tips for online classes....

Use complete sentences, including periods and capital letters at the beginning of a sentence. That might seem basic, but oh my, was I ever in for a shock over some of the other students postings.

I always stay at least one week ahead (or more if the instructor allowed it). You never know when "life" happens, so you want to make sure you aren't late submitting assignments.

I was actually really lucky to have an EXTREMELY challenging prof for my first online course. He demanded a graduate-level amount of work (this according to my prof. MIL and best friend nursing adjunct, not just me whining.) He was very specific about what he wanted. Every single post had to:

• have a subject heading that was a complete sentence (not just "I agree.")
  
• be substantive; again, no "I agree" without something to back it up
  
• include college level grammar/spelling/punctuation
  
• be on-topic
  
• include appropriate citation of sources
  

We had 1-3 tests per module, and one paper for every chapter of our text. Our online participation questions (where we chose a subject from the chapter and posted a CRITICAL THINKING question about it, then taught the class about the subject, using appropriate resources for information) had to be posted withing two days of the module starting so as to provide plenty of time for others to respond and for us to respond back to them. Our own participation with other people's questions had to be spread evenly out over the course of the module, not just crammed in at the end of the mod. We were required to post about 20 substantive posts for every single mod, in addition to all the other work that was required. For me, I was spending about an hour on each post to meet all his criteria, though it was obvious to me that others were not- this was reflected in the poor overall class average.

He was a stickler for all his rules (his "cardinal rules") but it really helped prepare me for my other online courses, and I have gotten an A in all of them because his class was so demanding that I just got used to making sure all my work was well-executed. During that first online semester, I worked full-time (including a 2-hr-a-day commute,) homeschooled my 1st grader, and carried 9 credits. It was hard, but it IS possible. I found myself staying up till 3 or 4 some mornings (I work 2nd shift) and getting only a few hours of sleep at times when my daughter was sick or I had a test to study for, but it can be done.

I will add that the teacher participation has been all over the place in my online classes. The prof mentioned above replied publicly to one of my posts at the very beginning of class, then never, ever made another public post the whole class (he did make some private replies to people that consisted of a two-letter code citing some infraction of his cardinal rules.) My psych teachers have been better- the one this semester replies publicly to about half the posts each mod, and always answer questions. My nutrition teacher would answer one question for you, then forget it- never again, and my art appreciation prof would answer questions weeks after it was too late to make a difference. My point it that you need to be self-motivated and willing to figure out things for yourself, because there's really no telling how much input you are going to get from your teacher.

I know I've yammered on, but I have taken a lot of online classes and been successful, so I'm trying to provide as much input as possible for you. My big challenge is going to be online micro this summer, which includes an at-home lab. My A&P course at least has lab at the school, and I am just teaching myself. Micro should be fun.

Good luck!!

Don't fall into the trap of doing it later. Online classes demand a lot of self-discipline. Be sure to sit down at the start of your term and calendar out all of your due dates (some profs will have both suggested and final deadlines for work). Try to keep yourself on track with the suggested deadlines so you aren't trying to cram a term worth of information into the final weeks of the term.

Keep in mind that if you were in a physical classroom you'd be spending X number of hours in the classroom plus study time. Do your best to budget that sort of time for yourself, even if it's in small incriments.

If your prof puts lectures online, it can help to load them onto an ipod or other pda and then listen to them when you're commuting.

I am finishing up my first year of online classes (24 hrs total) through my cc. I have two small children. I have to agree with other posts about staying ahead of schedule. This semester I had everything planned out ahead of schedule because I was due to have a baby mid semester. Well he decided to come 4 weeks early but luckily I was ahead of schedule and everything worked out fine. As much as you plan things out, you can never tell what the future can throw at you. Also, online courses tend to have a lot of reading so I usually divide up the pages that I need to read for a test. I read x number of pages per day and give myself 2 days prior to the test to review and study. It gets stressful with two kids but I just take every break I get to do school work. I hope this helps. Good luck. :)

Log in everyday out of habit. You'll never forget or miss an assignment, email, or whatever this way. Have a backup computer like at the library where you can access the internet in case something happens. Save your documents/assignments in a flash drive so that you can take them to your backup computer without a lot of drama. Working ahead like others recommended suggested really really helped me.

Others have had great suggestions. Obviously the most important thing is to STAY AHEAD! You can get behind in an instant in an online course it seems, depending on the amount of work, it will take forever to catch back up.

I work full time and also have two children. I started my first online courses during the summer last year and have taken all my pre-reqs other than the science's online. I have never been pleased with my instructors. It has all pretty much been self taught. It is great for my schedule though which is why I will continue to take them whenever I can.

One thing I do is I have a huge desk calendar. The minute I get my syllabus I write all the due dates for each discussion, quiz, project and test on the calendar. (color coded for different classes so I don't get them mixed up) This not only helps me keep up with the work that needs to be done, but it also helps with the family schedule as well. We can all see what is going on and when. With both my husband and myself on the go constantly, it really has been a lifesaver.

Chiming back in to agree with the others who suggested plotting out all your deadlines in writing. I was struggling with my due-dates at first because there was so much work due for one of my three classes, and once I made a schedule with check-boxes for every online participation post required, it was a lot easier to get things done in a timely manner. Being able to visualize (one check-box for every single post) with a final due date made getting things done on time much less hectic.

There is not a whole lot I can add to this discussion other than this: You get out of online classes what you put into them. I have been attending classes online for over a year now for a different degree and have a 3.96 GPA. However, there are some classes that I was so lackadaisical about that I could not tell you a thing I was learning from it, even as I was taking the class!

OK, I am going to add in one more thing because it CANNOT be over stated with online discussion postings. USE PROPER ENGLISH! Spell check is also a good tool, and please use decent grammar. One thing that is driving me batty in a 400 level management class I am taking now is the improper use of their, there, and they're. REALLY? We are all about ready to graduate from college and some seemingly cannot grasp the English Language. (I hope to GOD I never see a memo from one of these people. LOL) I'm not perfect in real life, but when it comes to the classroom, the only evidence of intelligence my instructor sees from me are my online discussions and my papers. It is very easy to tell when one does not put in a reasonable amount of critical thinking skills into his/her work.