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Introduction

According to the Babson Survey Research Group, online enrollments had grown for 14 years consecutively. Nearly every college student accesses course documents and resources via online portals. One in three learners in higher education takes at least one fully online course. That’s a lot of online learning! And, considering that college is no longer limited to advantaged 18- to 22-year-olds, that means a lot of those online learners may be older and less familiar with the tools that come with the territory. That’s why we’ve written this book — for the many learners who find themselves in school, online, and confused.

And then there’s the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Overnight, brick-and-mortar schools had to shift to online options. College students were told to finish the term online. Though this kind of emergency instruction was not ideal for faculty or students, it brought about a sensitivity to how different online learning is from face-to-face models.

Furthermore, the ups and downs of the global economy have sent more learners back to school to retool or add credentials to their résumé. However, balancing work, family, and civic commitments with school is an arduous task at best. Online options allow learners to address their professional development needs at a time, and in a manner, that may be more flexible with their lifestyles. This may be part of the reason that online enrollments have mushroomed over the past few years.

Fifteen years ago when we tried to explain to people that we teach college courses online, we were met with, “How does that work?” Today, we hear stories of family members or colleagues taking courses online, but many questions still remain. There’s a bit of controversy, too, in that students may not have a choice but to take a course online, and too often they’re left to flounder, with inadequate guidance from advisors and faculty.

Regardless of age or experience, learners who know what they want and are willing to work hard are the ultimate winners in the world of education. Online Learning For Dummies helps students become winners in the online classroom by explaining just how it works. We take you from the decision-making process of determining whether this venue is right for you to applying and enrolling and then to the skills you need to succeed.

About This Book

Online Learning For Dummies is not a highly academic book written for scholars. It’s a book for everyday people who find themselves faced with online possibilities. You can trust this book when you need to quickly understand something about online learning. Consider these examples:

 If you’re a working professional who needs to earn an additional degree or certification for career advancement, we can show you how to put together your application materials and get started in a program.

 If you want to go to school full-time but lack the funding, we can tell you whom to talk to regarding financial aid.

 If you want to take online courses but are unfamiliar with the technology involved, we can walk you through the kinds of tools you’ll use to support classroom discussion and submit your assignments.

 If you’re a high school student thinking about nontraditional schooling, we can give you the information you need. We also cover students with disabilities.

Depending on who you are and what you need in terms of online learning, you can easily skip around this book to find exactly what you need. (Don’t worry — we won’t complain if you want to read it from cover to cover!)

Conventions Used in This Book

We use several standard conventions throughout this book:

 New terms are italicized. We try to use as little jargon as possible, but because online education utilizes some slightly new vocabulary, some terms are unavoidable. Italicized words are followed by definitions in layman’s terms. (We also italicize any words we want to emphasize.)

 Key words in bulleted and numbered lists are bold so that you skim what’s most important.

 You’ll see a lot of web addresses — how could you not, when we’re talking about online learning? Also, notice we don’t always give the entirety of the address, just the basic information you need to type into your browser bar. For example, if you type www.vimeo.com, you’ll get to the page!

 We’ve used gender-neutral language throughout the book. You’ll notice “they” as the most common pronoun. That’s because teachers and students come in both varieties!

What You’re Not to Read

Of course, our egos hope that you read and digest every word. But the realists in us know that you’re busy and might want to read only the essential material. So, if you need to skip a few things due to time constraints, here are a couple of suggestions:

 Sidebars (in shaded gray boxes) contain information that is interesting but not critical to understanding online education. You can skip these boxes, especially if you understand the context of the surrounding material.

 We use the Technical Stuff icon for any topic that may require a little more explanation of what it is and how it works. However, providing an understanding of technical details isn’t the purpose of this book. Therefore, paragraphs marked with this icon can be skimmed quickly or skipped entirely, if you prefer.

Foolish Assumptions

As a way of helping us focus on what to write, we made several assumptions about you, dear reader, when writing this book:

 You know how to use a computer for the basics. We hope this is true about you. If it isn’t true, perhaps you can skim Chapter 3 and then decide whether online education is really for you.

