Self-Study: A Self-Study course is one where there is no instructor involvement at all. The instructor is more of an “author” who creates material, but student accesses it and interacts with it on their own. Classic examples of Self-Study material are language and motivational tapes or CDs. Sometimes there may be workbooks and other documentation included that student can utilize as they learn.

There is another presentation format to be aware of: Start time. Some of above formats require pre-set “start times” (the Live and Synchronous courses in particular), or they can start whenever any particular student signs up (the Asynchronous and Self-Study in particular).

An inventive Instructor may configure his or her course to incorporate elements of all of these formats into delivery process.

Read Instrument Panel

Pay attention to what technologies class incorporates to facilitate student interactivity: chat rooms, discussion boards, video-conferencing, and other multimedia that build classroom community. (Caution: more interactivity and multimedia a course offers, greater minimum technical requirements become.)

Chat rooms and bulletin boards allow students to post live or static messages, respectively, for expanded discussion offline. Features that offer a greater means for communication between students (and instructor) are key to successful learning. The semi-anonymity allows you to speak your mind without intimidation, making conversations lively and enriching. Private one-on-one email exchange encourages useful feedback. Chat rooms also offer students with visual barriers or who are easily distracted in traditional classrooms a place to thrive because they accommodate greater concentration.

(Remember—bulletin boards and discussion boards aid instructors in assessing a student’s overall participation and/or enrollment, so be sure to document your contributions frequently.)

Update Your Tools

Whether on a PC or a Mac, you’ll need an Internet connection—preferably using a high-speed Internet Service Provider (ISP)—and at least 64 megabytes of RAM (memory), preferably more – RAM is cheap and makes a huge difference in performance of your system. Because most home systems are older (and slower) than office systems, most many online courses are designed with this in mind. Contact site’s administrator before enrolling if you have specific questions pertaining to your system.

Summary: Review Checklist

Review following statements and check off ones that apply to you. The more affirmative responses you provide, better your chance of learning effectively in online environment. (The list is not exhaustive—but rather a general overview of key characteristics successful online learners posses).

 Enjoy working independently  Accept direct instructor feedback  Access to computer and Internet  Can meet deadlines  Appreciate exchanging of ideas  Understand common computer terms, such as “URL” and “hyperlink”  Possess basic typing skills  Comfortable asking questions and having one-on-one dialogues with instructor  Curious to explore new things  Enjoy learning in a diverse “classroom” setting  General computer skills  Responsible study habits (setting own schedule)  Ten–fifteen hours per week (on average) available for study  Understanding online coursework is not inherently easier than traditional coursework  Effective writing skills Desire to read material online

Online Learning is a Two-Way Street Ensuring online learning success means showing up—not literally, of course—but rather being present for self-growth. Education is an investment in oneself. Expect back only what you put in, and don’t treat it as a spectator sport.

Remember—successful online learning is measured by your participation. Accomplishing your goals means taking responsibility for your work, as well as interacting with peers for feedback and support. In short, it’s an exchange of ideas and information.

Don’t Give Up Before Finish Line Each course is a unique experience. What you put into a course is what you’ll get out of it. Online learning approaches are vast… choose carefully, then dive into it with vigor.

“90 % of success is showing up” - Woody Allen

"Society is soil, individuals seeds to grow Honest & sure's deal: you reap what you sow"

Philosophy, science, argued religion, great philosophers differed on God -education and teaching of and by educators, teachers, continued to be based on obstinacy and ignorance; whether on spirituality with accepted unknowns man considered himself more knowledgeable in teaching and education on much eastern and western philosophy by many eastern and western philosophers on afterlife than when in womb about world, was 'God' of religion not basically ‘mysterious force' of all philosophers and philosophy and science -reminding of same basic values of all philosophers and philosophy in keeping social order that were, as based e.g. on ‘the ten commandments', of all religious, materialist, secular societies?!

