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Online learning/ communicating

Preparing yourself for an online course,whether it is totally online or with some classroom
time, is a matter of asking a series of questions.Studies have shown that it takes a certain
amount of self discipline and motivation
to schedule and manage yourself through such a course.
If this is your first experience with online or distance learning,
your skill set of experiences and expectations begin with your educational goals with the
course.
What purpose does this online course serve in my education?
Think the process through!
You may have to work without face-to-face contact with your teacher,
your classmates, and possibly outside academic support

How confident am I of

• Managing my time?
• Keeping your focus on the course objectives and assignments?
• Taking responsibility for accomplishing tasks?
• Meeting unexpected problems or challenges?

The course syllabus provides information about

• Prerequisites
• Course objectives and priorities
• The teacher and language of instruction
• Course schedule
or pacing as regards timelines for completing tasks
• Procedures for submitting assignments
• Requirements for interaction
whether live or asynchronous contributions
whether in person or online via
email, text messaging, chat rooms, videoconferencing
whether discussions, feedback on projects, Q&A sessions,
whether with the instructor, course mates, experts
• Assessment & tests
Grading scales
• Academic support, whether online or in person
Study guides, help lines, reference works, research librarians
• Opportunities for feedback throughout the course.

What is this course electronic learning environment like?

• What are the course technical requirements

hardware, software, specialized applications
• What is the optimal browser, and perhaps email client
• What training is necessary for the course applications?
• What training or orientation is available for the textbook website, CD, DVD, etc.
• What training or orientation is available for the course learning system, such as
Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle, etc.

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• What training or orientation is available for additional communications options?

Conference or chat rooms, discussion boards, video conferencing, email, voicemail,
text messaging, etc.

What is my home learning environment like?

• What hardware and software do I have at home?

• What access to the Internet and email do I have?
How fast is the connection and what connection is necessary?
• What technology does this course require?
If not explicitly stated, ask the teacher
• If I should have a computer failure (disk crash or virus attack),
what is my back up?
• Can I schedule time to complete assignments without interference?
• What alternatives outside the home are available to me?

Overview for the online learner and learning

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I. As a learner, what is your skillset, IV. What components should you consider
experiences & expectations that will in a course of study?
help you succeed?
A. Course syllabus
A. Motivation 1. Objectives
1. Educational goals 2. Preconditions
2. Personal responsibility
3. Self discipline a. Prerequisites
B. Life experience b. Constraints of
C. Resource management time and
1. Task focus distance
2. Time management skills c. Paced/unpaced
3. Coping skills d. Language of
4. Communication skills (IV. instruction
B.) e. Course
interruptions/trip
II. Who will be in s, emergencies
your community of 2. Content outline
learning to help you B. Calendar
succeed? 1. Assignments/procedures
2. Tasks with priorities
A. Community 3. Communications
1. Teacher sequence
2. Teaching assistants 4. Assessment
3. Tutors C. Teacher/instructor &
4. Fellow students Teaching assistants
5. Support professionals: D. Content
Librarians, tutors, study 1. Lectures
skills professionals, lab In person and/or digital
managers, 2. Texts
B. Will you be 3. Digital texts
1. Autonomous/independent 4. Course website
2. Social/fitting 5. Course management
in/connected system
C. What are your E. Evaluation/feedback
communication skills?
1. Individual: a. Tests
email/voicemail/text b. Assignments' grades
messaging c. Communications with
2. Group: video conference/ teacher and learning
chat rooms/discussion community
boards B. Academic support
D. Netiquette
i. Online
II. What are the components you resources/library/helplines
need in your electronic learning ii. Study guides and
environment? strategies
A. Institutional resource centers
training/tutorials iii. Tutors/professional
B. At home assistants
C. Course learning system
D. Textbook website

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E. Technical requirements
1. applications
requirements
browser, email,
communications
2. hardware
ISP: access to Internet &
email

3. Viruses &
computer/network
failures

Communicating clearly on the Internet

without creating misunderstandings is a challenge.
One problem is that you haven't any facial expressions, body language, or environment to
help you express yourself;
another that there is little "give and take" for developing what you mean to say or are
discussing

These guidelines hopefully will help you:

