Notes

Section 1

00:00:00 TEACHER: Hi, everyone. Welcome to "Your Online Learning Experience." Today we're going to be looking at how to prepare for this online adventure that you're about to begin. First let's see what's going on with Miguel. Miguel has learned a bit about online learning. He's almost ready to start his online class, but before his
00:00:22 first day, Miguel's teacher gives him a list of skills he needs to be successful in the class. Miguel assumes he only needed to know how to type and maybe send an email. Is he in over his head? Well, Miguel knows that before beginning every new adventure, it's important to be fully prepared to meet any challenges that might arise.
00:00:42 He decides to review the list to make sure he's ready for his online class. And that's what we're going to talk about today, the list of skills that you're going to need to be successful in your online class. Today we're going to identify technology skills needed for an online class, and we're going to describe responsibility as it relates to online education.
00:01:02 So the types of skills that you're going to need for online education would be some basic technology skills and some secondary technology skills and personal responsibility skills, and by that, we mean some responsible use guidelines that you're going to need to know and to follow in order to be successful in your online learning.
00:01:26 All right, so let's look at the technology skills needed for online learning first. There's going to be a set of primary skills, and these are the basic skills that you should have before you begin your online learning. Now you may have been exposed to these before but maybe aren't as excelled in them as you'd like to be, but I
00:01:51 guarantee you, as the class goes on, you'll be able to work on them, but these are just some basic skills that you should be aware of that you need. The first one isn't necessarily a skill, but it's definitely something you need to be successful for your class. It's access to a working computer with internet software and make sure that it's current software.
00:02:13 You could talk to a parent or teacher or a lab instructor and make sure that the software and the hardware that you're using for the class is working, and it's updated so that you are able to complete any assignment, you're able to get to all of your classes, and you're able to complete the class as it was meant to be completed. So just before you start your class, or if you have any problems, make sure everything is in tip top shape.
00:02:44 Now, let's get into some of the basic skills. The basic skills you're going to need to be comfortable with are the typing, clicking, opening, and closing screens. Things that you would do all the time. Make sure that you understand how to do it, and if you don't, ask someone for help. And, of course, you're in an online class so you're going to need some online skills, some internet skills such as
00:03:07 typing web addresses and knowing what they are and knowing the format of web addresses. You should know how to send emails and check your emails, and you should also be very comfortable navigating between screens, moving back or forward or in between two different websites. All right, so the secondary skills.
00:03:29 Now these are skills that maybe you're not as excelled at right off the bat, but you're going to be able to work on them as the class progresses. So you should have the ability to watch video lectures and take notes simultaneously. We take notes by hand in class, and if you are taking notes during your online lectures, you might be writing them by hand also, or you could be
00:03:54 typing them on the internet. Now, we're not always used to doing this in this particular format so it's important that you have an understanding of your software and your hardware so that you can type or take notes while you're watching the videos, but I guarantee you, as the year progresses, you'll be increasing your skills in this area. Now also something that we're going to be working on is the
00:04:19 ability to express our thoughts and feelings through typing and also be able to ask questions and make comments clearly through typing. We're so used to talking to teachers in person or talking to our friends over the phone, but on online classes, there isn't always that one on one interaction, so it's important that we practice getting our thoughts out onto paper or, in this case, on to the keyboard.
00:04:42 It's just a little bit different. You might feel a little out of your element, but I guarantee you, as the year goes on, you'll be in increasing your abilities and these skills as well. We've also got our e-vocabulary. Now, if you're not an internet guru right off the bat, that's OK. By the end of your online class, you probably will be.
00:05:03 We've got basic internet vocabulary. Here are some examples. Chat, email, blog, which is like an online diary of sorts, instant message which is the type of chatting where somebody is at another computer and you're using a special software over the internet to type a conversation with each other. Now searching is using some kind of search engine such as
00:05:25 Google or Yahoo to find information and of course, the word "link" which is a set of text that you would click to take you to a different website. So there is just some basic e-vocabulary. We're going to be getting into it a lot more as the class goes on, and I guarantee you you'll be doing just great as we go on.
00:05:47 All right, next let's talk about personal responsibility. Personal responsibility means being accountable for your actions, and as you know, you've already started your online class. I'm not there with you. There might be a lab instructor, but there's no teacher for this specific class standing over your shoulder, telling you what to do, and showing you how to
00:06:08 take the class, and how to complete your assignments. So it's very important that you are responsible for yourself, and you're taking account for anything that you might do or need to do during the class. Now, some things that you're going to have to take responsibility for is the ability to complete coursework without constant supervision.
00:06:31 Again, I'm not there with you so it's really important that you can get your assignments done, you can watch your lectures, and do whatever it is you need to do on your own. Of course, you can email the teacher, or you can talk to a lab instructor, but it's really up to you to complete the class without constant handholding. You also want to make sure that you have the ability to
00:06:56 block distractions during your learning time. This is up to you. This is your responsibility. You want to make sure you're in a quiet corner of the lab, or you've got some type of device that blocks out distractions or movement from other places. You also want to make sure that you're not trying to have a conversation either in person,
00:07:16 online, with other people. So just block out any distractions, make sure you're focused on me, and I guarantee you you'll have a much more successful online session. You want to make sure that you have the ability to ask questions when something is unclear. It's your responsibility to talk to a teacher or to send an email if you don't understand something.
