On Being a Successful Online Learner

Course Types

Being a Successful Online Student

Success in This Class

COURSE TYPES:
What types of online classes exist?

There are many types of online learning environments available in the college level
experience. This course, for example, is very different than a traditional online course
that you might find in a community college or public university.

We have identified five types of online courses. However, as you read, there could be others
developing out there in the world. Its a fast moving concept.

Type 1: Traditional Undergraduate Level Online Courses: Fully online courses of this
type usually have a great deal of instructor to student interaction and follow the course
content of the face-to-face counterpart for those courses at the college or university in which
they are being offered. They are generally not self-paced, which means that you follow along
with the entire class within a week or a designated time period, doing activities together with
other members of the class. The instructor is fully involved with the activities and keeps in
close contact with each student. They are also limited in size, with most being under 50
students.

Type 2: Traditional Graduate Level Online Courses: In graduate school, online courses
require the student to be much more self-directed. The assumption is that the student has
matured in his or her ability to do the required work to complete a given course. The classes
usually are not self-paced, but there is more interaction among the students with the instructor
in a facilitation role.

Type 3: Mass Open Online Courses (MOOC): The type of course you are in now is called
a MOOC. The interaction with the instructor is limited by the numbers of students in the
course. The instructor mainly participates through designing the course and offering its
content. The instructor will also participate in some of the discussion activities and is usually
assisted by peer tutors or teaching assistants. Much of the course is conducted with
technology providing the evaluation through machine graded tests and assignments as well as
the use of peer graded work (that means students learn to grade each other). These courses
may or may not be self-paced based on the content and the design and usually have hundreds
or thousands of students from all over the world.

Type 4: Hybrid (sometimes called Blended) Distance Education Courses: These courses
usually occur in the traditional college setting and are partially online courses. That means
that the students are required to attend face-to-face meetings as part of the course design as
well as participate in online activities.
Type 5: Flipped Classes: These are courses that take place in face-to-face classrooms in
many colleges and universities. They implement online content and activities as a major
component of the course delivery. Instructors determine what content for the course can best
be done by students on their own (watching video lectures, reading, doing tutorials, etc.) and
what parts of the course the students usually need help with (writing essays, solving
problems, creating projects, etc.). Students complete the work on their own online before
coming to class to work with the instructor on the components that are best done with
instructor assistance.

Courses with Proctored Testing: Many fully online courses require the students to go to a
specific place to do testing. Usually, the site for testing is the college campus or an
alternative site agreed to by the instructor and the individual student. (This class has no
proctored testing.) Student integrity is very important in distance education programs
because the college has to be sure that their courses meet requirements of governmental
agencies.

No matter what type of course, online classes are more difficult for some students, but for
others they are easier depending on learning style, computer skills, internet access,
personality, motivation, and time commitments.

The Difference Between Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning:

Most online classes operate in what is called an "asynchronous" mode. This means that the
course participants, including the instructor(s), are not in the course at the same time. They
may not even be online in the same time zone, as is the case in this class! Because of this,
there are communication tools that allow for people to post information at one time and then
come back and give feedback (reply) at another time. Blogs, wikis and discussion forums
are typical types of asynchronous communication in online classes.

"Synchronous" activities may also take place in an online class but are usually optional. The
course participants would be communicating in the online arena at the same time. Examples
of synchronous activities are using web conferencing tools such as Google Hangouts,
Blackboard Collaborate, WebEx and others. Fully online classes rarely have mandated
synchronous activities, but you should carefully check the class syllabus or schedule of any
online course that you take to make sure that you are not required to go to a location at a
specific time.

Social media is also used for communication in online classes. While social media is usually
considered asynchronous, there is a phrase that defines the use of mobile devices and social
media sites as not synchronous or asynchronous but as the "nearly now". Think about texting
as a communication tool. Would you call it the "nearly now"? (It's an interesting term that is
the work of Stephen Heppell in an article at the following link
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/mar/18/link.link27)

Discussion Forums:

An online discussion is similar to a voice mail or an email conversation with a few important
differences:
 An online discussion can involve a number of participants, such as a team of students
or an entire class.
All messages stay posted in the discussion board for participants to read at any time.
A discussion can last for a week or longer.

