ION Professional eLearning Programs

  As the facilitator of an online course, it is important that you clearly communicate your expectations to your students. In your online course, you may want to include reference links to resources and tips for your students to use to help them be more successful online learners. Here are some tips for success that you should share with your students: Online Conferencing Take full advantage of online conferencing. Whatever you can do to avoid feeling isolated is extremely important, and participating in online conferences will give you access to other students who are taking the same course as you at the same time. Participate Whether you are working alone or in a group, contribute your ideas, perspective, and comments on the subject you are studying, and read about those of your classmates. Your instructor is not the only source of information in your course—you can gain great insight from your peers and they can learn from you as well. Take it Seriously Take the program and yourself

  This article has been reprinted here with permission from the author. John E. Reid, Jr. Ph.D. Coordinator of Distance Education Technology Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw Georgia. Dee Baxley and Russell Smith would be the first to tell you that taking a college course over the Internet was one of the best experiences of their academic lives. As students enrolled in Shorter College’s Professional Program in Marietta, Georgia both agree that having the opportunity to learn by navigating the Internet has taught them more about their course of study then they could have ever imagined. Baxley is an adult student on a mission. With just under three years for completion of her General Education degree, the administrative assistant for The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta believes that exposure to an online class has helped significantly with time management. With limited access to local library resources on weekends, Baxley is happy that world-wide choices at anytime provide her with some v

  Like the facilitator, the online student possesses unique qualities. The online students of today consist primarily of working people who are trying to better their opportunities. This however is changing, as more and more young and older people become aware of the online model. The traditional school will never go away, but the virtual classroom is a significant player in today’s educational community. Corporations are using the online model to train technical professionals while private and public universities redefine the world as their markets. The market for students is expanding rapidly. In general, the online student should possess the following qualities: Be open minded about sharing life, work, and educational experiences as part of the learning process. Introverts as well as extroverts find that the online process requires them to utilize their experiences. This forum for communication eliminates the visual barriers that hinder some individuals in expressing themselves. In

  Regular and substantive interaction in regard to online education is the level of interaction and engagement between students and instructors.  It ensures the education provided to the student is equivalent to that of a traditional on-ground course, and not a self-paced or self-study course The University of Nevada has a great resource on this subject More resources can be found on these sites. https://www.thetechedvocate.org/increasing-student-engagement-in-higher-education/ https://wcet.wiche.edu/frontiers/2022/11/08/regular-substantive-interaction-update-where-do-we-go/