Distance Education Online - The Virtual Classroom and You - What to Expect

Distance Education Online - The Virtual Classroom and You - What to Expect

1. Communicate with your professors via email and chat
Although online course content is generally the same as traditional course work, many prospective students worry that by taking courses online, they will not receive the benefit of personal interaction with their instructors and fellow classmates. Students who take courses online usually do not meet face-to-face with instructors and classmates; however, communication via email or online discussions often proves to be just as rewarding.

Online classes are generally hosted on a secure website. The instructor posts lecture materials and assignments to this site, and there is usually a bulletin board or other discussion forum where students may post comments and questions. The instructor may occasionally designate a specific log-in time for an online chat session, but otherwise you may log in and work at any time. Components of a virtual classroom include corresponding by various means:

Email
Instant Messaging (IM)
Streaming Video
Video Conferencing
For the definitions of these, or other online learning terms, please refer to the online education glossary.

If you are new to online learning, don’t feel like you have to know all of this now. After enrolling, you will receive detailed instructions on how to set up your computer prior to the classes starting. Online schools also have technical support for you to contact and get help as necessary to enhance your online learning experience.

2. Hand in your assignments via email
Using email lets you correspond with classmates, instructors, teaching assistants or groups within a course and is an extremely common practice for turning in homework assignments in Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint.

3. Participate in colloquiums
A colloquium is a prearranged meeting or seminar usually led by a different lecturer on a different topic at each meeting. In many cases, these are used to enhance a virtual classroom experience and can either be offered through video conferencing, video streaming or on a designated campus site.

4. Engage in Blackboard conversations
Conversations using blackboard chat sessions and discussion board sessions can be recorded and archived for the course as part of the blackboard archiving process. A blackboard conversation includes responses, which are the back and forth messages logged to a thread or topic of the thread. Think of this as if you were in a traditional classroom where everyone asks questions. With a thread or blog conversation, the questions and answers about a certain subject are simply typed out for you to read online when time permits.

5. Expect to read a lot and buy textbooks
Depending on the online courses you take, you will still be required to purchase textbooks and will still have reading assignments. Also, as there is a lot more information online, today’s virtual students may be referred to websites for supplemental information. It is the discussion of this material that takes place online as opposed to in a traditional classroom.

6. Working with your advisor and working with classmates
Distance learning requires that you communicate well with your teachers and your classmates. It's essential that online students participate in class. Ask questions and talk to your teacher and academic advisor if you're experiencing problems. Your academic advisor will help you plan your curriculum and act as a guide for any issues that may come up. However, if you're only enrolling in one or two online courses, you probably won't work with an advisor.