Are your Advisees Considering Taking Online Classes?
Taking online courses can certainly help you if your schedule doesn't permit attending a traditional class. However, they are not for everyone. This video helps explain some of the aspects that need to be considered such as:
- Advise students not to be too quick to enroll in a full course of online study but to consider taking one course online to "test the waters." This will give the student some experience in how well they will perform in future classes.
- While online classes can address scheduling problems and allow students to study and participate around their other time demands, it is VERY easy to put off study until "later." Time management skills are an absolute necessity and must be emphasized to the student.
- Online classes require the student to be more responsible for their learning. Online instructors facilitate and participate but there is much left to the student. Some students need the regular interaction wtih an instructor and others discover that this form of communication is difficult for them. How well they do at learning on their own will have a significant bearing on performance.
- Technical skills and comfort levels with technology that works and occasionally does not cannot be ignored. Students need high speed internet and a newer computer. They must be able to navigate around the Internet, use a variety of search engines and understand basic computer skills such as file management, saving files in different formats and use netiquette in their communications. Pointing them to the sample course available is a good way to let them experience and test out the online course environment with their computer system.
These points were drawn from the article, What Every Student Should Know About Online Learning by Dr. John Reid of Kennesaw State University and feedback and input from the Distance Learning Advisory Board and other online instructors at Pellissippi State.
What does it take to be a successful online student? Chad also wants to know and Celeste will tell him!
Other Resources:
Are you considering taking math class online? (a resource created by Pellissippi State Mathematics faculty)
Self Evaluation for Online Students (from Illinois Online Network)
The Online Learning Assessment Quiz (from Onlinelearning.net)
Support Site for Online Teaching and Learning (access to Advising, Bookstore, Library Services, Technical support and more)
Students
taking a course through RODP (sections are R50-R60), log in here.
Interested in the Regents Online Degree Program (RODP)?