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Optimize Technology Tools with College Internet Courses
by Dana Stephens
The Internet is so much more than surfing, shopping, and socialization. In fact, the Internet is an invaluable educational resource, especially for distance education. Students can find credible research material without physically going to the library; teachers can communicate with students from around the world; and the Internet can be the next best thing to attending college in a traditional classroom setting. The Internet can become and excellent tool for college Internet courses by providing distance learning resources for credible research, clarifying a educators reasoning, and the real-time venue for entering a virtual classroom.
From the beginning, the success of college Internet courses depends on the student's ability to find credible sources for information and reference. For example, .com sites may or may not have verifiable information. An individual can create a site swearing the sky is green, but the information does not have to be accurate for a web page to be accessible through the Internet. People taking college Internet courses need to select information from sites with many researched references and online addresses ending in org., gov., or edu. Educationally approved sites must contain verifiable information, and should have extensive reference and research information.
While researching an assignment, students taking college Internet classes may need to contact a professor to answer questions and concerns. College Internet courses provide a link to chat online with the professor or other classmates. Questions can be answered and discussed without the expense of a long distance call. In some cases, the students and teachers are actually in different countries; so long distance calls are simply not practical. With a chat program, students and teachers can agree to log on at the same time, to clarify information.
While chat programs provide teacher and student contact one-on-one, college Internet courses also have real-time resources making the Internet a virtual classroom. With programs like WebCT, teachers can post lecture materials and links to on-campus resources. Also, assignments and tests are accessible. The professor unlocks the student's access code at the appropriate time, and the student can log on to the testing material at any point after the test has been released to the class. If the test is timed, the program will automatically shut down and ask the student to submit the test for grading. Finally, one of the best benefits of real-time online college courses is the educational asset of classroom discussions. With advanced planning, the instructor establishes a time when the majority of students can be together online. Then, a message board is established for classmates to discuss and debate an important topic or issue. As in a real classroom, the instructor facilitates the conversation, ensuring students address key information in the virtual classroom.
In conclusion, by optimizing technology tools, college Internet courses have become virtual classrooms for the distance learner. Although far from a library, students have access to necessary research material. Access is also available between student and teacher, regardless of the distance of separation. In addition, college Internet courses generally have the means to facilitate virtual classroom discussions, so important elements of a quality education are not overlooked. Therefore, individuals interested in distance education should consider optimizing the tools of technology and enrolling in college Internet courses.
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