View Presentation - http://breeze.elearnportal.com/p19777600/

Introduction
Many students know how to prepare for a traditional, face-to-face class. Are the needs for an online class so different? Let’s take a closer look at how the needs for a traditional class differ from an online class:

Traditional Class Needs

Online Class Needs

Course schedule

• Find the class location
• Textbook
• Paper, pens, highlighter…etc
• Computer
• Software for class work (e.g. writing papers)

Do you see the differences? That’s right; the needs for an online class and a traditional class virtually are the same. The classes are more similar than different. No matter what kind of class you take, you’ll need supplies such as paper, a computer, software and a course textbook. So, let’s talk about what you can do to prepare to take your first online course!

Prepare Your Computer
You probably will not experience problems taking your online course if your computer was purchased in the last 3 years. The minimum recommended hardware and software requirements for a computer (both PC and Mac) are:
Note: Update PC and MAC
Hardware and Software

PC

Mac

Operating System

Windows 98 or higher

Mac OS 8.0

Memory:

128 MB CPU: PC: 266 MHz or higher (500MHz or higher recommended)

PowerMacintosh or higher

Free Disk Space

10 MB or more

10 MB or more

Browser

Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, Netscape Navigator 7.1 or higher, Mozilla 1.4 or higher

Netscape Navigator 7.1 or higher, Mozilla 1.4 or higher.

Browser Settings

JavaScript enabled
Popup blockers disabled Cookies enabled

JavaScript enabled
Popup blockers disabled Cookies enabled

Plug-ins

Adobe Acrobat Reader Adobe Flash

Adobe Acrobat Reader Adobe Flash

Productivity Software

MS Office or viewers

MS Office or viewers

Internet Connection

56K modem (DSL recommended)

56K modem (DSL recommended)

Other

Sound card and speakers (microphone and webcam recommended)

Sound card and speakers (microphone and webcam recommended)

Regardless, you will need to make sure the computer you’ll be using is prepared for class. To prepare your computer, you will need to:

Get the latest downloads

Removespyware and set your browser

Get productivity software (Define what productivity software is)

Downloads
Make sure you have the latest versions of the most common applications and plug-ins associated with surfing the Web. It is recommended that you download the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Flash Player and Adobe Acrobat. Click below to access these products.
Name

URL

Internet Explorer (IE)

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx

Flash Player

http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash

Adobe Acrobat

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Spyware and Browser Settings
Unscrupulous companies and software developers use “spyware” software to track individual Internet surfing and for unsolicited advertising. Spyware is more than an annoyance; it can keep individuals from taking full advantage of the Internet and even cause harm to computers. It is highly recommended that Internet users have spyware protection on their computer. Here are two free anti-spyware resources:

Microsoft AntiSpyware (Beta) - An excellent, free resource for identifying and preventing spyware.
Ad-Aware - a free resource for personal computer users that helps protect against spyware and other malicious programming.

In order to counter the increased prevalence of malicious adware, spyware and pop-up advertising, Internet browsers include tools to protect their users. However, these tools might interrupt student access to their online courses. Before starting a class, check your browser settings. Additionally, pop-up blockers are very popular, and for good reason. Pop-up advertising is very annoying. However, pop-up windows might be used in your class. For the time you are in class, all pop-up blockers must be disabled. You can turn them back on after class.

Browser Settings
View a presentation on adjusting browser settings in Internet Explorer.

Productivity Tools
It does not matter if you are taking an online or traditional class; you will need software to complete assignments, such as writing a research paper. The most commonly used productivity software product is Microsoft’s Office Suite. You may have MS Office on you computer already. If you do not, and you decide to purchase it, keep in mind that you might be able to purchase MS Office at academic pricing. This could save you a great deal of money.

Are there alternatives to MS Office? The Open Office project provides free productivity software similar to MS Office. As a matter of fact, users of Open Office can save their documents in MS Office formats.

What about productivity software other than MS Office and Open Office? Many computers come with other kinds of productivity software, such as MS Works and Word Perfect. These applications can be used for your online class, but you will need to make sure you save your files in a format that is accessible by multiple productivity software packages. Also, if you use productivity software other than MS Office, you may need to download additional software. For example, what if your professor posts an MS PowerPoint presentation for the class to view? How would you view it? You will need to download free “viewer” software from Microsoft. Viewers do not allow you to make any changes to a file, just view it. The following resources provide more information about productivity software and how to avoid problems viewing course materials.

