The "Good Stuff"· Engaging in online learning allows the learner to remove the barriers of time, location and travel. Students can access materials at their convenience, start and stop as they please, and removes the necessity of travel to attend a specific institution.
· Students can learn from the comfort of their own home. · Allows students to think thoroughly through their thoughts before posting them in the public online forum. · Increases the likelihood that introverts will participate in class discussion. · Improves a student’s technology skills, a skill that is necessary at school, at work and in personal life. · Access to a diverse student population resulting in the exchange of diverse ideas and new ways of thinking – online learning is accessible to students in different areas of the world! · At the end of an online course, both students and instructors have a written online portfolio of work that is easily accessible and easy to organize. |
The "Good to Know"· Be prepared to spend more time than expected when taking online courses. The course is almost entirely self-directed, and the structure of actually attending class is not there! We estimate having to spend anywhere between 10-15 hours per week for an online course!
· Ensure that you leverage any tutorials offered on the LMS system that your class is using, especially if you are not very technologically inclined or have taken between 0-3 online courses. · Understand that with online courses, there is absolutely no physical contact between students and with the instructor. You will have to alter your usual ways of conducting class discussions, group work and questions – a great way to practice working on virtual teams! · If you are taking courses to network with others in your field, be prepared to network only through email, message boards and live chats (if the LMS you’re working with has these features). · For technological requirements, see the "What you need to know" section of thi |