There has been an increase in students taking online courses and the number continues to rise. Online courses appeal to anyone who is self-motivated to learn in a nontraditional way and that is attracting the young, old, professional, and nonprofessional. There are many reasons for taking courses online. You may consider taking online courses if you have children and you are unable to find child care; unable to get reliable transportation; or work part-time and cannot attend classes during the traditional hours.
Here is what you need to do if you decide to take an online course. You must have access to a computer that runs Windows 98 and Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. You will need to have a connection to the Internet. You must also have an email account. There are many free accounts such as Hotmail and others. In addition, you may need to have access to a fax machine.
Do you want to take credit or non credit courses? All you need to get started is to find the course you are interested in taking, go through the registration process, pay via your credit card, and than you are ready to go. Most instructors will provide a certificate upon completion of the course.
Here are top five tips for taking online courses:
1) Know how to communicate with instructors and others via email instead of face-to-face.
2) Spend a lot of time reading and re-reading to gather information and find resources.
3) Know the do’s and don’ts. (do turn your assignments in on time and do not expect too much, to soon – you must study)
4) Spend time locating and reviewing the available help files on the computer.
5) Print reference pages and review them often.
