Distance Learning Guide
Distance Learning is any situation where the students are physically separated from the teacher. There will be interactive learning educational experiences where the learners participate in the event by asking questions and working on a project together. In this context, students are active rather than passive learners. There will be an internet activity in which the students will be given a list of URLs to search for facts. The duration of the course will be from 12 to 14 weeks and the interaction between student and the instructor will be by e-mail; the course communication tools, possibly a CD ROM; printed journal articles and videos. There is a professor and a class of 5 to 15 learners. The course has a specific beginning and ending. A schedule of the course is posted on line so that students will know when assignments are due. Students usually have at least one week to do the assignment, sometimes more and sometimes less. Students will not be required to meet online at any specific time or date, therefore you may work at a time that suits your schedule, 24/7. As you would expect in conventional studies, these distance learning program lessons build on each other as the course progresses.
After registration, you will receive detailed instructions for logging on to the WebCT course site including your "User ID" and "Password". This affords you the opportunity to log on before the course actually begins, giving you adequate time to visit the course site to become acquainted with the features and to make "tune-ups" to your browser for optimum performance. You can also, get acquainted with your classmates by posting an autobiography of yourself and then reading and commenting on their backgrounds and expectations.
More detailed instructions are posted on the course's "home page". By registering early, you can if you choose, review the instructions, check out the various tools on the web site such as the calendar, private mail, bulletin or discussion board, and review the syllabus which contains the course requirements. You will be provided with the phone number and e-mail address of the Fairfield WebCT coordinator who can assist you if you have difficulty logging-on or navigating around the site and with the phone/fax number and e-mail address of the instructor.
You will also receive by Priority Mail, a course reading materials packet that the instructor has prepared for you. From time to time, the instructor(s) will assign specific reading lessons from the packet for you to complete. You should count on reading 25 to 50 pages per week.
From time to time you may be asked to search the internet or log on to a specific URL to review an article and then react to it, posting your reaction on the discussion board for reading and discussion by other classmates. The instructor will post lecture notes for you to review and they will remain on the site thoughout the course, for you to review if necessary. Also, this enables you to be briefly out of town and upon return you can easily catch up. So students who have to travel or be away from home for an extended period can continue their course work from where ever they have access to the internet.
Other requirements may ask you to view a selected video and then respond to questions that will let you and the instructor assess what you have learned. Feedback from the instructor will assist in this. All classes include final projects and tests as you would expect in traditional study programs.
Prerequisites:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer: version 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0
- Netscape Navigator: 6.2x and 7.0
- AOL: 7.0 and 8.0
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