You will find online discussions as rigorous as any face-to-face classroom discussion. The
purpose of a discussion is dialogue as a means of learning.

Suggestions for students participating in an online discussion:

Use appropriate Netiquette.

Use respectful and appropriate language in your responses.
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html
You are expected to respond to each other.
An online discussion resembles a classroom discussion in its entire rigor.
All messages posted are public.
In an in-class discussion, you share ideas with all class members. In an online
discussion, you can expect that everyone in the class will read your messages.
Use a person's name when you reply to a message.
Using a person's name in a reply helps to keep the class oriented. This practice helps
maintain a clearer sense of who is speaking and who is being spoken to. As the class
begins to associate names with tone and ideas, we come to know each other better.
Change the subject line when you introduce a new topic.
The value of this tip will become apparent as the number of messages grows.

BEING A SUCCESSFUL ONLINE STUDENT

Being a Student in Fully Online Courses (like this one):

Not every student can effectively take advantage of the freedom and responsibility associated
with learning within an online environment. Many students find learning easier in a
classroom environment with face-to-face encouragement, immediate instructional feedback
and personal interactions. However, for many, learning online fits well and provides a
valuable alternative. Compared to a standard classroom situation in which everyone is in the
same room, at the same time, doing the same work, the online classroom has less face-to-face
contact and less immediate access to your instructor. Interaction with your fellow students
usually occurs through electronic (asynchronous, not real time) communication instead of
face-to-face conversation. In contrast to on-ground classrooms, many online students are
surprised to find that they get to know their fellow students better in an online class due to the
increased level of student-to-student interaction.

What kind of work can you expect to do in an online class?

Online courses do not have class work and homework. Since all of the work you do in an
online class is done at home, or at least not in a classroom setting, there is no distinction
made between the two types of work. Instead, there are content activities, interactive
activities, and evaluative activities that help you learn the content. Some of the activities are
quizzes and assignments that help the instructor evaluate whether you really have learned the
content. Other types of activities require you to communicate with students in your class and
with the instructor by means of discussion forums (as in this class), blog tools, web
conferencing (like Google Hangouts and Blackboard Collaborate), wikis, and other types of
communication tools.

Optional: You can learn more about these tools by visiting the Common Craft web site. The
link can be found in the Resources Area of this class.

Examples of work in an online class:

Content Activities: Viewing online videos, reading informational documents,

PowerPoint presentations, etc.
Interactive Activities: Participation in discussions, sending email and other
communication activities
Evaluative Activities: Completing assignments, quizzes, tests, etc.

As an example, the document you are reading right now is content. You will have to take a
quiz on what is in this document. The quiz is an evaluation activity. Viewing a video lecture
is both a content activity and an interactive activity. When the video stops and asks you to
test your understanding of what you just saw, it becomes an interactive activity as an in-
video quiz. The in-video quizzes exist to give you the opportunity to test your own
knowledge immediately after viewing the content of the video.

How can you be successful in an online class?

To achieve success in an
online class, you must be
significantly more self-
motivated, assertive, and
skilled in your ability to
learn independently. To a
large extent, you must be
able to generate your own
enthusiasm and
excitement about learning
the material, especially
when people around you
(at home or elsewhere)
are all doing something
else. This is not to
discourage you from
enrolling in an online
course, but only to raise
your awareness of the
potential personal challenges which may be associated with successful online learning.

Time Management: Online classes offer you an alternative method for completing your
educational requirements while maintaining a busy work schedule and meeting your
other obligations. However, the freedom from having to be in a specific place at specific
times requires that you be more disciplined and more accurate in budgeting your time. It will
take time for you to read and fully understand the information provided in an online course,
write out questions for your instructor, and complete other online tasks. If your learning style
is predominately auditory (learning through listening), you may find the online class
particularly challenging, but not impossible. Also recognize that you must be more
"proactive" in seeking out positive interactions with your fellow students and with your
instructor if you want to become involved in the class.

