1. PREPARING STUDENTS FOR ONLINE
LEARNING

2. PREPARING STUDENTS FOR ONLINE LEARNING
 Even though students spend a lot of time
online, they don’t know how to learn online.
 Going to class
 Listening to a lecture and taking notes
 Answering teacher’s question; asking questions
 Back-and-forth discussions with students
 Submitting homework and papers
 Taking exams (tools, timing)
 Receiving feedback on assignments and tests.
 Seeking resources (academic, technological, personal)
 Dealing with difficulties
(academic, technological, personal)

3. WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
 “If you have taken college courses before, you
know how much time and effort is involved.
 Remember you are not spending the 45 semester hours
in a classroom, but you must be willing to make a
substantial time commitment.
 In order to do well in an online course, most
instructors and veteran online students will tell you
that you must be willing to spend 8 – 12 hours a
week, per class, reading, studying, participating in
discussions, taking exams, and preparing your
assignments.” Vin Ialenti, from MWCC

4. WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
 “You need the motivation to do the work in a timely
fashion.
 You have to arrange your own schedule around
your busy life and activities.
 It is human nature to procrastinate a bit, but
remember you will not have someone physically
present urging you to get the work accomplished. It
is up to you.” Vin Ialenti, from MWCC

5. WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
 What about technology? “You do not have to be a
computer guru to use the course delivery software.
 [Blackboard] is extremely user-friendly.
 However, you should feel comfortable using a word
processor, Internet browser, cutting and pasting
documents and emailing and sending attachments.”
 You should have up-to-date browser (Internet Explorer
10), Adobe Flash and Java.
 You should have access to a reliable computer with
a fast Internet connection.
 You may need a webcam and a microphone.
Vin Ialenti, from MWCC

6. WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
 “You should have access to a place where you can
get work done with the amount of quiet that you
need.
 Since the online learning method is based on
technology, you have to be prepared to deal with
the frustrations of computer crashes and being
logged off.
 You need to know how to back up your work in
order to minimize the inconvenience of the
occasional technical curveball that may get thrown
your way.” Vin Ialenti, from MWCC

7. WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
 “You need good reading comprehension skills and
the ability to evaluate critically what you read.”
 Because learning online requires proportionately
more reading than in-classroom courses, you need
to be able to read quickly and accurately.
 Identify the main points of a reading (or another
student’s comment), summarize them, reflect on them
and set them in the context of other readings.
 Because learning online is very writing-intensive,
you need to be good at communicating in writing:
express your thoughts clearly, thoroughly, and
respectfully. And type fast.
 Both for long papers and for short discussion posts.
Vin Ialenti, from MWCC

8. NAVIGATION
 Physical classrooms are very standardized.
 Online classrooms use varying
terminology, imagery, navigation, organization.
 Make your course organization transparent, consistent
with other courses and online places.
 Create a tutorial (“how this class will work”) for students
to watch (read, listen to) during the first days of class.
 See Ko and Rossen (2010, pp. 293-297)

9. TECHNOLOGY
 Do students and you have the most up-to-date
Adobe Flash Player and Java?
 http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
 http://www.java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp
 Submit documents in a shareable format
 PDF
 PDF makers
 Specify the version of MS Word you’ll accept
 Check access to the internet (stability and speed)
 Point them to AMU’s IT department
 http://online-orientation.weebly.com/technological-
resources.html

10. HUMAN REMINDERS
 In a classroom, the professor provides
order, direction, and discipline with classroom
announcements, by walking over to the student, by
modulating her voice, and by making signs of
acknowledgement of discussion points or receipt of
papers.
 Online, the student puts in more of himself. He has
to navigate to find the material, figure out what’s
important and what he has to do, push himself to
set a schedule to access the class, fight off
distractions on his own, and interpret people’s
reactions in the absence of body language.

11. WAYS TO ADDRESS
 Be very clear about the nature of the class: “you will
be responsible of yourself, set your own
schedule, turn off your phone, etc.”
 Highlight that an online class is much more verbal
(reading, writing) than the oral and “kinesthetic”
classes they might be used to.
 Use audio and video to introduce yourself and the
class, to give lectures and commentary, to give
feedback on work.
 This often requires that the students have up-to-date
Adobe Flash or Java.

12. WAYS TO ADDRESS
 Introduce yourself warmly.
 See Ko and Rossen (2010, pp. 298-300)
 Be very present:
 several times a week, make online-classroom
announcements.
 daily, give feedback on assignments and participate in
the discussions.
 be especially attentive to moderating discussions so
they remain civil and focused.

13. WAYS TO ADDRESS
 Be very available:
 Respond to emails, say, within 24 hours.
 If students email you from within Blackboard, their messages
will be clearly marked with the name of the class, and thus be
harder to miss.
 Often, responses can (and perhaps should) be made within
Blackboard, to the whole class.
 If there will be periods (say, more than 2 days) when
you won’t log in, announce this ahead of time.
 Avoid at all costs the impression that you’ve set the
course on auto-pilot and gone on vacation.
 An online course is not a directed independent study or
correspondence course.

14. ONLINE READINESS
 “Are you pro-active, self-disciplined, well-
organized?”
 “Are you comfortable communicating online?”
 “Do you have access to the right
hardware, software, and connectivity?”
 To look for a self-survey of online readiness, go to
www.google.com/search?q=Online+Student+Readiness
+Quiz
 E.g., Sierra College’s Self-Assessment Survey
 http://lrc.sierra.cc.ca.us/dl/survey/OL-student-assess.html