Tutorial: How to Survive in an Online Class |
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25 Survival Tips by Jim Shimabukuro, Kapiolani Community College
Reprinted with author's permission (September, 2001)
These tips are aimed at students who have already registered for courses that are either wholly or partially online.
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20. COMPOSE ONLINE. Learn to use your mail editor as a word processor and begin composing online. It doesn't have all the features of a MS-Word or Word Perfect, but it has enough to make it very effective and efficient. Keeping working documents online has many advantages:
(a) you have access to it from any internet-connected station;
(b) you can distribute it to anyone with a touch of a key;
(c) you can compose, revise, and resend the working draft to yourself from anywhere as often as you want,
(d) you're reminded to work on it because it'll be there in your index of received mail.
21. RELAX. Don't be overly concerned with grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. when composing informal email messages. The point is to communicate and not spend too much time and energy fretting over mechanics.
22. MASTER UPLOADING. Learn how to select and paste the contents of a word-processed file into an email message. Learn other techniques as well, e.g., Fetch, Kermit. Practice these procedures before the first major draft is due.
23. SIGNAL HUMOR. Anticipate possible misinterpretations of text that's meant to be funny. Use emoticons to signal humor. Here are a few examples:
· Smile :)
· Wink ;)
· Grin <g>
· BIG Grin <G>
24. QUOTE ECONOMICALLY. Don't quote unnecessarily. Definitely don't quote long messages when your response is a brief one or two lines. In commenting on a classmate's draft of a paper, send your comments only, if possible, and don't send the entire draft back. Remember that classmates may have space limits on the amount of email they can receive in their mailboxes. If their boxes fill, messages will be bounced back to senders.
25. LEARN HOW TO COMMENT EFFECTIVELY. When reviewing a draft for a classmate, you may need to insert yoour suggestions or questions between paragraphs. To distinguish your words from the writer's, use ALL CAPS.
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