How Online Learning Works
Below are some common components that come into play with distance learning.
CLEP
The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) offers distance learning students a way to earn college credit for subjects they've already studied without having to take a full college course on the same subject. A CLEP test is a 90-minute exam in one of 33 available subjects (examples include Spanish Language, American Literature, Biology, and Financial Accounting) and consists mostly of multiple-choice questions. CLEP tests are meant to cover the same amount of information covered in a one-semester course and will award the same amount of credit as long as a certain score is reached. Their difficulty level is on par with a final exam.
CLEP tests are an excellent distance learning opportunity. Students can study at home, in their own time, and take the test at any of the 1,400 testing center locations. They might already have the knowledge necessary to take the exam through previous coursework, hobbies, work experience, and independent study. CLEP tests require a broad understanding of a subject, such as would be gathered through a semester's study. It is, however, very possible to pass a CLEP exam with little to no prior knowledge of a subject, as many study materials exist with which to prepare.
The CLEP test is administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT and AP programs. It publishes an official study guide for CLEP tests in general, which includes practice questions for each of the 33 subjects and samples of the essay questions included in the College Composition exams. It also offers study guides for the specific exams as PDF downloads. The study guide gives a complete description of the exam, including what knowledge and skills are required to pass it. Other companies offer comprehensive study guides that contain full, timed practice exams that students can score themselves to gauge their progress and get a sense of what taking the exam will be like.
There are several advantages to taking a CLEP exam to gain credit for a course. The cost of an exam is currently $77 (plus testing center fees), which is a fraction of the average cost of a college course. In addition, taking a CLEP exam will save time by omitting the need for meeting a class schedule, traveling to a campus, or sitting through extraneous lectures. It offers the opportunity to skip general education courses and move on to more interesting and relevant classes. A CLEP exam is an excellent opportunity to flesh out a transcript and move forward with your education.
DSST
The DANTES Subject Standardization Tests or DSSTs are standardized tests, each specializing in a particular area of study. A DSST is designed to gauge a student's knowledge base in a given subject. These tests are given in subjects that parallel typical undergraduate course offerings. There are 38 exams to choose from, some examples being Introduction to the Modern East, A History of the Vietnam War, Life-Span Developmental Psychology, and Principles of Physical Science. A DSST spans the amount of material typically covered in a college undergraduate course on the same subject. The difficulty level of a DSST is on par with a final exam. Distance learners can save a lot of time and money by taking as many DSSTs as is practical.
A student can earn college credit for completing a DSST if the student achieves the required qualifying score. What constitutes a qualifying score is decided individually among each of the colleges and may be higher at some schools than others. Close to 2,000 schools will grant college credit in exchange for receiving a qualifying score on a DSST, but not every school will. Before putting time and effort into studying for and taking the DSST, students should speak with the academic advisors at their college or university to see if they accept DSST credits. In addition, even if the school does allow students to skip classes by taking the DSST or CLEP exams, there is a limit to the number of credits a student is allowed to earn this way.
Taking a DSST in order to earn college credit has many benefits. Taking a DSST or CLEP exam is truly the most free-form, flexible type of distance learning. Students study the material that will be included in the exam completely on their own schedule. They can study as long as they like before deciding to schedule their exam. Because of the unstructured, solitary nature of the learning, students need to be able to keep themselves on track when no one else is checking on them. If they can do that, though, the DSST offers an excellent way for students to advance their careers or their education without having to take time off from work.
The DSST is not the type of exam for which a student can cram. Because it's designed to cover an entire semester's worth of material, there is quite a bit to it. There are full study guides on the DSST Web site, and many publishers publish test preparation guides for each subject test. In some cases, however, students might not need to study all that much. Students might already know all they need to know from life or job experience. It might be a subject they know from previous independent study or it might be a hobby of theirs. In those cases, taking a full semester course on the subject would be unnecessary repetition, and expensive repetition at that. That is the perfect time to take the DSST and gain college credit for prior knowledge.
While the DSST is extremely similar to the CLEP in almost every respect, the DSST has the advantage of offering more exotic or narrower subjects, as opposed to the CLEP, which offers mainly basic, introductory course exams. In addition, DSST credits can occasionally be applied to advanced course requirements, whereas the CLEP credits are mostly for general education requirements. Taking a DSST can save students money, since the cost of the test is $80, a fraction of the cost of an average college course. Moreover, DSST will waive the test fee for eligible servicemen and servicewomen. Taking a DSST is a valuable chance to save time, money, and, in some cases, effort in the pursuit of a degree.
Course Grading
Each college, university, technical or vocational school, and distance learning program grades courses differently, but there is a rough standard by which most gauge students. Often teachers use qualitative grades on their assignments and exams, such as A, B, or F. In and of themselves, these grades don't actually have a value, and are more a way to explain how good one completed assignment is relative to another. This approach might work if every student had the same teacher, using the exact same scale, but that clearly is not the case.
Because different students who have attended different schools needed to be compared against each other, a quantified, standardized system was instituted. Almost all schools now use the grade point average (GPA) in addition to letter grading. Teachers will still use letter grading or a 1-100 percent point scale for grading their assignments, but now each qualitative grade has been assigned a specific grade point value. Schools will make slight changes to this, but here is a common breakdown of a grading system:
Letter Grades
- A = Superior Work: Highest Quality GPA 4.0
- A- = High Honors Quality 3.7
- B+ = High Quality 3.3
- B = Basic Honors Quality 3.0
- B- = Below Honors Quality 2.7
- C+ = Above Satisfactory Quality 2.3
- C = Satisfactory 2.0
- C- = Below Satisfactory Quality 1.7
- D+ = Above Minimum Passing 1.3
- D = Minimum Passing 1.0
- F = Failed 0.0
In some particular programs - nursing, for example - a D is not considered passing. In nursing programs, anything below a C+ is often considered to be a failing grade.
