-face" classroom
environment.
Attendance in an online class means active participation in discussions.
Successful learners in the online environment need to be active, creative, and engaged in the learning process. This process occurs through the formation of a learning community and is reflective in nature. The most profound learning in an online course comes through interacting with other students.
Roles:
My role as your instructor is as a "learning facilitator" or mentor, not a lecturer. In the context of online learning, you, the student, will need to take a great deal of responsibility for your own learning!
As a facilitator, I encourage you to engage in personal reflection by
designing assignments and asking questions that allow you to apply material to your own work or life situations. As a facilitator I am a "guide on the side" rather than the "sage on the stage." As a guide on the side, I hope to enable you to learn collaboratively from
and with one another.
Since there are no lectures in an online course, approach
your reading assignments as you would a lecture:
Take notes that condense the material to key points and
illustrations; make yourself an outline as you read
Since you are now in the position of being your own
teacher, sketch an outline of a lecture you might give to a group of
students on the material you have just learned
Take special note to read the syllabus and all
instructions on assignments more than once (your mentor may not be there to
continually remind you of what you need to do)
Netiquette: When you participate in online discussions
keep the following points in mind:
Do not use all capital letters or others will think you are SHOUTING.
Do keep your responses professional and respectful.
If something you read angers you, do not respond immediately. Wait and carefully formulate your response so that it is respectful. If you wait a day before posting you will allow for a "cooling-off" period and time to reflect. Often, on second reading at a later time, you may find that a post initially seen as offensive is not actually that bad. This waiting period give you a chance to respond from a place of reason rather than anger.
Want to add some emotion to your postings? Use emoticons
;-) Here's
a series of Web pages that introduce you to emoticons and provides a
large list of various kinds of emoticons for various purposes.
Are you ready for Online Learning?:
e-Learner's
Advisor self-assessment: Answer a few simple questions to see if you
are ready for this. Includes a
detailed analysis of results and personalized suggestions for success in
online learning.
Another self-assessment - the
Student
Online Readiness Tool (SORT) - helps you evaluate your readiness in
terms of technology, study habits, lifestyle, learning preferences and more
Online classes are convenient and flexible but students have to be disciplined enough to make time to study and participate. Successful online students:
Log in regularly to their classes, usually at least three times per week
Plan to ensure enough time to study and complete assignments
Take notes as they study
Commit 6 - 9 hours per week per three-credit class
Enjoy communicating in writing and reading the writing of others
Be able to work with others via email and chat to complete projects
"Speak up" to their instructors when problems arise
Online interactions are often an essential element of the learning experience. Be willing to share your ideas, carefully consider your responses to others, and be prepared to have your ideas challenged occasionally.
Online learning is best for those who learn by reading and writing; if you learn better by hearing lectures or making presentations, an on-campus class might be a better fit. Successful online
students...
are active learners who are willing to take responsibility for their own learning
are visual learners able to learn easily from reading and writing. If you learn best by hearing the instructor, you may want to consider an on-campus class or ITV/telecourse distance education class.
Necessary skill set
The instructor can not see their students and won't know if you are confused, bored, or frustrated unless you are willing to talk to her/him about it. Successful online
students...
have the ability to work well cooperatively, even when your communication is restricted to email or online chat.
Setting Goals: do not be
overwhelmed by the thought of all you will have to accomplish over the course of
an entire semester. You will not be working on every assignment all at once.
Just take it one task at a time and proceed through to the ultimate goal of
course completion bit by bit - a little bit each week, just as the course is
laid out: