Qualities of a Successful Online Student

This section borrowed from the Edmonds CC website sums it up nicely.

Successful Online Students

Students who are successful in the online environment are committed to their course work. Online classes do offer convenience and flexibility but they can be more demanding of time and energy than regular classes.

Online students need to:

  • Use technology properly
  • Log in regularly to participate in their classes, usually at least three times per week or more
  • Plan their time well to ensure enough time to study and complete assignments
  • Exercise self-discipline in order to complete assignments on time
  • Take notes as they study
  • Commit 10 - 15 hours per week per five-credit class
  • Enjoy communicating in writing and reading the writing of others
  • Be able to work with others to complete projects
  • "Speak up" to their instructors when problems arise
  • Quality input into your class is often an essential element of the online classroom experience. You must be willing to share your ideas, carefully consider your responses to the sharing of others, and be prepared, occasionally, to have your ideas challenged.

Computer & Connection Requirements

To be successful as an online student, it is important to have a computer system that can adequately support you in the tasks that you need to accomplish or have access to one you can use.

You will need to have a reliable connection to the Internet. Broadband connections are encouraged for courses using real-time chat and collaboration tools. Review the course syllabus for specific requirements. You can set up a connection to the Internet by signing up with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). There are many different ISPs available to choose from. Your local phone or cable company may offer Internet access.

You will need to have an e-mail account. Most ISPs will provide you with an e-mail account as part of their Internet access package. If you are not sure if you have e-mail, check with your ISP. You can also use free e-mail services such as Yahoo! mail and Hotmail.  Also, Clover Park creates an email account for you within two days of your enrollment.  Need more information go to Module 2 Online Support Information and click on Student Email. Please see the Library Staff for help with activation process if you need it. This will be used as you primary contact method from the school.  You are encouraged to use it as well for your online class.

Basic Computer Skills

Online learning challenges some students without strong computer skills or with computer equipment that is not working properly. Here are some preliminary questions to ask yourself to see if you need to brush up on your skills.

  • Can you create, save, find and manage files on your computer?

  • Do you know how to install software on your computer if you need to ?

  • Do you currently have an email address?

  • Do you know how to send and receive email attachments?

  • Can you access email and the World Wide Web at least five times a week?

  • Do you know how to "paste" text from a word processor into an email?

  • If you do not have your own computer, can you get to campus to use the computer labs or arrange to use some other computer at least 2 hours per day?

If you hesitated to answer YES to any of the questions above, you may find the eLearning environment more challenging. We have a number of tutorials and links below that can help you get ready for online.