Despite philosophers and philosophy, educators and teachers and education, wasn't man's imagination shameless, unknowns of philosophers and philosophy and science limiting reason -and (notwithstanding influences through religion, philosophers and philosophy, science, educators and teachers in education and teaching) in religions, major faiths, beliefs that came into play regulate philosophers', philosophy's, psychology's ‘conscience'?!

Concern with language of philosophers, of philosophy, had to be more, extended beyond its symbolism which knowledge changed: Language, was being perverted with biases or ignorance -it was disservice to future generations that e.g. ‘gaiety' they would hardly understand meaning of as used in great literature ~it was as wrong for artistes, intellectuals, academics, to consider forceful replacing of words from languages of nations they hailed to be advancement in civilisation as internationally to fund literacy programs to teach basic ‘international language'; language competently used had been responsible for social reforms through e.g. Dickens or Ibsen, such enjoyment through e.g. Shakespeare or Fuzuli, such mystical and philosophical literature as e.g. Goethe's -the long term effect might be comparable to e.g. loss of great works of literature and philosophy by mobs' burning of library of Alexandria. Philosophers in education, teachers, it fell upon, in teaching, to explain, to ensure appreciation of this.

In philosophy philosophers, in teaching and education educators and teachers, did innocent disservice where on lines of biases or ignorance of influences based on philosophy and teaching truth of two and two making four dependent on who said it, even in terms of e.g. of Avecinna's philosophy being right but Ibn Sina's philosophy wrong ~much more than man's experiences when young did that at all times enable cruelty by presenting to man his fellow men as bad, his being advocated by abusers of his innocence or by ignorant to behave badly effecting similar response; there was much to an address to a teachers school that true victory and greatest service to mankind was against ignorance. It fell on philosophy and philosophers in education, on educators, teachers, to take heed of need to balance practical teaching with academic teaching enabling doers to be or with them also there to be thinkers ~man aspired to quiet enjoyment -did not systems that failed man's aspirations to cherish always perish?!

It would not help knowledge in philosophy or in teaching and education of and by educators and teachers for philosophical thought to resign itself to silence on what none could deny but many could not explain; philosophy and philosophers, philosophical thought and philosophical logic, unaffected by ‘metaphilosphy' existed because man's curiosity compelled him what he could not know to seek to have an insight into, although one could not identically experience another's e.g. joy or pain and disagreement on e.g. extent of it was possible and argument in view of unequal knowledge possibly impossible ~in philosophy philosophers, in teaching and education educators, teachers, aspiring to prevent forcing on or distorting young minds were forgetting that religions advocated a mind usable well or badly as science intellect and philosophy man's will in systems and orders requiring faith in unknowns or faith in reasons secret and both abusable, some assuming only e.g. Dewey or Darwin worth mention, St. La Salle or monk Mendell not -that disregarded man's reasons in requiring, e.g. UK's Education Act, when a theory is taught other theories on matter also to be to enable man to apply his own mind, and that insight.

Philosophy was not nonsense divorced from logic, nor affected ‘metaphilosopy' application of philosophical logic, inductive or deductive, to known about both known and unknown -also in latter respect capable of useful sense. Scientific research on philosophy, even with e.g. eventual agreement with millennia old philosophy and philosophers on man's faculties in relation to teaching and education, was good ~but that scorn through educators and teachers in formal teaching and education for philosophy and philosophers was considerably based on ignorance, e.g. of psychologists' increasing acceptance of ‘mind', of evolutionary theories not being as hypothesised, uncertainty principle of physics, personal development theories being adaptations from philosophy and philosophers, was bad for teaching, education, educators, teachers.

Man had potential, always learned -his appearance of being more capable of learning when young had to do with many concerns of adult life affecting as non-use did a car battery ~love aided in education and teaching but left much to be desired if rapport or response was without conscious understanding.

Educators and teachers in teaching, philosophers in philosophy, did owe care in teaching and education not to couple biases affecting teaching and education contrary to man's aspirations with such innocence -that began by exercising thought in education, and teaching to think.

"Never thinker expires Who in others thinking inspires"