Tips for Online Students

Technology Literacy:

Online communication is different than communication in the face to face environment—we have all had emails misunderstood, or text messages that confuse the receivers. It is easy to misinterpret someone. Online you cannot see non-verbal signals, such as facial expressions or body language. You cannot hear tone of voice or gauge emotion. Thus, it is much easier to be misunderstood online. All of us need to take care in our online communications to accurately convey our message. Read and reread your message.

Create your discussion posts and replies in MSWord; check for spelling, grammar, content and tone, before you post to the discussion group.
Do not post or write emails on impulse – if you are feeling emotional, wait and send your communication the next day, when you have had a chance to reread it and evaluate the tone. You will nearly always find yourself revising your initial message.
Online communication, through email, posts, and other mediums will only increase. We all need to be able to communicate professionally.

Some things that may help:

Wait a day before replying to posts or emails – go back and reread them and then answer
Give people the benefit of the doubt
Follow common communication courtesies – salutation, please and thank you, respectful tone, academic language rather than slang
Be careful of what you write – reread, check spelling etc. Be courteous.
Help each other. We all need help sometimes. You may want to meet a classmate outside of class and work together. If you miss the socialization of a traditional class, find a way to replace it.

Pitfalls

It is easy to fall behind in an online course because you do not have the weekly or bi-weekly class ‘appointment’.

Schedule time each day to work on your course materials.
Be aware of late policies, understand where and when and how to turn in work.
Start early on the week’s work so if you have problems or questions you have time to get help.
Know how and who to ask for help – email, questions forum
Have a study buddy or peer-share partner for support and help.
Communicate with classmates.
Don’t wait until you need help to know how to get it.
And keep in mind, most (90%) of questions can be answered by reading and rereading the instructions and syllabus.

Computer Problems

I know they happen—more often than we care to think about—so Be Prepared. Have a backup plan. Computer problems such as getting a virus, hard drive crashes, no Internet access etc. are not ever accepted as excuses for late or incomplete work.

BE SURE TO HAVE A BACK-UP COMPUTER. Chances are you will have technical problems at some point during the semester. Know the hours and locations of labs at a local college, school, library or other place where you can get access to a computer, etc. Print out each week’s work so you can work offline if needed. Have a list of friends or relatives who will let you use their computer.

Have a plan.

Do not underestimate how long the work will take you each week. If you rush through it the day it is due your grade and learning will suffer. An online class takes a lot more work on your own to replace the hours you are not spending in the classroom. Allow plenty of time, start early, get your work in on time. Plan ahead.

Be responsible. Give yourself a chance to succeed. If you have never taken an online class, then expect the first few weeks to be very demanding. You need to give yourself time to get used to learning this way.

Online learning requires the learner to take responsibility.

Adapted from David Georgina, MNSU Mankato
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