I’m a sophomore in college (a county college… CCM if that information helps) and I’m taking an online class for the first time. I’m just wondering how these online classes work. Like… will i need to install a software on my comp to “go to class”, are lectures in a chat room, etc. I would be very grateful to learn as much as I could about online classes as possible to help me get prepared and know what’s coming.
Thank you for your time.
#1 by Ron W on July 16th, 2010
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From my experiences there is no software or chatrooms.
In both of the online classes I took it was the exact same material that was taught in class but straight out of the book. You read the book and learn on your own. There is no discussion. All interaction (if any) is done with the teacher via e-mail. You’ll probably get some sort of calendar with all the due dates on it.
For example, my geography class was an online quiz once a week which was basically 10 questions in 20 minutes.
Then every 3 weeks would be a 25 question test which we’d have an hour to do. The semester consisted of 5.
They were pretty easy since I had the book and the internet at my finger tips… ::cough:: yahoo answers ::cough::
There were also a few essays given as homework throughout the semester.
Your class may be different though. Who knows.
#2 by iSpeakTheTruth on July 16th, 2010
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I’ve taken and have taught online courses. The way it works is different at every institution and also could be different with individual departments or even instructors themselves.
At the top level, school systems decide what type of online software they will use. This is simply a web frontend for you to log in and to view all your relevant course material. Rarely do you need to install new software, but usually your browser needs to be modern and java and flash video capable. Usually on the web site there will be at least a file download area to retrieve materials. There may also be a forum-based area where threaded discussions take place (usually if there’s a “participation” requirement then you’re graded on your active contributions of quality to the threads — contributions should be succinct, to the point, and well thought out without rambling). For dissemination of information from the instructor this can vary a lot. Some instructors will have pre-recorded video/audio presentations very similarly to what they would have covered in a traditional class. Others wont even do that, but will just have lecture notes posted. I’ve also had classes where there was an actual “live” session going on with streaming video of the class (you could attend in person if you desired) and those who viewed remotely could type in questions from their computer.
There could also be a quiz/exam section where you take your tests, if applicable. If so, the tests may or may not have time limits on them and may only be open during a “window” of opportunity usually a given specific day or so. Also there’s usually something called a “drop box” which as the name implies, is where you submit homework, or anything that needs to be turned in. The dropbox has a timestamp so you can’t BS your way into saying you turned in the material by the due date when in fact you turned it in way too late. Some online courses may require a proctored exam to be taken, which means you must actually go in person to an authorized testing center (doesn’t necessarily have to be the campus) to take your test; this ensures you are who you say you are and do not cheat.
Chat rooms do exist but they tend to be rarely used in my experience. We used them sometimes for one class where students had collaboration projects so they could meet online to exchange ideas in real-time instead of playing email “tag”. That tends to work well. Students who collaborate and communicated well together tend to have the best group project grades.
By the way, online course software will usually have a demo dummy class site that you can log onto to see how the system works before actually going into your real “class”. You might want to check this out.
#3 by derdaktari on July 16th, 2010
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um, you went through an online class orientation did you not?
Ok, that settled, your computer has a basic browser. you MIGHT need to install Acrobat Reader (free), a FLASH and/or SHOCKWAVE player (free). You also need a way to open MSWord files (if you don’t have MS Word, you can get OpenOffice (free).
Log in to the course, follow instructions, and get ready for weekly assignments, some courses have recorded lectures (either audio or video), some have live ‘chat’ sessions, and the learning platform (e.g. Blackboard, Angel, Moodle) has built-in modules for that. You do ‘discussion’ threads: respond to others, usually via a message board.