These are some questions that you should ask before you enroll in an online course:
- Do I know how to use email, especially student email?
- Can I know how to send an attachment by e-mail?
- Do I routinely, i.e., daily, check my student e-mail? Or have I set up my student email to forward to another email account that I check regularly?
- Do I know how to cut and paste text?
- Am I comfortable reading material on a computer?
- Am I comfortable listening to material on a computer, usually as a mp3 file?
- Can I follow links on a web page? Can I open and close browser windows?
- Can I use a search engine on the web to find sites of interest to me or useful
in the course?
- Do I know how to use a web-based discussion? If not, am I willing to learn? You can read the instructions for using Blackboard
in the course directions; username/password information is on
the course Help page.
- Can I find college
technical support if I need it? Can I
find technical support for my home computer or e-mail provider if I need it?
- Can I stick to a defined
work schedule?
- Am I able to budget my time every week to work on my assignments? Let me repeat that, am I able to set up a time schedule for the course? You may wish to watch the short video on developing a time management schedule for your course work.
- Do I need face-to-face contact with an instructor to motivate me to do my assignments?
- You may also wish to check ELI's Smartmeasure to see if you are ready for distance learning.
|