 You’re considering going back to school and you’re leisurely looking at alternatives. Maybe you’re curious about how online learning works and want to get a sense before you select a school or program. In that case, you have plenty of time and may read the book from cover to cover.

 You know which subject you want to study. We know that not everybody knows exactly what they want to study or what career they want to have upon graduation. We’ve done our best to speak to those who want to participate in a full-fledged online program as well as those who want to explore options and possibly take only one or two classes total.

 You’re faced with an online course, have no idea what you’re in for, and need the information quickly! This is where the majority of online students find themselves the first time. If you’re already enrolled, you may want to jump to Part 3 and learn what you need to excel.

 You’re an online instructor (or were recently forced to become one) and are curious about the various ways in which online courses are structured and how students and staff interact in cyberspace. This book can help you see online learning from the student’s perspective, and it may inspire you to try a new idea or two. Heck, it may even inspire you to consider taking an online course as a way to grow professionally.

 You’re an online instructor and you need your students to be better prepared for taking online courses. Perhaps your students are coming to your virtual classroom unprepared, with false expectations about online learning. In this case, consider recommending this book to your school bookstore to help your future students settle in to your online course quicker.

How This Book Is Organized

Online Learning For Dummies is organized in five parts. The parts are organized so that you can start by looking at the big picture of online learning and then walk through the decision-making and application processes, dive into courses and succeed, and, ultimately, move out of the educational realm to apply your newfound skills and knowledge.

Part 1: Introducing a Different Kind of Learning

In this part, we give you the basic landscape of online learning. In particular, we discuss what you may need to consider about online learning to see whether this is truly a fit for you. In addition, we give you an overview of the technological competencies you should have before taking an online course.

Part 2: Preparing to Be a Learner

If you haven’t gone to school in the past ten years, you’re in for a surprise! Almost everything is online, from course catalogs to applications to live advisors. This part walks you through the processes you need to follow to select an appropriate program or course, apply, register, and enroll. We also tell you about why you need to have the right attitude for learning online.

Part 3: The Virtual Classroom: Being an A+ Student

This part is where we talk about the specifics of how online learning works. Drawing from years of helping new learners become acclimated to online courses, we walk you through the common activities and processes you need to know as an online learner. This includes communication skills, identifying important documents and resources in a course, and understanding your role and tasks as a learner. Even if you’ve taken an online course previously, you may be surprised at the details we address.

Part 4: Special Considerations in Online Learning

One of the truisms about online education is that it offers more educational possibilities for persons who may not have access to a more traditional educational system. This includes younger students (those in kindergarten through high school) and students with disabilities. Online classrooms are diverse, and we address special needs in this part of the book.

Part 5: The Part of Tens

Every For Dummies book concludes with a short summary of key information and tips. In our Part of Tens, we have included ten myths about online education and ten best practices for self-care while being an online learner.

Icons Used in This Book

As is customary in any For Dummies book, we’ve used a few standard icons. Here’s what the symbols mean and how you should interpret them:

We use this icon to mark strategies and techniques we’ve learned from being online students ourselves or from our former students.

Any information marked with this icon is worth remembering and taking away from this book.

This icon denotes things you should be cautious of. Taking note of this info can help you avoid unnecessary headaches.

We use this icon when we feel the need to provide more background information on a topic — material that’s interesting, but not essential to your understanding the big picture.

Beyond the Book

In addition to the pages you’re reading right now, this book comes with a free access-anywhere cheat sheet that offers a number of online-learning-related pearls of wisdom. To get this cheat sheet, visit www.dummies.com and type online learning for dummies cheat sheet in the search box.

Where to Go from Here

We understand that your situation is specific to you and that you may not necessarily need the same information as other readers. Feel free to look over the table of contents and decide which chapter might best meet your needs. Our recommendation is that if you’re brand-new to the idea of online learning, flip to Chapter 1 for an introduction and move through the book sequentially. If you’re already taking an online course, head to Part 3 for pointers on succeeding in your class.

We truly hope that not only is reading this book enjoyable to you but that it also helps you make some important decisions, provides you with the right questions to ask on your academic journey, and better prepares you for your online adventures.

We wish you luck in your online journey and prosperity in your future careers and academic adventures.