Department of Communication Studies

Discover If Online Courses Are Right for You

Online courses suffer from the stereotype of being "easier" because they don’t require much, if any class time and they are "convenient" for a busy life style. The truth is quite the opposite. Online courses are very rigorous, intense, and place the responsibility for learning squarely in the lap of the learner. Generally speaking, you will be engaging in more writing, communicating, and group work in order to achieve the learning objectives of the course. You may have to read the entire textbook in order to learn the fundamentals that may have been provided for you in a traditional lecture situation. You may be interacting with your classmates and your teacher more often than in a face-to-face class. You may be required to use new media tools and express yourself in new ways. These are some of the trade-offs for the convenience and lack of face-to-face class time.

If you are a highly motivated, disciplined, independent learner, chances are that online learning will be a wonderful learning experience for you. However, if you tend to procrastinate, or your life is very busy and you do not encumber much time for your class work, online classes may not be as fulfilling or successful.

If you want to know a little more about learning online, please click on the links in the left hand navigation bar to find out a little more about what online courses are like, what skills you might need to successfully complete an online course, the characteristics of computer-mediated communication, and some of the technical requirements and computer skills you should have. If you have any other concerns about your ability to learn in a web environment, please contact the course instructor (see course listing or faculty listing) or Jennifer Cochrane at 317-274-2799.

What Are Online Courses Like?

Major Differences Between Online and Face-To-Face Communication Courses

The learning objectives of online courses offered by the Department of Communication Studies are similar, if not the same, to the face-to-face versions of those courses. However, because the method of delivering content and the method of human interaction is redefined in an online environment, the student may not experience learning in just exactly the same way. Examples of some major differences may be experienced in the following areas:

• INTERPERSONAL INTERACTION: Classes that normally use face-to-face discussion groups in a traditional classroom setting, may use modified virtual group interaction and group work in an online setting. If group discussion is used online, the method of interaction will be text-based and the student will experience a computer-mediated type of interpersonal communication that has different characteristics (see link to Understanding Characteristics of CMC) than interpersonal communication in a face-to-face setting. Even though one of the over-arching objectives of the Online Certificate (see CERTIFICATE link, top toolbar) is to provide the student with the opportunity to become proficient communicators in an online environment, students should consider whether or not they would benefit more from traditional face-face interaction in their program of study.
• WRITTEN COMMUNICATION CONVENTIONS: Since the primary way students communicate with instructors and with each other is text-based, there may be more writing in our online courses. Students should be sure of the preferred writing conventions that are acceptable for interpersonal communication and homework assignments in the online environment. Students must have excellent college-level writing skills to succeed in our online communication courses.
• RESPONSIBILITY FOR LEARNING: In our online courses the responsibility for learning lies squarely in the lap of the student. The role of the student includes being self-motivated 1) to purposefully interact with the learning environment and opportunities it allows and 2) to interact with the program of study, students, and the teacher in an ethical, thoughtful, pro-active, and timely fashion. In online courses your teacher becomes more of a coach or facilitator. You must be self-disciplined enough to move forward and get the job done without teacher-initiated prodding or intervention.
• TECHNICAL SAVVY: You may be asked to use software or interact in technical environments that are not familiar to you. You should investigate the syllabus of each course carefully to discover the technical requirements that may exist beyond simple email messaging and submission of attachments.

Needed Skills For Online Learning

Develop Characteristics of Successful Online Learners

Since learning through computer mediation at a distance is different than learning in a traditional real time classroom, students with the following characteristics and attitudes tend to learn more successfully and effectively in our online courses. Successful online learners are students who:

• take more responsibility for their own learning; students with a multi-modal learning style
• have a great deal of self-motivation and self-discipline and who do not procrastinate
• have good writing skills
• realize that just because an online course is more convenient does not mean that it is easier
• can read and follow instructions
• have developed successful time-management skills, strong study habits, check Oncourse every day, commit to 4-15 hours per week, per course, and complete assignments by the deadline
• enjoy and do well in the areas of critical thinking and decision-making and who pay attention to details
• are technologically savvy; who have access to good computer equipment and have back-up plans in case the technology fails
• immediately ask questions if there is a problem, a concern, a misunderstanding
• participate appropriately in online social opportunities
• are polite and respectful of others online
• can work well with others online
• use electronic communication effectively

Students who possess many of these skills tend to have excellent online learning experiences. If you don’t have all of them, don’t worry! If you are self-motivated and disciplined, you have the most important ones! You can learn many of the rest of these skills as you go.

Students who can use electronic, text-based communication effectively will experience more success than those who do not. Read on to discover several major characteristics of interpersonal electronic messaging that may contribute to your success in our online courses.

Equipment and Software Requirements

Most of the tools used in our online courses can be accessed through the technology built into relatively recent computer equipment. However, if you want to know the recommended computer specifications for use in our courses, please go to the University Information Systems webpage: Computer Guide - Recommendations and Common Questions at the following url: http://uits.iu.edu/scripts/ose.cgi?antk.def.help#already. You may want to ask your instructor if any special software is required.

It is helpful if students have the following basic computer skills in order to be successful in our online courses. These skills include but are not limited to:

• Performing an online search through University Library or with a search engine such as Google
• Accessing and sending email
• Ability to send attachments
• Navigating and using Oncourse CL (the IUPUI course management system where your course will be housed)

From the standpoint of our communication class, here are the most important things to consider as you start out:

1. Please READ everything sequentially. Don’t skip around. Read the syllabus. Read every link in the syllabus. Read the schedule, read every link in the schedule. If you do this, it will decrease the amount of questions you may have. You are responsible for all this information and the policies contained therein.
2. PREPARE AHEAD for the assignment deadlines. Managing your time around these deadlines will increase your chances of satisfying the learning objectives of the course. Our desire is to see you do well and succeed in the class. Your instructor has scheduled the learning experiences in the course in a way that will help you achieve academic success. However, much of the success depends on your tenacity and determination to succeed. Due to the intense nature of these courses, we hope that you encumber enough personal time to get done what needs to be done.
3. You should have the ability to create and name file documents and send them as attachments
4. We are firm in our determination to help you succeed in this environment. So please do not hesitate to ask for help if you need it.