Characteristics of a Successful Online

Student

Whileatraditionalstudentinanongroundclassgetstoknowhisorherfellowclassmatesand
instructorbysharingpersonalinteractionsonaregularbasis,theonlinestudentoften"attends
class"independentlyoftheinstructororotherstudents.Onlineclassesare"asynchronous,"
meaningthatstudentsandtheinstructordonothavetobeloggedintotheclassroomatany
giventime.Onlinestudentsmostoftenwillcompletecourseactivitiessuchasaddingreactions
toresponsespostedinadiscussionthreadatadayandtimemostconvenienttotheirschedules.
Studentswhoenjoyfacetofaceimmediateinteractionsroommaynotfindtheonlineclassroom
a"goodfit."Herearesomeoftheimportantstudyhabitsandpersonalitytraitsofsuccessful
onlinestudents.
IndependentLearners

Onlinestudentsmustfeelcomfortableinalearningenvironmentthatplacesemphasison
individualstakingresponsibilityfortheirlearningprocess.Whiletheonlineclassroomincludes
interactionsbetweenthestudentandinstructor,theyarenotimmediateasinatraditionalon
groundclassroom.Althoughonlineinstructorsanswerquestionsandprovideclarificationof
informationtostudentsastheywouldinthetraditionalclassroom,studentsmustbecomfortable
waitingupto24hoursforaresponsetotheiremails.

Atypicalweekforanonlinestudentmightinclude:
Readingthroughthecurrentweek'sassignmentsandlecturematerials
Thoughtfullyreadingthetextbooksfortheclassasassignedandidentifyingmainpoints
Respondingbyadeadlinetodiscussionquestionsaspostedbytheinstructor
"Discussing"throughadiscussionboard(byadeadline)theresponsesoffellowclassmates
Completingandsending(byadeadline)anassignmenttobegradedbytheinstructor
Completinganassignmentbydeadlineinaworkgroupcomprisedoffourorfiveclassmates
GoalOriented
Successfulonlinestudentsmustbeselfdisciplinedandgoalorientedastheyworktocomplete
theirweeklyassignments,postemailmessages,andworkwiththeirclassmatesintheironline
class.Onlineclassesmovequicklyandinstructorsoftenwillnotallowstudentsto"makeup"
missedonlinediscussionsorassignments.
ProficientReaders&Communicators
Onlineclassesarereadingintensive;studentsareexpectedtogleaninformationfromtheirtexts
andfromonlinematerialstoapplytoworkassignedtothem.Beforeenrollingyouarerequired
totaketheASSETand/orCOMPASStests:ascoreofatleast40onthereadingand
comprehensionsectionsoftheASSETplacementtestoratleastan81ontheCOMPASS
placementtestreflectsminimumcollegelevelreadingandcomprehensionskills(see
Assessment&Placementlinkatright).
BasicComputerSkills

Thecomputerisanintegralpartoftheonlineclassroom.Whilemasteringthelessonsofyour
onlinecourse,youdonotwanttobesaddledwithlessthanadequatecomputerskills.These
basicskillsincludingproficiencyinsendingandreceivingemailswithattachments,cuttingand
pastingfromWord,andcommunicatingwithfellowstudentsinDiscussionthreads.
SetaSchedule&KeeptoIt
Onlineinstructorsexpecttheirstudentstobeorganizedinsettingaschedulethatallowsthemto
meettheirdeadlines.Mostonlineclassesrequireregularsigninginandpostingofmessagesin
theclassroominordertostaycurrentwithclassactivitieswhichincludereadingmessagesand
lecture,interactingindiscussionthreadsandworkgroups,andpostingassignments.
Onlineinstructorsexpectsuccessfulstudentstologatleastthreefivehoursofonlineworka
weekforthreecreditclass.Inaddition,moststudentsfindtheyaresuccessfuliftheylogtwo
hoursofhomeworkforeverycredithourofclass.Successfulonlinestudentsreportthattheylog
manyhoursabovetheminimum12hoursexpected.
MeetDeadlines
Onlinestudentswhoaresuccessfulincompletingtheircoursesknowhowtoscheduletheirtime
tomeetdeadlinesforclassroomdiscussions,workgroupactivities,andgradedassignments.
Successfulonlinestudentsunderstandthatothersintheirclassroomarecountingontheir
participationinclassroomandworkgroupactivities.

NotEasilyFrustrated
Studentsinanonlineclasssometimesarefacedwithobstaclesthatareoutoftheircontrol:
computerscanbreak,ISPserverscancrash,andelectricpowercangoout.Asuccessfulonline
studentidentifiessolutionsforunexpected"catastrophes"bythinkingaheadaboutsolutionsto
potentialproblems.
Possiblesolutionsforeachoftheabovescenarios:
Useafriendorrelative'scomputer
Accessacomputerinoneofthecomputerlabsoncampus
Remembertosaveallonlineclassroomworktoafloppydisk,CD,zipdisk,orflashdisksoif
yourharddrivecrashes,youdonot"lose"yourwork.
ComfortableinCyberspace
Mostonlineclassesdonotprovidevisualorauditoryimagesoftheinstructorsorstudents,so
"whoyouare"inclassprimarilyisconveyedbythemessagesyoupostintheclassdiscussion
threadsorworkgroups.Youshouldbecomfortablewiththisalternativemethodofcreatinga
"picture"ofwhoyouareandwhatyouthink.
RememberNetiquette
Successfulonlinestudentsexhibitrespectfortheclassroomenvironmentandremembertheir
"manners"whencommunicatingtotheirfellowclassmatesandtotheirinstructor.They
understandthattakingouttheirangerand/orfrustrationontheirclassmatesandtheirinstructor
isnotproper"netiquette"anymorethanitwouldbeinatraditionalclassroom.

TakeResponsibilityfortheLearningProcess
Successfulonlinestudentsunderstandthattheirinstructorsarefacilitatorsoftheirlearning
processandthattheindividualstudentmustbeadedicatedandgoalorientedselfstarter.Online
studentsaremotivatedandgoaloriented.Theyputtheirschoolworkatthetopoftheirlistof
priorities.Successfulonlinestudentsarenotafraidtoaskquestions;however,theyaskfor
clarificationaftertheyhaveattemptedtounderstandthematerialontheirownbyrereadingthe
textbook,theinstructions,orlecture.

Doesthisdescribeyou?
Iamaselfmotivatedandselfdisciplinedindividual.
Iamabletoworkindependentlywithlittledirection.
Ihavegoodtimemanagementskillsthatallowmetoschedulespecifictimestowork.
Icanadequatelyprepareandstudyforexams.
Icaneffectivelycommunicateanyquestionsorconcernstomyinstructor.
Iamcomfortableexpressingmyselfinwritingusinggrammaticallycorrect,writtenstatement.
Iamnotaprocrastinator.Iliketogetthingsdonetodayandnottomorrow.
Iwillnotmissthefacetofaceinteractionwithmyinstructorandclassmates.
Idonotgiveupeasily,evenwhenconfrontedwithobstacles.
Iamcomfortablespendingfiveplushourseachweekonacourse.
Iagreethatonlinecoursescanbemorechallengingthanfacetofaceclasses.
Iconsidermyselfanaveragetoaboveaveragereader.
Ihavebasiccomputerskillsandcanuseawebbrowser,etc.
IhaveaccesstoacomputerthatisconnectedtotheInternetandhaveabackupplan.
Iamcomfortableina"virtualenvironment"email,threadeddiscussions&chat.