"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #18

Did you know that you might have special virtual guests in your courses?

It could happen anytime. These special guests can range from the Principal/President of your school to authors and celebrities. So always be on your best behavior. :-)

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #17

Is there a chance that you will learn new words and phrases at relate directly to the online learning environment?

Yes, as you know cyber space has brought many new words to our dictionaries. Online learning is no different. To learn what "LMS" or "upload" and many other terms mean go to ttp://utexas.edu/cc/cit/de/deprimer/glossary.html or http://www.wested.org/tie/dlrn/course/glossary.html.

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #16

Could you possibly meet many people from other places, backgrounds, and experiences in an online course?

Yes. Online courses bring about a unique environment since it's in cyberspace. So you could be in a course with students in other cities, states and or countries. Enjoy the experience. :-)

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #15

Is it important for you as a student to keep track of your added courses, dropped courses and or audits?

Yes, you should keep track of adding of courses, dropping of courses, and every grade. See, depending on when you drop a course depends on the outcome of your grade or no grade. Most schools will allow you a window of time in which to drop a course without being charged for it. If you exceed that window of time you will be responsible for cost of some portion of the course if not all of the cost. And if you wait too late to drop the course without doing any work the letter "W" (withdrawn) could appear on your transcript for the course. The "W" will not affect your GPA. If you end up with and "I", for incomplete, you will be responsible to complete the course with a grade of 75% (C) or better. This arrangement will usually need to be cleared with the instructor of the course. There is a chance that you can "Audit" a course but this may only occur when the course has an enrollment that is less than the maximum number allowed to enroll in the course. When in doubt about any of these items check with your registrar.

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #14

Did you know that most online courses list all of the course norms and instructions at the very "start" of the course?

Yes, with online courses every assignment, test, forum (if any)and lessons are available from the first day the courses is accessible. Other information such as the syllabus, course norms (rules), support documents and links will be available as well. The best part is that this material is ALWAYS there (unless your instructor takes it down) so that you can always refer back to the material whenever you need it.

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #13

Did you know that your grade from your online course will be recorded on your transcript just the same as any other course? Yes, a course, is a course, is a course, and is recorded just the same as any other course you've signed up for and took part in at any school. There is not disinction between an online course or a traditional on campus course when listed on your transcript. The most important part is the grade you earn. :-)

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point# 12

Did you know that Financial Aide is available for online courses just as there is for traditional in-house courses? In most cases as long as the institution of learning, for which you may chose to attend is accredited, loans and grants are available.

Visit: http://www.finaid.org, http://www.estudentloan.com/ and http://www.ed.gov

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #10

Are online courses expensive?

When you add it up - online courses may be cheaper than you think. By the time you add up the funds you save you'd be surprised. Well, you save on gas, you save time because you don't have to drive or ride anywhere to get to your class. You can work in your PJs - no special clothes to buy. And what is charged for the course is used to pay instructors and technology to administer the coures. NOW - if the class is less expensive compared to most other schools' courses check to quality and additional benefits offered by the school for the course. Remember - you get what you pay for.

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #10

Is The Time Zone Important?????

Please remember that your instructor may be in one state and you in another. There may be a time zone different. If you are in Minnesota (Central Standard Time) and your instructor is in California, (Pacific Standard Time) in which you would be lucky because midnight to your instructor is 2:00am for you and you can still get your assignmemt in on time. But let's says that your instructor is in New York (Eastern Standard Time) and your assignment is due by midnight and you still live in Minnesota - You will need to have that assignment in by 11:00pm your time as New York is 1 hour ahead of you. This is even more important if you has a live chat or event with your entire class. (This would be synchronous event). If you have the time zone wrong you'll miss your event and BOOM!! your grade will reflect it.

So, check your computer's time for the correct time and time zone. If you use Windows the time will be displayed in the lower right hand corner on the taskbar. right click on the time, locate the sentence "Adjust Date/Time"

You can adjust the date the time and the time zone.

also there are website you can visit to check the time zone for areas around the world. Such as: "The World Clock - http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/, and if you want it in map version go to : hhttp://www.timezonecheck.com/

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #8

So what's a Synchronous course/event?There will be times when your instructor may schedule an event such as a Webinar, or live chat in which ALL students are to be a part of the assignment at the same time. This is a synchronous. Oh, be prepared - make sure you have read the assignment ahead of time as your instructor will probably give you a grade for participation and preparation.

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #8.

What is "Asynchronous Learning?"

This is the ability to chose when you want to log in to your course and do the work. You don't have to be online at a certain time to converse with your instructor or other students. You post your work by the schedule your instructor sets (You may also be allowed to have input on this schedule). PLEASE NOTE: Not all online courses are self-paced, which means that there may be a set timeline for work submissions and the closure of the course.

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #7

I bet that you know that online courses are flexible and convenient. :-) Because you do not have to be in a classroom occupying a chair to meet the city, state, and government mandates, you can work on your assignments at anytime of the day or night. (Just make sure you submit your work on time)You can learn at your own pace. Just think if you have to work at certain hours, which could have cut into your class time - no worry, there's no class room to be in at a certain time.

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #6

I'm sure you know by now that an online class is very different from a "face-to-face" (F2F) class. Self-discipline and self-enforced time management will make the difference in you - the learner's success. Even though the course format is the same (lecture material, quizzes,forums, papers to be submitted and tests)it is up to you to learn it and asked questions if you don'tunderstand it.

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #5

Online courses are accessible anytime, anywhere, any day. No more excuses. :-) You can do it at the beach, you can do it in China, and you can even do it in a storm. All you need is a computer and internet access. Try your local coffe shop, library or even you gas station. I know that the local repair and gas station in my neighborhood allowed me to access its internet while they worked on my car. Was that neat or what. :-)

NOTE - And if you are using someone else's computer make sure you have a means to download or save any new work you to creat. Keeping a tumbdrive handy is a good thing to do.

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #4

College websites

In order to keep track of the colleges you are interested in you may want to locate its homepage and then add it to your "Favorites" or do what is known as a "Bookmark".

After locating the college's homepage, find the gold star with the green "+" (plus sign in it)on the taskbar of your browswer. Click "Add to Favorites". Now, once the window opens click "new folder" and give the folder a name like "My colleges of interest" and click "add".

Finding the right college, course and instructor will make all the difference in your desire to learn.

"100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know"

Point #3.

Question? Do I have to take a class on campus these days to complete a diploma or even a college degree program?

The answer is : No. Online education has become more acceptable as institutions wish to meet the needs of the students with careers and other pursuits.