English Composition 2
Learning Online
Some students do exceptionally well in an online course; other students do not do well. The flexibility of the online learning environment allows some students to work effectively around their busy schedules and to devote more time to the course than they may be able to devote to a course on campus; the flexibility causes other students to get behind in the course work and to end up withdrawing from or failing the course.
Is this Online Course for You?
Before beginning this online course, it's important that you think carefully about your own learning style and about how compatible your learning style is with the online environment. The best learning style is whatever method works best for you, but some students learn much more effectively in the traditional classroom environment than in an online course.
To learn online, students need to be able to work well independently and to structure their time effectively. For this course, there is no specific time when you must be online, which should help you fit the course into your busy schedule, but you do need to enter the course Blackboard and complete assignments at least every few days. Assignments are organized into units, and you generally have at least two or three weeks to complete all the assignments given in a unit, but assignments will be due throughout the time when we are working on a particular unit.
It is your responsibility to read the assignments and to complete the assignments by the specified due dates. The due dates for all assignments will be clear, but the instructor will not send out reminders of when assignments are due, so it is important to keep track of assignments.
Before beginning this course, think carefully about your own learning style. Below is a summary of the characteristics of successful online students.
Students likely to do well in this online course
- are self-motivated and self-disciplined
- learn well independently
- schedule their time well
- are comfortable communicating in writing
- follow instructions well
- are not shy about asking questions
- are able to read and comprehend large amounts of text
- are able to devote at least six hours a week to the course
- have not had major problems with writing classes in the past
- have basic technological skills (can use a word processor and a web browser)
If most or all of the above characteristics apply to you, then you should be the right kind of person to take an online course. If most of the characteristics above do not apply to you, then it most likely would be better if you took the course on campus than online. (And, of course, it's best to make the change to an on-campus course as soon as possible, instead of waiting a few weeks into the semester only to realize that the online course is not working well for you and that it's too late to enroll in a different course or to receive a refund.)
In the past, some students have taken this course after unsuccessfully taking an English Composition 2 course on campus, thinking that taking the course online will be easier than taking it on campus. This is not true. We cover the same course work that is covered in ENG 1002 courses on campus, but students must be more responsible in terms of making sure that they understand the course material and that they complete assignments on time. Students who have unsuccessfully attempted to complete an ENG 1002 course in the past would be better off taking the course again on campus than attempting to take the course online. Those students are likely to do better in a classroom, where they can get extra attention and help from the instructor.
English Composition 2 Online usually has a high withdrawal rate, and this is in part due to some students enrolling in the course even though their learning styles are incompatible with the online environment. I hope that everyone enrolled in the course remains in the course and does well, but I know from experience that some students just do not do well in online courses. Therefore, it's important that you evaluate your own learning style carefully and be honest with yourself concerning the likelihood that the online learning environment will fit your learning style.
The Web site linked below provides additional information that should help you determine if an online course is right for you:
Questions?
If you are unsure if the online environment will work well for you, even if you have already enrolled in the course, please contact me, Randy Rambo, at (815) 224-0338 or Randy_Rambo@ivcc.edu. I should be able to help you decide.