2 - Lake Washington Institute of Technology

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Academic Information
Academic Information
www.lwtech.edu/academics
Academic Information
eLEARNING
elearning@lwtech.edu
There are three types of eLearning courses. Each type
requires the same amount of course work per credit hour,
but there are differences in how much is conducted in the
classroom versus online.
WEB ENHANCED
These classes are conducted with a traditional classroom
schedule, but also utilize online systems for activities
such as posting class announcements and grades or
submitting assignments.
HYBRID, OR BLENDED
These are classes that replace some – but not all –
classroom time with online learning. For instance, a class
that would ordinarily meet five days a week might meet
three days a week and substitute online activities to
replace the other two class sessions.
ONLINE
These are classes conducted 100% online. Students should
expect to spend several hours each week working online
during the quarter, and never meet their instructor face to
face. Online classes include scheduled assignments and
activities and are not typically self-paced.
Below are questions you should consider before enrolling
in an online or hybrid course:
DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN COMPUTER AND INTERNET
ACCESS AT HOME?
It is very important for students in online or hybrid
classes to have reliable access to a computer with an
internet connection. If you do not have access to these at
home or work, you can use the student computer labs on
campus when they are open and available. For online or
hybrid classes, you may need to spend 2-3 hours at a time
at the computer, several days each week.
HOW ARE YOUR TECHNOLOGY SKILLS?
A student in a fully online class needs to be able to:
use email
use web browsers
use word processing software
download files
create attachments
solve problems that may arise by doing tasks such
as clearing browser histories, clearing cookies, and
adjusting browser plugins
If you do not have these skills, you may be better suited
to hybrid and web-enhanced courses, rather than fully
online courses. In addition, we recommend you find the
tutoring, resources or basic classes you need to learn the
above skills to be fully successful in web-enhanced and
hybrid courses.
HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU WITH ASKING FOR HELP
WHEN YOU NEED IT?
In an online course, you need to be able to research
answers from the materials the instructor has provided,
as well as communicate via email or discussion posts
with your instructor and fellow students. Students who
are most successful in online and hybrid courses are
comfortable finding help and asking for support when
they need it.
HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU HAVE TO DEVOTE TO AN ONLINE
CLASS, WORKING AT A COMPUTER WITH AN INTERNET
CONNECTION?
In a typical online course, you will spend 10-15 hours
per week online completing coursework. Online classes
have the same work load as face to face classes, without
dedicated classroom time to complete coursework.
Students in online classes need to be able to organize
and plan how they will accomplish these tasks
independently.
DO YOU HAVE THE PERSONALITY TRAITS & SKILLS THAT
CONTRIBUTE TO SUCCESS IN ONLINE LEARNING:
Students who are successful in online courses usually
have the following characteristics:
self-motivated, self-disciplined and organized
effective time management skills
strong reading comprehension skills
strong writing skills
comfortable participating in online class
discussions and providing feedback
interest in and curiosity about new technologies
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