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 Topic
B2.1: Orienting Students to Online Technologies
Technology Requirements
Before they register for an online course,
students need to know the specific technology required for them to
take that course. Usually, the college hosting the course provides
information about these requirements, but sometimes questions about
online technologies come to the instructor to deal with and explain.
Instructors don’t need to be computer experts, but they should
be able to answer the basic questions coming from a student, and they
should be able to know where a student might go to find the answer
if they don’t.
Technology requirements for some
online courses may go beyond the standard of support offered by the
course provider. For example, if the college provides the course management
system on its own server, some technical support is expected of the
college, usually in the form of a help desk staffed by knowledgeable
technicians who can answer questions over the phone from students who
call. However, in other courses, students may be expected to use additional
technologies, such as Macromedia® Flash® or Shockwave®.
As a consequence, instructors may need to be knowledgeable enough with
the software to be able to provide technical assistance if the college
cannot help.
| Learning
Activity I: Student Technology Guides |
| Assume the role of a student planning
to take your first online course. You have a computer at home, but
it’s about five years old and you’re thinking about investing
in a new one. Go to your college web site and search for information
about the technology requirements for online courses. Is the information
readily available? How long did it take you to find technical information
from your college’s web site? Does your current computer measure
up? Are some of your questions about technical requirements unanswered? |
 
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