In addition to the grading scale above, there are a few marks students can earn which do not have GPA values associated with them. Students can earn an AU if they elect to audit a course. A student auditing a course cannot receive credit or grades for the course. Auditors must attend classes regularly, complete assigned reading, and participate in discussions, but they are excused from examinations.
Students can request to take a course with a Pass/Fail option. Taking a course Pass/Fail only changes what type of grade students will earn at the end of the course. They will participate in the class as normal, completing all of the assignments, taking all of the exams, and volunteering opinions during discussions. Students who earn at least a D in the course will be given the grade of P and awarded course credit, but the grade of P will not affect their GPA. Failing student are given the grade of NC (no credit), but their GPA is not affected. Some nontraditional courses, such as practicums, advanced seminars, and directed studies, may be graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. A grade of S indicates an evaluation of C or better. U indicates a course evaluation of less than C. The same applies as with Pass/Fail, where the S/U grade does not affect the overall GPA.
Students can be granted the grade of INC (incomplete) if the semester ends and they haven't completed the required work. An INC is usually allowed only in the case of an emergency situation, and it is completely at the instructor's discretion to grant an INC. An INC is granted only if there is a reasonable expectation that the student will pass the course. If the student has missed an excessive number of classes and failed to turn in things on time, an INC might not be granted. Once they receive an INC, students will then have a limited amount of time in which to make up the missing work and receive a standardized grade.
Required Hardware and Software
In today's technology-dependent world, it's a given that most, if not all, of a student's distance learning will be done using a computer. It is essential, therefore, that students have an up-to-date machine capable of running the programs and software required by their different courses. When deciding whether to buy a new computer or upgrade their current machine, students should consider the memory, hard drive, and processor components, among other things.
A computer's processor is responsible for processing all of the tasks a computer performs, down to the very last one. Since it's involved in everything, the speed of the processor affects the overall speed of the computer; the faster the processor, the faster the computer, which can make learning more efficient and less frustrating.
Along with the processor, students can increase the speed with which programs open and operate by increasing their random access memory, or RAM. More RAM means the computer can handle more programs at once or handle more complex programs more efficiently. Increasing RAM will improve how smoothly the programs run and is especially essential when working with graphics-heavy programs like Adobe Photoshop or AutoCAD. Graphic artists, engineers, architects, and film students are just some of the people who would want to focus on boosting their RAM. They would also want to invest in a more powerful graphics card.
A hard drive is designed to store all of the information on the computer. This storage persists through computer shutoff, unlike with RAM. Because a hard drive stores literally every piece of data on your computer, it is essential to have a large hard drive. One program alone can be 1 gigabyte (GB) in size, if not more. Photo and music files take up a considerable amount of space as well. A new computer or hard drive should have at least 40 GB of storage space to be adequate. Students will also need a sound card in order to hear sound effects and the audio aspects of any videos.
Beyond the hardware requirements, students will need software as well. The foundation of this software is an operating system. A general rule of thumb is that artists and people working with media and graphics prefer the Apple Mac OS, while everyone else typically chooses Microsoft Windows. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, and both will get the job done. Unless a student intends to be working with intense graphics and media manipulation, Windows is probably best as it is more commonly used and thus compatible with virtually every program.
The bare essentials of software needed for distance learning are an email program, a word-processing program, and a Web browser. Often a school will provide email accounts for each of its students, even those just taking one course. In that case, students could use Microsoft Outlook to access their email. Just as commonly used are free Web-based email accounts such as Google Gmail and Yahoo! Mail. Any computer that has an operating system will come preloaded with a default Web browser, usually Microsoft Internet Explorer or Apple Safari; however, students can use any browsing program to access the Web, though some (such as Mozilla Firefox) are safer than others. Students will also need a media player, along with essential applications such as Java, JavaScript, and Flash in order to use most Web sites and all of the interactive media involved in the course.
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Classes
With regard to how a distance education course is run, there are two primary course structures: synchronous and asynchronous. The distinction is made in how the students interact with each other, the instructors, and the material. Knowing the difference between synchronous and asynchronous courses can help students choose the course style that works best for them.
Synchronous courses can include both integrated distance learning and pure distance learning courses. In synchronous courses, the students and teachers interact in real time but from different locations. Because a large portion of the learning process occurs live, distance learning students are required to log in and be at their desks at specific times. Synchronous distance learning may include multimedia components such as group chats, Web seminars, video conferencing, and phone call-ins.
Asynchronous courses are often a more popular option among distance learners because they offer more flexibility. With asynchronous courses, there are typically no set times for specific interactions between students and teachers. The learning and teaching processes occur at different locations and times. Because of this, students are able to complete their coursework at any hour of the day, whenever it fits into their schedule. Asynchronous distance learning often relies on technology such as message boards, email, prerecorded video and audio lectures, and traditional mail correspondence.
Synchronous distance learning appeals to students who work best within a set structure. Learning independently, it can be hard to follow a study schedule. Having scheduled lectures can help keep students on track and focused on getting their assignments done on time. Synchronous distance learning also offers students a better chance to be part of an active learning community. Communicating with teachers and other students in real time can make for a more social experience. It can also help to avoid frustration because students can ask questions and receive answers immediately.
Asynchronous distance learning works well for students who have no trouble keeping themselves on task and who need very little direct guidance to complete their assignments. It is ideal for students whose schedules make it impossible to attend at regular class times. In addition, because little of the class communication happens instantaneously, it is common to see student contributions that are more refined and well thought out than seen in synchronous courses. In these courses, students have had the time to consider their responses, write them out, and edit them before posting replies.