It helps to remember that you are usually spending the same amount of time in an online class
as in a face-to-face class. You are not sitting in a classroom for a set number of hours for part
of your participation in the class. When you combine homework and class work together, you
have the same amount of time spent in a face-to-face class as you do in an online class.

Some important things to have and do, especially in non-MOOC online classes that you may
take at a college or university, are in the list that follows:

Success List:

1. Have Reliable Internet Access Would you enroll in a face-to-face class without a
way to get to campus? Hopefully, you would not. You need to think about your
internet connection as your transportation to class. When your connection doesnt
work, you are unable to come to class, and you are unable to learn. You are
encouraged to have regular access to an internet connection and identify a back-up
plan. Identify an alternative connection to use if yours fails. Research the availability
of on-campus computer labs or community computer access points (like libraries) for
your learning needs.

2. Read Carefully Classes held on campus rely heavily on instructor verbal directions
and presentations. For some classes, students can get by with just skimming over
reading assignments. In an online class, reading every word of the directions and
assignments is essential. The advice about reading all directions and the syllabus (in
this class, the course guide) is quite possibly the most important thing you can do to
become a successful online learner. If the directions are not clear to you after you
have read them, post clarification questions in the discussion forum immediately! The
syllabus is a contract you make with the instructor and includes what you will learn,
what you will do, and what is expected of you (policies) as a member of the
community in the class.

3. Get Organized! Successful online students stress the importance of creating a

calendar to record all major due dates and class schedule information. If you are
enrolled in more than one online class, consider using a different color for each class.
One online student suggests to make appointments with yourself to ensure you
dedicate time in your schedule to complete course assignments. If you were taking a
face-to-face class, you would be scheduled to be in a seat in a classroom on a campus
at a set day and time, so do the same for yourselfmake that appointment with you
and then be diligent about keeping it. You should also make sure that you have a
place to work that allows you to be focused and not distracted. You will be
completing an assignment in this unit that is designed to help you get organized (the
"Sizing up the Work" assignment).
 4. Polish Your Computer Skills For online courses, computer and internet skills are
obviously a requirement. Online instructors will assume that students are computer
literate, which generally means that the student is expected to be acquainted with
various standard software packages and their operation, load new programs if
necessary, and handle any hardware needs as they arise. In this class, you will need to
be able to view web sites external to Coursera and to play You Tube videos. DO NOT
expect the instructor to extend due dates because of problems you are having with
your computer.

5. Participate Because of the reduced amount of verbal interactions between students

and the instructor in an online course, online discussion is often accomplished
through discussion boards, email, and web conferencing (like Google Hangouts).
Students should be comfortable communicating online and should be aware of
accepted standards in netiquette. In fact, there is a direct correlation between a
students success in an online course and that students participation. DO NOT
underestimate the importance of contributing to online discussions. Its easy to feel
isolated in online environments. Try to participate in meet-up and social media
opportunities as you work through any online class. There is a social media link in the
menu bar for this course where you can organize or participate in a meet-up in your
area.

6. Log-In Regularly Successful online students recommend logging in several times a

week to check for instructor announcements and to stay connected to, and participate
in, discussion board conversations.

7. DO NOT Procrastinate! When you are relying heavily on technology, expect

failures and connection challenges. Waiting until the last minute increases these risks
and puts your grades in jeopardy. Additionally, you will never fully understand how
long an assignment or project will take until you do it. Waiting until the last
day/hour/minute is poor planning and reduces your chances of learning successfully
and performing well on assessments.

Some other ideas that will help you be successful are:

1. Be persistent. Remember that we are all working in a fairly new environment. If you
run into any difficulties, don't wait! Send a note immediately to the instructor of the
course listed on the syllabus. Most problems are easily solved, but we have to hear
from you before we can help.

2. Share tips, helps, and questions. For many of us, taking online courses is a new
frontier. There are no dumb questions, and even if you think your solution is obvious,
please share it! Someone in the class will appreciate it. You can do this in the help
discussion forum.

3. Think before you push the Send button. Did you say just what you meant? How
will the person on the other end read the words? While you can't anticipate all
reactions, read over what you've written before you send it. In most classes, it is also
important to use the best writing style that you can.

