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Should I take a course online?
If you have never taken an online course before, we strongly recommend that you go through the Online Assessment System for Online Students at http://www.ilcco.net/oasis. This will help you decide if you're ready for online instruction.
A number of students look at online courses as a chance to take a class and have "fun" rather than sitting in a "dull old classroom." Online course can indeed be fun. They offer you the tremendous possibilities of the World Wide Web. Please remember that with the freedom of working in your own home comes responsibility. You have to be disciplined enough to set a schedule and stick to it. Your instructor will expect you to do all of the reading required in a campus class, plus use the web efficiently and effectively, plus communicate your thoughts back to the instructor in writing. One of our online students said that he "wishes all of DACC's courses could be online," yet at the same time he acknowledged that the course was a good deal of work.
What amount of time should I build into my schedule?
An informal study at the University of Central Florida found that students who spent the most time in the course, that is, visiting the course web page and working on the web, tended to get the highest course grades. I think you know that it is sometimes difficult to stay focused on the web. This is part of the terrible beauty of being online: there are so many possibilities. You have to build the time to do both your assigned reading work and your assigned web work. Plus, you need to build in the time to compose your assignments. For example, a typical Political Science module will ask you to read a chapter of a text, read two issue articles, take a quiz online, and write a response to an issue for the entire class to view and debate.
What computer skills do I need?
At DACC online courses are open to all students, regardless of their computer skills. It does help if you are somewhat familiar with the web, and that you have basic keyboarding skills. We are willing to help you, but you have to take it upon your self to acquire the basic technical skills necessary to complete the course. Most courses require writing every week, so it is helpful if you are familiar with a word processing program.
What if I have more questions?
You may always call or e-mail the instructor of the course that interests you. If you have basic questions about using the internet, the "Microsoft Guide to the Internet" is helpful. A number of sites try to give you an idea of what is involved in learning off-campus. One you might find interesting comes from "Channel 3000" out of Wisconsin. To see the possibilities of online assignments, visit the homepage for our online Political Science textbook. Online learning affords you the tremendous opportunity to control your time. We hope you consider all of the ramifications of the online adventure, and come and join us at DACC.
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