Online students begin their academic careers like many students--with sheer excitement. Embarking on a dream and making an investment in themselves, they strive for success. While a variety of reasons draw them to online courses, these students may find the non-traditional classroom unexpectedly challenging. Technical skills, time management, and an understanding of personal learning preferences can often overwhelm first-time online students.
A reference text, Power Up frankly discusses the realities of online learning and highlights the resources available to online students. The tips and techniques outlined in the text help students to succeed in the virtual classroom. Students will discover how to regulate their learning paces and processes--skills that will serve them well beyond their online education.
Through proactive advice, authentic experiences, and constructive commentary, this book is accessible and appropriate for all students entering college, as well as for high school students engaged in online learning. It offers supplemental support material to schools and faculty entering the online/hybrid environment.
Among them, the authors share more than 30 years of educational experience, having taught new students at more than six different universities, and possessing an intimate understanding of the theory and practice of impacting student performance and retention. As all three authors are former online students themselves, they also have developed numerous online student success courses.
Feature include:
- Power Up Sections -- objectives in each chapter for students to acquire key concepts for success.
- More Power to You -- suggested online search terms and a brief list of individual websites that students can explore to obtain further information on relevant chapter topics.
"The strength of this text lies with the authors' hands-on, real-world knowledge of the tools, techniques and strategies helpful to online learners. A very powerful text." Dr. James M. Wood Green Mount College
"This is an excellent supplementary text, providing an overview of the constructs related to learner readiness." Mac Adkins Troy University
"This text is simple, short, and has a wide array of perspectives that really give a deeper understanding for the students." Katie Rosenthal Ashford University Visit the Student Success Supersite
(www.prenhall.com/success), where students and faculty can find an array of resources.
Start strong. Finish stronger.
www.MyStudentSuccessLab.com
Looking for a practical, straightforward guide that focuses on helping students acclimate to the online classroom faster? Students are offered key information and suggestions for succeeding as online learners. The material covers key topics with an online spin, such as motivation, time management, and self-knowledge. It also discusses topics which are particularly relevant to online learners: the online classroom and community, the basics of working in the online classroom, communicating online, strategies for successful online learning, computer concerns, and creating the ideal personalized study environment for the online student. The book is grounded in theories around learning styles, personality profiles and current research is applied to online learning.
Brief Table of Contents
1. Becoming an Online Learner
2. Know Thyself: Self Discovery for the Online Learner
3. Motivation and Goal-setting
4. The Commitments of an Online Student: Managing your Priorities
5. The Online Classroom and Community
6. Types of Online Classrooms
7. Communicating Online: Who, What, When, How, Why
8. The Basics of Working in the Online Classroom: Reading, Typing, and Writing
9. Thinking and Researching Online
10. Strategies for Successful Online Learning
11. Computer Concerns for the Online Learner
12. Creating the Ideal Personalized Study Environment for the Online Student
13. Preparing for the First Day of Class
14. Maintaining your Online Success
Appendix 1: Financing Your Education
Appendix 2: Understanding the Importance of Accreditation
Index
INTRO Why Online Learning
Brief introduction to online learning (charts — very basic, easy-to-read information in this chapter)
- how it has grown over the years - statistic on the number of students in online classrooms (can be found NCES) and the number of schools offering online programs (NCES), both traditional and nontraditional schools.
- information on what a degree can do monetarily for a person (idea being to introduce the reader to these concepts and begin to alleviate concerns regarding diploma mills, online degrees not being worth anything, accreditation and what it means (refer to appendix) etc.)
- information on employers who hire graduates of online programs
- some strong testimonials from students who have had fantastic experiences with online programs
- information on future trends
- reinforce the desire to go to school.
1. Becoming an Online Learner
Know what to expect being a student
Myths and facts about learning online
Assess your readiness to be an online student
Learn how to change your attitude and prepare for success
Discussion on what it means to be a student, in general, but specifically an online student. Why you can finish any
degree program you attempt, if you follow the tips in this book.
2. Know Thyself: Self Discovery for the Online Learner
Understand who you are: your strengths, intelligences, learning style, personality
Understand how this contributes to your online learning experience
Information and self-assessment tools on:
personality
multiple intellegences
peak/valley times
learning styles
3. Motivation and Goal-Setting
Uncovering your reasons for becoming a student
Overcoming concerns
Setting goals
Identifying motivators
Journaling for success
4. The Commitments of an Online Student - Managing your Priorities
Time management
Stress management
Measuring your efficiency
5. The Online Classroom and Community
For each: roles, responsibilities, when to contact
Your instructor
Your classmates
Your project teams
Your advisor
Understanding about:
The school — bookstore, library, resources available
Your Program
To be successful, you must spend time getting to know your classroom — do not be afraid to push buttons. Do not be afraid
to call Tech Support.
6. Types of Online Classrooms
Common platforms for online classes
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous
Exploring and Navigating your online classroom
System tutorials
7. Communicating Online- Who, What, When, How, Why
Synchronized and Asynchronized communication
Methods of communicating online
Online Communication Technique
Knowing what not to share — personal information
If you take the time to read and understand, you will see what a rich environment online learning can be. This is because
everyone must be involved, so the diversity is rich. One person cannot dominate- everyone has a fair chance.
8. Working in the Online Classroom
Reading skills in an online environment
Typing skills — a necessity
Writing
Research and Critical Thinking
Studying
9. Thinking and Researching Online
Understand how to think
Critical thinking - Use six steps for critical thinking
Internet Research
Academic integrity and plagiarism
10. Strategies for Successful Online Learning
Learning to accept feedback
Learning to give feedback
Speaking your mind
Pacing yourself and understanding time limits on the class
Having an open mind
Study skills
11. Computer skills for Online Learning
Hardware/Software
Common Programs
Internet connections
Creating and formatting documents — tables, page number, footers and headers
Attaching documents
Setting up preferences in your system — signature line, spell checker, when replying original message remains, etc.
12. Creating the Ideal Personalized Study Environment
The importance of a well-organized work space
Ergonomics
Materials
Working remotely (travel, coffee shop, etc.)
13. Preparing for the First Day of Class
Basking in the excitement of being a student — the journey of education
Making a strong/good first impression with both the instructor and colleagues
Ordering books
Understanding expectations
The class syllabus
Information to have on hand
14. Maintaining Your Online Success
Managing all the multiple details — what assignment is worth too much to miss or be late?
Preparing for the next class — assuring you stay enrolled
Creating a back up plan — plan for both computer or natural disasters
Putting into motion items learned from this book