Online Learning For Dummies

Chapter 10

Meeting the People in (and Around) Your Classroom

IN THIS CHAPTER

Working well with your instructor and classmates

Introducing the folks behind the scenes

Remember the first day of school when you couldn’t wait to find out who your teacher was and who was in your class? In the online classroom, that same kind of excitement (or nervousness) exists. Unless you’re enrolled in a self-paced course with no interaction with anyone but your professor, you want to figure out who else is in (and around) your classroom and how they relate to you.

People in the online classroom tend to fall into two camps: those who are quite visible and those who work behind the scenes:

• The visible people — your instructor and the other students: You want to identify how your instructor works and the ways in which they communicate with you. You also want to get to know the other students and see how you work with them as a member of the community.
• The people behind the scenes: Not everyone in the online classroom works front and center. You may encounter guest speakers, administrative staff monitoring how the class is progressing, or technical support staff. All these people help make sure the system works and that you get the best educational experience for your money. Plus, your personal support ...