What advice/warnings would you give to someone who is contemplating taking an online course?
 

• Print out everything that they submit online in case they are disconnected from the course and have to been signed in again.
• Everyone need to review the course content before signing up for an online course. I previously signed up for a macroeconomics course which I feel is not an online course. I had to withdraw and I will take it again in the classroom. I think I would be able to get a better understanding of the course content this way.
• Make sure you are able to discipline yourself so you don’t get behind the work cause it’s easy to do.
• If someone was contemplating taking an online course, I would advise them to set aside a certain time each week where they would "go to class" and work on the assignments that are due that week.
• Keep an eye on the website, at least every 2 or 3 days; know what is due and when and keep up, you'll do fine.
• If you know you need to have the classroom experience to learn then an online class is not for you. You must be very organized and disciplined to take an online class. You are the leaner and the teacher at the same time. The material is understood and completed by you. Deadlines are to met with you remembering; there is no one reminding you that in two weeks the research paper is due.  To take an online class you must prepare and be prepared. Ask friends if they have taken the online course or if they know anyone who has taken it, to get feedback about how the class is constructed.
• Talk to other's who have taken an online class. Make sure they are not over committing themselves just because it's online. Be sure to attend orientation and read and print the syllabus as soon as it's available. Know your way around a keyboard!
• If you are taking an online course because you think it's easier than coming to campus, you're wrong, and don't do it. You have to be very disciplined and have good time management skills to be successful.
• I believe that the biggest bit of advise is to be prepared navigate through the various  automated system used by a given school. Another piece of advice would be to ensure you have the ability to manage time on your own. It is easy to get behind and overwhelmed if one allows themselves to use the last minute approach to assignments.
• The advice I would give someone contemplating taking an online course would be, make sure you have the time and motivation. Be sure that you don’t need someone in your face telling you how to do something step by step (how it is in the classroom). I would lastly tell them to make sure they have the motivational skills and to be prepared to not have the normal responses from a teacher that they would have in a classroom. I would also warn them that the teachers sometimes have no clue who you are…which I feel is a huge negative.
• I have had people ask me if I would recommend taking an online course. I have given hem this advice, "If you like the subject to begin with, can study on your own, are motivated enough to get your work done without much supervision, and have access to a computer regularly, then take the online course.  If you have no knowledge of the subject you are to be taking, don't like to work independently, or hate computers then an online course isn't for you." 

• They need to decide what kind of learner they are.  If they can work successfully on their own, then go for it! 

• The only real warning I would give is that you make sure you can learn on your own. You can ask for help, but it is much easier if you can get things done on your own.  Also, I would remind anyone that you need to make sure you read everything the professor gives you on the web page.  If you miss something, the teacher won't necessarily point it out to you, so you need to make sure you read it all, so you don't miss anything.

• I would tell them to make sure they are up to the challenge of taking an online course, meaning to find out everything that is required of them. Also for the person to be familiar with computers and the latest things that can be done on computer.  Finally, for the person to be able to handle working independently of an instructor.

• All I can say is that  any student considering taking an online course needs to be aware of  the difference in work load between an online course and being in an actual classroom setting.  Also, they need to know that no two online classes are alike as far as the workload.

• Students that I have talked to think that online course are easier than actual class but, they really are not.  Time is very important.  You have to spend hours doing all the reading all of the chapters and your lesson plans that your teacher is giving.  So in this time you have to add in the class hours that you would have been in the actual class and the hours you would have spent on homework.  So if its a 3 credit course each week you would have to have the 3 hours of class time and at least 6 hours at the minimum for homework.  So, this means you have to set aside 9 hours a week to your online class.  Also you are self teaching the online class.  If need assistance in understanding material you should you should take it in class.  You also need the computer skills such as typing and navigating on your computer for an online class. This is what I would tell a student to consider if they were thinking of taking an online class.

• Several of my friends have actually asked me what I think of online courses and I have always highly recommended them. I warn them that overall it definitely involves more work than a class that actually meets on campus.  Students contemplating online classes must also be very motivated, since there isn't an instructor reminding them every class of when things are due.

• Some advice I would give is if you don't work well by yourself then an online class is not for you.  You also have to have a computer at home with Internet access.  There is no point in taking an online class if you are going to be accessing it from school everyday.  The point of an online class to me is so that you can work from home.

• I would tell someone wanted to take an online course to really be honest with themselves about how they learn and how motivated they are. If you learn best by hearing the information in lectures, or through interactive demonstrations, then online courses might not be for you. I've also learned that the instructor really sets the tone for the course. Having a teacher who is approachable and available is important.

• If you have not taken an online class before take time and do your research, analyze yourself and make sure that it is for you. If you are not self motivated or have problems getting started then it will be difficult getting adjusted. If you are an adult returning to the higher learning environment then taking an online class is a good way to get back into the swing of things.

• I would say to make sure you are computer literate. You have to have a working knowledge of the computer to make a go at this. I would also say that you have to be self motivated. It could be easy to slack or fall behind in an online course, because you really don't have anyone to answer to. At least not face to face.

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