Orientation for

Online Students

As part of an ITTL grant project, Christine Damrose-Mahlmann, Mary Hanlin, and Nancy Jolemore took on the task of searching for orientation tutorials that incorporate skills basic to Internet navigation, library research, course management use, and other computing skills. This presentation shows the results of our research of best practices, technology, and services for a successful orientation for online students.

If you don’t know where you’re going . . .

. . . you probably will get there.

- Robert Fripp

At TCC, we tell prospective students that “From here,” they can “go anywhere.”

But if where you’re going is hard to find . . .

and confusing to navigate,

you may get lost in cyberspace

What we’ve got here

is a failure to communicate

What we need here

is an online orientation

Where should we begin?

BEST PRACTICES IOrganizations that consult

for higher education institutions

The Sloan Consortium

Center for Transforming Student Services

BEST PRACTICES IIHow Educational Institutions

Can Create An Online Orientation

Guidelines for Creating Student Services Online

Preparing for Distance Learning:Designing An Online Student

Orientation Course

BEST PRACTICES IIIModel college and university

orientations online

http://eli.nvcc.edu/

http://www.pcc.edu/about/distance/

http://www.mnonline.org/started/rightforyou.html

SOLUTIONS

A good online orientation for distance learning students should do the following

things: Include a readiness survey Include profiles of successful distance students Include learning style inventories and self-assessment pre-tests Provide tutorials for computer and Internet technology Show students how to access portal, SIS, email, and Bb course. Show students where to get technical help and support. Help students become familiar with online library services. Provide information about college and campus support services Provide access to financial aid, tutoring, testing, advising and

more. Provide information about the college’s policies and procedures.

PRODUCTS

READI

READI assessments measure:

• Reading comprehension • Technical competency • Individual attributes • Preferred learning styles • Typing speed and accuracy

Atomic Learning Tutorials

Atomic Learning provides:• Web-based software training • More than 110 applications • Short, easy-to-understand tutorials • Anytime/anywhere training

Comevo

Comevo's Orientation module

• Delivers a customized orientation about school resources, policies and procedures

• Administrators can customize, configure, and administer the content of the orientation

• Administrators can add, edit and delete content, manage users, upload and insert images or PDF documents.

The Training Place

The Training Place• helps clients design an online orientation

course for students new to online learning. • makes recommendations about the

appropriate design, development and implementation of a comprehensive orientation for online learning.

RECOMMENDATIONS Put a link to Distance Learning on TCC’s front page Make the Distance Learning page more introductory Make the Distance Learning page more expressive

(talk to students about what to expect from an online course)

Include profiles of successful distance students Include a readiness survey, with learning style

inventories and self-assessment pre-tests Provide tutorials for computer and Internet technology Streamline the site (get rid of redundant pages, cut

down on excessive linking, and simplify each page)