MS Office (academic version) - Learn how to purchase MS Office and other products at special academic prices.
Open Office - Learn about the Open Office project.
MS PowerPoint Viewer - Allows users to view PowerPoint presentations.
MS Excel Viewer - Allows users to view Excel spreadsheet files.

Prepare Yourself
Before taking a class, you should do a few things to make sure you hit the ground running. The list below provides some practical advice for students:

Know how to use productivity softwareAs already mentioned, in a ;face-to-face or online class you will need to use productivity software to complete assignments. If you are not familiar with how to use productivity software, then work through some tutorials before the first class date. A search of the Web will produce some great, free tutorials.
Here a two:
MS Office Tutorials - Microsoft’s own training site.
MS Office 2000 Tutorials - Provided by Florida Gulf Coast University, these free tutorials provide the basics of using MS Office Suite.

Have an email account and know how to email attachmentsYour educational institution may provide you will an email account. If not, and if you do not already have an email account, get one! An account can be established in minutes and most, if not all, are free. Some of the most common providers are Yahoo and MSN.Secondly, you should know how to send an attachment with your email account. It is likely that your professor will require you to email your assignments to him or her using email. Here are some resources for email:

• Yahoo - Yahoo provides free email accounts with plenty of storage space.
• MSN - MSN Hotmail provides free email accounts, and also provides ample storage space.
• Emailing Attachments - Instructions on how to add an attachment to an email message.

Students using teams will reduce or eliminate email. The “teams”function works so that the student may use this, rather than email.

Learn how to chatThe informal word “chat” can be misleading. Chat refers to how you will have real time discussions with your professors and classmates during your online class meetings. Using chat is very easy, but if you are not familiar with how to chat, then it would be worth your time to learn a little about it before your first online class meeting. Here is a resource for chat:Chat Tutorial - View a short tutorial showing how to use the chat function in an online course.

Know how to log into your courseJust as it is important to know which building and classroom a face-to-face class will meet in, it is important that you know how to locate your online class. Do not wait until just before class begins to log into your course and find the appropriate chat. Use the username and password provided by your institution a couple days before the first class meeting to explore the course environment. This will also provide you the opportunity to identify and eliminate any technical issues.

Open the communication lines with your professorsFrequent communication with your professors and classmates is essential to a (Delete) having a rewarding online educational experience. Before, or soon after, your first class, send your professor an email. Introduce yourself and provide a little information about yourself and your reasons for being in the course. Almost all professors will welcome and appreciate your efforts to communicate with them.

Prepare your calendarFinally, prepare your calendar for the class meetings and for homework. You should block at least two (2) hours of time per credit hour for class and homework. You probably have a busy schedule, so it is important that you have time designated for your class.

Help CenterThe courses come with a 24/7/365 Help Center. They should not need to contact the Help Center before the first class. They should navigate through the eCourse and learn how it works, before the first class. And, then if they have a problem, they should talk with the Help Desk personnel before the first class.

How to contact your institution or professor (Communication) Student should have the phone numbers of the Help Desk, Professor and Institution before they begin the first course. They could contact the professor before the first course.

Summary

Online education can be rewarding. With the exception of meeting physically for class, online classes are not much different from traditional, face to face classes. Doing a little preparation before your first class meeting will reduce your stress and allow you to get the most out of your online education. To summarize, before your first class you should:

• Prepare Your Computer
• IE, Flash, Acrobat
• Eliminate Spyware and set your browser
• Get Productivity Tools (MS Office, Open Office, viewers)
• Prepare Yourself
• Learn about chatting.
• Get an email account and learn how to send attachments.
• Log into your class before the first class to familiarize yourself with the system.
• Keep the lines of communication open with your instructor.
• Prepare your calendar for class and homework

Communication

• Phone and email numbers.
• Professor, Cyber Office Desk, Cell Phone, etc.
• Help Center, 24/7/365
• Institution, Program Chairperson, Secretary.

Please note that your educational institution is dedicated to your success as a student and online learner. Investigate the resources provided by your school as well. Good luck!

View Presentation - http://breeze.elearnportal.com/p19777600/