4. Be patient. As much as your instructor will try to be prompt in answering questions,

please do not expect instantaneous responses to your queries. Learn how to set break
 points in your study, so that you can return exactly to the point when your question is
answered. Be patient with yourself as well; give the material a chance to soak in.

CREATING AN EFFECTIVE WRITER

How You Can Be Successful in This Class:

This class will require you to do all of the items mentioned above. But there are some things
that are particular to the kind of work you will do here. Discussion forums are provided for
you to both meet each other and to gain assistance when you need it. Others ask you to
participate in a conversation about something specific that has been assigned. All discussion
activities, except the help discussion forum, must be completed for you to effectively
participate in the class.

This class also requires you to keep a journal for some of the assignments that you do not turn
in directly but refer to in final quizzes and writing activities. There are many online journal
tools that you can use. Go to http://google.com and search free journals to find something
that works for you, or you can simply keep a word processing file to keep track of your
written exercises. It is vitally important to keep up with these assignments. Often, in online
courses, the basic assignments are critical to your answering questions correctly and
successfully achieving the outcomes in the course.

Because this course is free and you have chosen to take it (rather than being mandated), it
might be harder to complete all of the work, especially if you are short on time. We caution
you to not short-change yourself and reduce the effectiveness of the experience. The closer
you stay to completing all of the assignments, the closer you are to becoming a better writer.
Reading and studying material is key to successful learning. Make sure you take the time to
understand all of the material presented in this course.

Be sure that you read the "Start Here" page and the course guide (syllabus) that explains how
you can pass the class and what policies exist for you as a member of the class community. In
every online class there is a syllabus or course guide. Be sure to read it!

Go to the Sizing up the Work Assignment and create your calendar for this
week.

Sizing up the work:

Creating a course calendar and making appointments to learn

Time management is one of the most important skills an online student can master. This
activity is very important to your success in all college classes, but is particularly useful when
you are taking online classes because you are really the one in charge of managing your own
time. One of the biggest mistakes an online student can make is to misjudge the amount of
time the work will take. In an online class, there is no homework. What exists is simply work.
Work consists of studying (reading, viewing videos, doing practice activities and practice
quizzes, etc.) and turning in assignments (writing, tests, quizzes, discussion forums, etc.)

As you saw in the video at the beginning of this week, students suggest that you dont wait
until the end of a week or until the day an assignment is due to do the work! Planning your
life with the class activities in mind is the way to be sure to keep up and not be stressed at the
end of a week! The Sizing-up activity could be the key to your success or failure in an online
course.

Step 1: Look at the schedule of activities for the unit.

Note the suggestion about how long each activity will take you.

Step 2: Use any calendar tool that you feel works for you.
If you are a paper person, get one of those big desk calendars or just print one from Word
templates. If you like digital tools, Google has a great calendar feature. These are only
suggestions, but you will need something! The Google calendar will synchronize with your
cell phone, and reminders will be automatically sent. This class has benchmark dates that
are suggested in the beginning of each week. If you keep up with those dates, you will be
unlikely to fall behind.

Step 3: Review your weekly activities outside of class.

Find time in each day to do the work for the unit at hand. Assign the activities to the empty
time spaces in your week. If you are a parent with small children, you will need to have them
occupied out of your learning space, so consider working when children are sleeping or are
being cared for by others. You may find it necessary to include your employment and family
activities on the same calendar as your class assignments. Be sure to include time in your
calendar to read the written material in the course and to view the videos.

Step 4: Treat the activities as you would a face-to-face class meeting.

Use times you have set aside for the activities you assigned to them and dont put things off.

Step 5: Build in a 15 minute block of time at the same time each day to check into the course
for new information or visit discussion forums.

Ok, once your calendar is set, you are ready to do the rest of the items in this unit. Have your
calendar handy when you complete the unit final quiz. There will be questions about it on
the week 1 quiz!

The points for this assignment are part of the weekly quiz. There are two questions
related to this activity in the Unit 1 Quiz. Each question in the quiz related to this
assignment is worth 10 points.