With gas prices on the rise, many students are considering online classes. I took a full year's worth of college online and it turned out to be the best decision I made for my academic career. Indeed, online classes intimidated me in the beginning. Fears of falling behind in class, lacking one on one time with a professor, and computer crashes plagued my thoughts through my first few courses. I had to totally change my mindset to pull out an A grade from my each of my courses without burning out my brain. I went through highs and lows. I made some big mistakes and some smart moves. The information in this guide is a must read for everyone going to college, or has a loved one planning to do so in the near future. There are times when there are no other choices but to take the terrifying online class.

This guide will go over what an online student needs to know and to have to succeed. Topics such as handing in homework, interacting with other students and teachers, tests, and many more will be covered. By the time you finish reading this guide, the fear and mystery of college online will be no more.

Must Have Supplies

The most important thing an online student needs is a dependable computer. If the computer can run the latest version of your preferred web browser at a decent speed, then the computer will do fine in the majority of classes offered online. Tons of memory, RAM, and an expensive graphics card are not necessary since online classes are not flashy. There are a few exceptions- online classes concentrating on digital imaging software such as PhotoShop or Flash will need a pretty fast computer. Go to the software producer's web site to check to see if the computer if properly suited to run the class's software.

A bad computer for an online class is one that freezes frequently or is infected with viruses or spyware. These problems may be correlated to each other. To solve this problem, buy the proper software to remove these malicious programs and protect your computer. You can also download free spyware removal software, but do it only from a trusted source. If the computer continues to freeze after clean up, take it to a specialist (or a computer guru). The worse case scenario by using one of these bad computers is it freezes in the middle of the final exam. This could result in a 0 grade for any quiz, mid term, or final! Even if the computer is working great, find a back up computer such as one at the library or school just in case these problems suddenly arise.

Next on the must have list is Microsoft Office. I managed to do well using Microsoft Office from 1997 even though there are quite a few things it lacks to the 2003 edition. I frequently used Microsoft Word for writing papers. Power Point is another important program that comes with the package. Some online classes require a Power Point presentation for a specific subject. Most online professors design their classes with the preconceived idea that every student has some version of Microsoft Office installed on their computer. This is why Microsoft Office is on the must have list.

Another essential item is a daily planner. I made my own planner using the Excel program from Microsoft Office. Multi-tasking will be more successful if it is planned out before hand. Things I would write down in the planner would be days I'd take tests, do homework for certain courses, days that I'd work on reports, when I'd do reading assignments, etc. I usually set a specific day of the week in which I'd always work on juste one specific online course. Online instructors don't remind students of every little thing they must do for the week. A planner is a must, even for those who think they aren't forgetful.

The last must have item is only for students who plan to take an online math course. Just like in high school, college online math professors require students to show their work. Homework assignments need to be emailed to the teacher. This is why a scanner is necessary. Some math professors allow students to mail their homework to them, but postage is quite expensive these days.

Class Structure

The Basics

Most classes around the United States follow the structure set up by WebCT. The college of the student sets them up a special online account where they may access all of their online classes. Sometimes students may have two online accounts if they are taking an online class run by a different college.

After the login page, all of the online courses will pop up in their own bar. Each class has its own email account, discussion board, chat room, grades, and web site. Special icons will appear in the course's bar if there are new emails, discussion board postings, new grades, or assignments. The course's bar will also notify students if assignments, quizzes, or exams are due soon (usually 2 days).

To enter the class, double-click on the course's name. It is easy to access everything since all of the major links are listed in the left column. This may include a special calendar to print out for the class, email, course modules made by the instructor, exams, and homework drop boxes. Looking through all of these links the first day of class is a very wise move. Reading the teacher's synthesis is crucial since not every professor handles online classes the same way.

Handing in Homework

The student can submit assignments as scanned jpeg files or Microsoft Word documents. Some instructors have assignments submitted by email. Some have a major link in the left column that brings them to a drop box where they may load their assignment and submit it. Submitting assignments using the class discussion board is also quite common. I had one course in which the assignments were handed in using the quiz option. The professor did not set a time limit on the "quiz" and allowed for unlimited submissions of the "quiz." To find the proper way to submit assignments, read the professor's synthesis or email him or her.

Quizzes and Exams

There are three common types of online tests- timed multiple choice, timed essay, and take home essay. To access the quizzes and exams, click on the Quiz or Exams link in the left column and follow through the pages until you finally reach the page with the button that says "begin." Once you click that button, the quiz or exam will pop up in a new window and load up all of the questions. Online quizzes may contain pictures that can take some time to load.

To the right of the quiz's window, every test question number will be displayed with a circle below it. Once a question is answered, the circle will turn to a X. This X will turn into a check mark once the question is saved. On the left side are the questions. Every question will have a button below it that will save the answer if clicked. It is best to save frequently in case the computer crashes. This will prevent a 0 score for the quiz. Some exams will allow the student to reload the quiz in case this happens. All of the saved questions will still be answered, but there will be even less time to take the quiz than before. Once the quiz is finished, it can be submitted by the pressing the submit button after the very last question.

Most tests and quizzes can be done on the computer at home. For midterms and final exams, though, some instructors require students to take the test at a proctor site, a place where they are under supervision. This is to prevent cheating. These special exams require passwords. Students must find a proctor site, set up a test time and date, and tell their professor the email address they need to send the password to.

Science Labs

Just like for regular college science courses, online classes have labs too. Labs can range from anything to doing a computer simulation of dissecting a frog to doing mathematical problems. I am glad I did biology online since I did not have to smell or touch dead animals. I still had to look at them and see their insides, though. Most of the labs I did for my online class required no preparation or clean up. Most experiments were done through simulations. Submitting lab results were done in the same procedure as homework.

Interaction

Not every course is very interactive. Some classes I never emailed or chatted with another student. To prevent this, some professors require all students to post in the discussion board every week about a certain subject. Some professors go as far as setting an online chat session in which the professor will answer questions and give notes for an upcoming exam. The most common form of communication for me was email. All of my professors answered my emails in a very timely manner.

Grades

Grades can be found through the major link in the left column. Results for quizzes and tests sometimes can be found out immediately after it's finished. Homework and papers take time for professors to grade so their results may not show up for a few days. The final grade for the course can be found here.

The key to success online is to keep a schedule and stick to it. Falling behind in an online class can be disastrous. The best piece of advice is to avoid classes in difficult subjects. For me, math is very difficult and I made a lackluster grade in my online trigonometry class. For others, science may be their weakness or literature. Thankfully, I did fantastic in all my other online classes and received a $3000 scholarship for all of my hard work. It was a win-win situation. I saved money on gasoline, didn't have to listen to long lectures, and I received a scholarship that pays for the majority of my tuition. It is worth a shot for every student!