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Foreword
When I think of the sixty online instructors that I have supervised since 1996, at the top of the list are Dr. Susan Manning and Kevin Bowersox-Johnson. Both are award-winning online instructors with over twenty years of experience designing and teaching online courses and certificates using a consistent application of proven best practices in online learning.
Above all, the authors understand how to coach and mentor newbie online students in becoming proficient online learners.
As a Coordinator of Online Professional Development, I have watched technology tools dramatically improve and advance. Yet I continue to hear instructors and trainers say the same thing today as in past years: Instructors wish remote learners understood the expectations of learning online and had a step-by-step success guide.
This book is a valuable compilation of lessons learned and provides a resource for new virtual learners to navigate the complexities of online learning. It answers questions about how to make the experience produce meaningful learning that sticks for life. Also, it includes how to locate legitimate online training and avoid scams.
Following the steps in this book will help result in the completion of an online micro-course, boot camp, certificate, virtual corporate sales training, or employee onboarding, as well as a full degree program.
Yes, you can Google and get the same stuff online, but this book provides specific strategies to leverage learning now and in the future as adults find themselves changing careers and retooling for the future.
Online Learning For Dummies is a book that will guide and motivate you to continue learning conveniently from your tablet or laptop or even your smartphone!
Joan Vandervelde
Online Professional Development Coordinator, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Owner, InstructOnline.com LLC
Introduction
According to the Babson Survey Research Group, online enrollments had grown for 14 years consecutively. Nearly every college student accesses course documents and resources via online portals. One in three learners in higher education takes at least one fully online course. That’s a lot of online learning! And, considering that college is no longer limited to advantaged 18- to 22-year-olds, that means a lot of those online learners may be older and less familiar with the tools that come with the territory. That’s why we’ve written this book — for the many learners who find themselves in school, online, and confused.
And then there’s the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Overnight, brick-and-mortar schools had to shift to online options. College students were told to finish the term online. Though this kind of emergency instruction was not ideal for faculty or students, it brought about a sensitivity to how different online learning is from face-to-face models.
Furthermore, the ups and downs of the global economy have sent more learners back to school to retool or add credentials to their résumé. However, balancing work, family, and civic commitments with school is an arduous task at best. Online options allow learners to address their professional development needs at a time, and in a manner, that may be more flexible with their lifestyles. This may be part of the reason that online enrollments have mushroomed over the past few years.
Fifteen years ago when we tried to explain to people that we teach college courses online, we were met with, “How does that work?” Today, we hear stories of family members or colleagues taking courses online, but many questions still remain. There’s a bit of controversy, too, in that students may not have a choice but to take a course online, and too often they’re left to flounder, with inadequate guidance from advisors and faculty.
Regardless of age or experience, learners who know what they want and are willing to work hard are the ultimate winners in the world of education. Online Learning For Dummies helps students become winners in the online classroom by explaining just how it works. We take you from the decision-making process of determining whether this venue is right for you to applying and enrolling and then to the skills you need to succeed.
About This Book
Online Learning For Dummies is not a highly academic book written for scholars. It’s a book for everyday people who find themselves faced with online possibilities. You can trust this book when you need to quickly understand something about online learning. Consider these examples:
If you’re a working professional who needs to earn an additional degree or certification for career advancement, we can show you how to put together your application materials and get started in a program.
If you want to go to school full-time but lack the funding, we can tell you whom to talk to regarding financial aid.
If you want to take online courses but are unfamiliar with the technology involved, we can walk you through the kinds of tools you’ll use to support classroom discussion and submit your assignments.
If you’re a high school student thinking about nontraditional schooling, we can give you the information you need. We also cover students with disabilities.
Depending on who you are and what you need in terms of online learning, you can easily skip around this book to find exactly what you need. (Don’t worry — we won’t complain if you want to read it from cover to cover!)
Conventions Used in This Book
We use several standard conventions throughout this book:
New terms are italicized. We try to use as little jargon as possible, but because online education utilizes some slightly new vocabulary, some terms are unavoidable. Italicized words are followed by definitions in layman’s terms. (We also italicize any words we want to emphasize.)
Key words in bulleted and numbered lists are bold so that you skim what’s most important.
You’ll see a lot of web addresses — how could you not, when we’re talking about online learning? Also, notice we don’t always give the entirety of the address, just the basic information you need to type into your browser bar. For example, if you type www.vimeo.com,