Who Takes Online Classes?

Who takes online courses?

• Working professionals
• Returning adults
• Working students
• Stay at home moms/dads
• High School students getting a head start on college
• Students looking for a cheaper general education class that will transfer to a 4 year university out of state/country/county
• Think about others you may know who are taking or who have taken a class online before. Can you think of any others?

 

Factors to Consider

• Students may find that an online class is not for them or not what they expected. Why?
• Time Management
• Suddenly students are not required to be in class physically.
• This has different effects on different types of people.
• Students must learn how to plan their life around their learning schedule or vice-versa.

 

Time Management Solutions

• Recommend to your students to allocate a time in which they can work on their class. 2 hours a day-everyday, 4 hours a day- 3 times a week, etc.
• Not all activities in online classes require the student to be online at all times. Students can print out lectures to read, or cover chapter readings without being online. Encourage them to take their work with them if they feel more comfortable that way.

 

Motivation

• Students become self-paced learners online so they have to be very motivated.
• Falling behind can become an intimidating feat to overcome.
• The online learner is a new breed… one that is self guided rather than constructed. You may need to nudge them in the right direction initally to get them rolling. If you haven’t heard from them or seen them online, a quick email usually will get them back on track.

 

Technology Skills

• Online classes assume basic computer skills and system requirements.
• Students who do not possess the technology skills to take an online class often times end up spending more time learning how to use the technology rather than learning the content.
• Slow computers or connections can make a students’ online experience miserable.
  Solutions
• Require a pre-requisite survey that demonstrates technology skills prior to entering the course
• Explicitly state computer system requirements that students will need in order to access and be successful in your course.

 

Learning Styles

Your students learn in many different ways. As a general rule, the more “real” of an experience you can make it, the better.