We’ve used gender-neutral language throughout the book. You’ll notice “they” as the most common pronoun. That’s because teachers and students come in both varieties!
What You’re Not to Read
Of course, our egos hope that you read and digest every word. But the realists in us know that you’re busy and might want to read only the essential material. So, if you need to skip a few things due to time constraints, here are a couple of suggestions:
Sidebars (in shaded gray boxes) contain information that is interesting but not critical to understanding online education. You can skip these boxes, especially if you understand the context of the surrounding material.
We use the Technical Stuff icon for any topic that may require a little more explanation of what it is and how it works. However, providing an understanding of technical details isn’t the purpose of this book. Therefore, paragraphs marked with this icon can be skimmed quickly or skipped entirely, if you prefer.
Foolish Assumptions
As a way of helping us focus on what to write, we made several assumptions about you, dear reader, when writing this book:
You know how to use a computer for the basics. We hope this is true about you. If it isn’t true, perhaps you can skim Chapter 3 and then decide whether online education is really for you.
You’re considering going back to school and you’re leisurely looking at alternatives. Maybe you’re curious about how online learning works and want to get a sense before you select a school or program. In that case, you have plenty of time and may read the book from cover to cover.
You know which subject you want to study. We know that not everybody knows exactly what they want to study or what career they want to have upon graduation. We’ve done our best to speak to those who want to participate in a full-fledged online program as well as those who want to explore options and possibly take only one or two classes total.
You’re faced with an online course, have no idea what you’re in for, and need the information quickly! This is where the majority of online students find themselves the first time. If you’re already enrolled, you may want to jump to Part 3 and learn what you need to excel.
You’re an online instructor (or were recently forced to become one) and are curious about the various ways in which online courses are structured and how students and staff interact in cyberspace. This book can help you see online learning from the student’s perspective, and it may inspire you to try a new idea or two. Heck, it may even inspire you to consider taking an online course as a way to grow professionally.
You’re an online instructor and you need your students to be better prepared for taking online courses. Perhaps your students are coming to your virtual classroom unprepared, with false expectations about online learning. In this case, consider recommending this book to your school bookstore to help your future students settle in to your online course quicker.
How This Book Is Organized
Online Learning For Dummies is organized in five parts. The parts are organized so that you can start by looking at the big picture of online learning and then walk through the decision-making and application processes, dive into courses and succeed, and, ultimately, move out of the educational realm to apply your newfound skills and knowledge.
Part 1: Introducing a Different Kind of Learning
In this part, we give you the basic landscape of online learning. In particular, we discuss what you may need to consider about online learning to see whether this is truly a fit for you. In addition, we give you an overview of the technological competencies you should have before taking an online course.
Part 2: Preparing to Be a Learner
If you haven’t gone to school in the past ten years, you’re in for a surprise! Almost everything is online, from course catalogs to applications to live advisors. This part walks you through the processes you need to follow to select an appropriate program or course, apply, register, and enroll. We also tell you about why you need to have the right attitude for learning online.
Part 3: The Virtual Classroom: Being an A+ Student
This part is where we talk about the specifics of how online learning works. Drawing from years of helping new learners become acclimated to online courses, we walk you through the common activities and processes you need to know as an online learner. This includes communication skills, identifying important documents and resources in a course, and understanding your role and tasks as a learner. Even if you’ve taken an online course previously, you may be surprised at the details we address.
Part 4: Special Considerations in Online Learning
One of the truisms about online education is that it offers more educational possibilities for persons who may not have access to a more traditional educational system. This includes younger students (those in kindergarten through high school) and students with disabilities. Online classrooms are diverse, and we address special needs in this part of the book.
Part 5: The Part of Tens
Every For Dummies book concludes with a short summary of key information and tips. In our Part of Tens, we have included ten myths about online education and ten best practices for self-care while being an online learner.
Icons Used in This Book
As is customary in any For Dummies book, we’ve used a few standard icons. Here’s what the symbols mean and how you should interpret them:
Beyond the Book
In addition to the pages you’re reading right now, this book comes with a free access-anywhere cheat sheet that offers a number of online-learning-related pearls of wisdom. To get this cheat sheet, visit www.dummies.com and type online learning for dummies cheat sheet in the search box.
Where to Go from Here
We understand that your situation is specific to you and that you may not necessarily need the same information as other readers. Feel free to look over the table of contents and decide which chapter might best meet your needs. Our recommendation is that if you’re brand-new to the idea of online learning,