Course Content

Some students have a sense that an online course will be easier than a face-to-face course. However, that is not true. Each online course at NEO will have the same academic standards and content as a face-to-face course. You may find online learning to be easier because it fits your learning style, but the course content, the expectations for how much you will learn, and assessment of what you have learned will be just as rigorous as in a face-to-face class.

Interacting with your Instructor

Many students feel that in online learning they get to know their professor/instructor better than in a traditional face to face course. There are many options for interacting with your instructor. Below are a few that you might experience.

Introductions – most online courses will include a personal introduction from your instructor to allow you to get to know who is teaching the course, and an icebreaker to allow you to introduce yourself to your instructor and other students.

Feedback on assignments – your instructor will provide feedback on your online assignments just like in a face-to-face course. Each professor will have his/her own way of providing feedback. You may receive written comments on a paper, get ideas or suggestions through a discussion board, or feedback could be provided as a video or audio file from your instructor, and these are only some of the options.

Getting help – faculty at NEO will still have office hours when you can contact them. You can also contact your instructor through e-mail, and some may use video conferencing, or phone calls as an option. You may also find there is a discussion board where all students in the class can post general questions helpful for all learners. The specifics for how you get help for your courses will be listed in the course syllabus, or on the start here page, but there will always be multiple ways for you to contact your instructor and get the help you need.

Interacting with other Students

You have probably had a lot of experience getting to know students in a face-to-face class. There might be conversation before or after the class, you might get together outside of class to work on a project or study, and you might work together on a group assignment. There are also many ways to interact with other students in online learning.

Introductions – most online courses will include an icebreaker where you are asked to share some information about yourself, read the posts of other students in the course, and respond.

Discussion Board – online courses typically have multiple discussion assignments where you are required to share your thoughts, opinions, or ideas on course content and respond to other students' posts.

Group Assignments – Just like in a face-to-face course group assignments may be part of your course. The only difference is that you will be asked to communicate using some sort of technology. Your instructor will provide you with the options for communicating for the assignment. They might include working on a group paper in Google docs, having an online meeting through an online conferencing tool, you can also communicate by phone, e-mail, or text, and some students might choose to arrange for a face-to-face meeting.

Contacting Other Students – Through the People button available in each of your online courses you will see a list of all of the students in your course. You can send a message to any student allowing you to create connections to discuss course assignments, course content, or whatever else you might ask a fellow student in a face-to-face course.

"What About This?" – Many courses will include a class lounge or similar discussion area. This is a place where you can ask questions of your instructor or other students that would be appropriate for other students to see. You might find helpful questions and answers that other students have posted in this area.

Netiquette – Interaction with other students is an important part of all online courses. However, your interactions should remain respectful, and considerate. You are encouraged to share your viewpoint even if it differs from that of other students but remember that you are disagreeing with a point of view, not a person. Please review the netiquette policy page (rules of etiquette for online learning) designed to provide a better understanding of how to communicate with other students through discussion boards. Most NEO faculty use this or some variation of this policy in their courses.