• Be clear
Make sure the subject line (e-mail) or title (web page) reflects your content
• Use appropriate language
If you have a question on whether or not you are too emotional,
don't send the message, save it, and review it "later"
Remember: no one can guess your mood, see your facial expressions, etc.
All they have are your words, and your words can express the opposite of what you
feel
Don't use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS--it's equal to shouting or screaming
• Be brief
If your message is short, people will be more likely to read it
Refer to the Guide on "Writing for the Internet"
• Make a good impression
Your words and content represent you; review/edit your words and images before
sending
• Be selective on what information
you put in an e-mail or on a web site:
Information on the Internet is very public, and can seen by anyone in the world
including criminals, future employers, and governments
• Forward e-mail messages you receive
only with permission of the sender
• Remember you are not anonymous
What you write in an e-mail and web site can be traced back to you
• Consider others
If you are upset by what you read or see on the Internet, forgive bad spelling or
stupidity;
If you think it violates the law, forward it to the FBI or your state's Attorney General
• Obey copyright laws
Don't use others' images, content, etc. without permission

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Don't forward e-mail, or use web site content without permission

Visit the Library of Congress' Guide on "Copyright Basics"
• Cite others' work you use
Refer to the Guide on "Citation"
• Use distribution lists appropriately
and with permission
• Do not send SPAM
SPAM is posting or e-mailing unsolicited e-mail, often advertising messages, to a
wide audience
(another way of thinking of it is electronic junk mail)
• Don't forward chain letters
If you receive one, notify your web master
• Don't respond to "flames" or personal attacks
Contact your web master for action and referral

I. The Problem

The Internet is a relatively new and untested information and communication medium. As
such, we need to evaluate, expand, and adapt existing criteria for evaluating content, as
well as develop new techniques.

The Internet is a ubiquitous medium: aside from questions of affordability, it is very

pervasive in both authorship and audience. A web address is now an international
information and persuasion medium

The Internet can very well be an unregulated and un-regulatable medium. As such, it is the
visitor to a website who must have both tools and responsibility to discern quality websites.

II.. Examples of the problem

Have you been to New Hartford, Minnesota? (Probably only virtually...)

What do you think of the distinguished academic study "Feline Reactions to Bearded Men"
by Catherine Maloney, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut, Sarah J. Lichtblau,
University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois Nadya Karpook,
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Carolyn Chou, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Anthony Arena-DeRosa, Harvard University, Cambridge,
Massachusetts?

III. Eight basic types of website purposes:

1. Personal with biographic data, often called "vanity pages"

2. Promotional to sell a product
3. "Current" to provide extremely up-to-date information, as for newspapers' sites
4. Informational to share information on a particular topic or hobby
5. Advocacy/persuasive as propaganda to convert you to particular point of view
6. Instructional to teach a unit or course of study;
7. Registrational to register for courses, information, and/or products, accumulate a
database of, and simplify communication with, registrants
8. Entertainment!

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Characteristics of 5 types (outside links):

• personal
• business/marketing
• news
• informational
• advocacy

IV. Contexts of website evaluation:

header * body * footer * navigation

V. Five evaluative guidelines from the School of Journalism & Library Science:

Authority Who is responsible for the page?

What are their qualifications and associations, and can you verify them?

Check the footer

for name of the web page author, his/her credentials and title, organizational affiliation. Is
the information verifiable?

Currency Are dates clear when the website was first created and edited?

Check the footer

for when the website was created, and when last edited.

Check the content

for news items, indications that the site is actively maintained,
acknowledgements/responses to visitors

Coverage What is the focus of the site? Are there clear headings to illustrate an outline of
the content? Is the navigation within the website clear?

Check the header

for a clear title and web site description

Check the content

for headings and keywords

Check the navigation

to reflect content outline within the web site

Objectivity Are biases clearly stated? Are affiliations clear?

Check the content

for statement of purpose,
to determine the type of web site and potential audience
for outside links for information external to the website
for graphics and cues for affiliations

Check the header/footer and URL/domain (.gov .com .edu)

to determine organizational source of website and how this reflects on content type

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Accuracy Are sources of information and factual data listed, and available for cross-
checking

Check the content

for accuracy of spelling, grammar, facts(!), and consistency within website

Check content for a bibliographic

variety of websites (external links), of electronic media (electronic databases of references,
established (print & on-line) journals, of electronic indexes (ERIC), and of books for
comparative/evaluative purposes