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Online
Learning FYI: What's an FAQ?
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This page will
help answer questions that students frequently raise about course
content or requirements.
If you don't
find the answers you need here when taking an online course at Sinclair,
be sure to contact your instructor by his or her preferred method,
usually Course Mail
or the Discussion Forum;
in fact, it's a good idea to check the Discussion Forum first, to
see if your question has already been asked and/or answered.
To learn
more about Course Mail and the Discussion Forum go to the Communication
link in the top bar, or read Module
5: Speaking the Language:
Effective Communication Online.
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Jump
to:
What
is WebCT?
WebCT is referred to as "Course
Management" software. What does that mean? Think of WebCT as
a virtual school building where all online courses are kept. The difference
between WebCT and a school building on a college campus is that many different
institutions, including Sinclair Community College, use space in WebCT.
(If you want to read more about WebCT in general, you can go to its web
site's home page at http://www.webct.com).
Sinclair has its own location within the "building," at http://webct.sinclair.edu.
How
do I get into the WebCT "building"?
WebCT is accessed once
you have signed up for a course through Sinclair's
registration. You will enter the "building" by accessing
the Distance
Learning site, clicking on the Web
Courses link and then finding your course in the list of all courses
offered online at Sinclair. You will then need to log
on to WebCT. You will need your Tartan Card number (and the last 4
digits of your Social Security number) in order to log into WebCT. Once
you have logged in, you will need to add your course to your WebCT account:
Although you've already registered with Sinclair for the course, you won't
be able to enter your classroom in the WebCT building until you've
added the course in WebCT.
Why
do we use WebCT?
The short answer is, WebCT allows your instructor to communicate with
you in an enclosed environment: Everything that happens in the "classroom"
is available only to registered students and the instructor. Even the
online course contents (the E-Lessons,
Learning Activities,
and Overviews, as
well as the administrative documents like the syllabus, course schedule,
grading scale, etc.) can be seen only by you, your classmates, and your
instructor.
WebCT has its own email system
that is not accessible outside of WebCT; and the email is specific to
the course you're registered for, so you can only mail fellow classmates
and your instructor using it. You can use this mail function to send assignments
to your instructor.
WebCT also has other features,
such as a Discussion Forum
where you can post ideas and assignments for everyone in your class to
read. Another function is Chat.
You can communicate in real time with your classmates and instructor in
a "chat room." This is different than the Discussion Forum in
two ways. The first is that in the Discussion Forum, postings are made
and can be re-read later for everyone to see while in Chat, postings are
made real time and only have a certain amount of time before they are
overwritten. In the Discussion Forum, postings stay until the quarter
is over. In Chat, the postings are up as long as the session is going
on. Chat is more of a temporary communication, like a chalkboard, and
Discussion Forum is more like a printed piece of paper.
WebCT also makes it possible
for your instructor to give quizzes (and sometimes tests) online. You
can also find a Calendar (for due dates) and Gradebook (where your grades
will be visible only to you).
Are
all Sinclair online courses offered in the WebCT environment?
All Sinclair courses online are accessed through WebCT's "entrance"
for Sinclair (http://webct.sinclair.edu),
but not all of them use WebCT's tools or functions, and courses that do
use them may not use all of them.
Do
all Sinclair online courses look like this one?
Not all, but many of them are very similar in navigational design -- that
is, even if they don't look exactly like this course, they have a similar
"feel." By practicing navigating this course, you'll be better
able to get around an online course in WebCT.
What
is a "Module"? an E-Lesson? a Learning Activity? a Learning
Objective?
A module is a unit within a course, containing an e-lesson
and learning activities
designed to help you achieve specific learning objectives outlined in
the module overview.
How
much time should I expect to spend on my course?
You may be familiar with the formula suggested for in-class courses: three
hours of work outside class for every hour in class (or, alternately,
for every credit hour the course is worth). This applies to online learning
too, as a minimum: Online courses often require more study time than traditional
"live" courses.
Why
do online courses sometimes require a greater time investment than traditional
courses?
There are many potential reasons: For one thing, some students require
extra time to become comfortable using computer and internet technology.
Learning to use the tools in WebCT can take time, too. Students who read
slowly often need to spend more time with the largely text-based online
e-lessons. And even very strong readers are slowed down by online reading:
It takes an average of 25% longer to read online text than print-based
text.
There are ways of handling
all these issues, of course: Using this online resource to anticipate
your needs and plan ahead is one way. Just as important, printing your
online course materials can eliminate that 25% difference in reading-comprehension
speed.
Need more info about computer-
and web-related terminology? (The
Webopedia will open in a new window.)
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