00:07:38 Now if it's something with your hardware or software, you can have a lab person or a parent if you're at home, but if it's content related, you want to make sure that you're taking the initiative, you're being proactive, you're taking steps to get your questions answered before it becomes a problem. Don't say to yourself, well, there's no teacher here so I guess it doesn't matter.
00:07:58 It really does matter. You will be responsible for the information provided in the course. So if something isn't clear, take the steps to get your questions to answered. You also need to make sure that you are in charge of monitoring your progress. You need to make sure that you're checking your progress
00:08:17 report, understanding what your grades are, understanding how the tests are given and when they're coming so that you understand how you're doing in the class. Don't just show up on the last day of class and click the progress report button and say oh goodness, I didn't realize I was failing the class. Well, progress reports are available to you all the time on your internet class.
00:08:39 You don't need to make an appointment with the teacher to sit down and look at a grade book. The information is always there in front of you, and most importantly, tests are graded immediately so you can get your grades and your scores right away. So another aspect of responsible use are these guidelines that we're going to talk about.
00:08:59 You really want to make sure that you are staying on track and you're avoiding any of those e-distractions. We're in an online class, there's lots of stuff going on. We're got cell phones and text messages and instant messages and emails, and sometimes it's overwhelming, but you've got to make sure that you're dedicating a certain amount of time to your online class just the way you would if you go to
00:09:19 first period and sit down to your history class. Definitely make sure that you're not chatting or emailing during your learning time. The great thing about online learning as you can hit the Stop button or the Pause button or the Rewind or Fast Forward. OK, so don't chat or email during your learning time.
00:09:40 If you absolutely have to send something, pause the lecture and come back to it later. OK, your learning time, your time in the computer lab is not a time to play games or search the internet. It's so tempting. Believe me, I know, I've been there. I've taken lots of online classes myself, but it's really important that, again, you just set aside the time,
00:10:03 watch the lecture, do the assignments, and get it done, and then move on to socializing or playing games. Make sure that you're following the course structure and guidelines. Now, depending on the classes you're taking, you might be able to jump around in your course but make sure that you're following the instructions that were set up for you and don't jump around too much so that you're
00:10:25 getting confused. Make sure that you're following the course in the order it was meant to be followed. Also complete the assignments as the instructions intend. Don't cut corners. Don't search information on the internet, copy and paste it into your assignment. That's cheating, and it's not a very good practice, it's not
00:10:45 a very responsible use of the internet, or the same thing goes for emailing, instant messaging, assignments between friends while you're trying to take the assignment or while you're trying to complete the test. That's a no no. So let's see what is going on with Miguel. On his first day of class, Miguel finds a quiet corner of
00:11:08 the computer lab and organizes his books and materials. He carefully reads through his course calendar and the lesson for the day before he begins his lecture. Just as the lecture starts, Miguel receives an instant message from a friend and tries to pay attention to both the lecture and the instant message conversation. All right, so what did Miguel do right, and what did Miguel do wrong?
00:11:31 Well, the first thing is he found a nice quite corner of the computer lab. He's taking it upon himself to block out any distractions and start his class. He gets all of his books and materials needed. Just like in the traditional classroom, you would have your notebook and your pens and your paper, and you need those same things for your online class.
00:11:53 He reads through his course calendar and the lesson for today. This is great because, again, there's not a lot of one on one interaction in an online class, and if it's just you watching a lecture online, there's no one on one interaction. So it's important that you're prepared, that you understand what the class is going to be about so that if something
00:12:13 confusing comes up you know how to handle it, or you can rewind and find the information you missed. It's just very important that you're prepared because there's not someone standing there holding your hand and making sure you know exactly what's going on. Uh oh, Miguel received one of those instant messages from his friends, and he tries to pay attention to both, but
00:12:35 what happens. Because he wasn't paying 100% attention to the lecture, Miguel is unable to complete the first assignment of the course, and he asks a friend to help. His friend suggests he views the lecture again. Now, that is a very important because, again, the great thing about online learning is you can stop and move forward and back through content.
00:12:58 He got one of these online instant message chats that we all think are fun, believe me I've been distracted by them myself, but it's really important to focus on your class, just get your class done and save the chatting for later, and again, he can go back and review the lecture if he needs to. So let's check in with Miguel. What did he learn?
00:13:23 Miguel learned practicing his technology skills is essential to success to his online learning experience. Those basic skills and those skills that you're going to work on throughout the class are very important. Online learning puts a lot of responsibility on the student. Well, that's very true. Again, there's not a lot of one on one interaction, there might be no one on one interaction if you don't have
00:13:46 a lab instructor or some kind of guidance there with you in your classroom, at home, in your computer lab. OK, so you are responsible for what happens in your online class. It's up to Miguel to stay on track and focused. He is in control of his learning experience and so are you. So I hope you take some of the information you learned today
00:14:08 and apply it to your online class. I hope you have a great day, and I will see you next time