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Indiana University Bloomington
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Distance Education


Example of online course expectations: Course Expectations

Why are clear student expectations important?

  1. new environment - In many cases participating in an online course is a new environment and new experience for students.  While most students have a good feel for what the expectations are in a traditional classroom setting, they probably don't have a good idea for what is expected in this new environment.
  2. student appreciation - Students appreciate when course expectations and requirements are clear and given to them at the beginning of the course
  3. active learning - Distance education courses rely heavily on the principle of "active learning."  Students learn in their courses through active participation in class discussions and forums
  4. discussion classroom - In web-based distance learning environments the online discussion creates "the classroom."  This is where students and instructors share ideas as they might if they were in a traditional classroom setting.  Instead of participating by physically showing up to class, students participate by actively contributing to the online discussions.

Example of Course Expectations:

R503: Application of Instructional Media