Do you have the
necessary learning skills?
| An online student needs
to be a good reader, to be able to
communicate well by reading and writing, and
needs to be able to ask for help if
something is not clearly understood. |
Reading, Writing and Question
Asking Proficiency
In
addition to technical skills, online classes depend
heavily on reading and writing proficiency. While many
classes use audio and video to deliver course materials,
still most communication from your instructor and among
your classmates, will be in writing. You will be
assigned research papers, essays, reports or need to
write discussion board postings and emails.
Furthermore, when you do not
understanding something, you must not hesitate to ask
your instructor for clarification. If you are in the
dark, it is easy to fall behind in your work. If you
have difficulty asking for explanations online classes
may be difficult for you.
Do these statements about reading,
writing and questioning apply to you?
- I like reading.
- I can read a text book, a
magazine article, or a product manual and usually
understand it without having to ask for help.
- I don’t mind my classmates seeing
what I write.
- I feel comfortable in a learning
environment where most of the directions I receive
are in writing.
- I know how to prepare for a
research paper on my own.
- I know how to make a
bibliography.
- I don’t mind asking questions if
I don’t understand something.
- I don’t mind asking more than
once if I don’t get a clear explanation the first
time.
- If I don’t get an answer to my
question right away, I feel very uncomfortable.
- I am patient in pursuing the
answers I need to my questions.
If so, you should be successful in an
online class.
