Congratulations! You have chosen to enroll in an online course at JSU! Here are some tips for getting comfortable with your selected delivery style:
- Take time prior to the first class session to review all the help files available within Blackboard, e-book, i-book, or other online content.
- Spend some time just navigating your way through the class and making sure you can figure out the uses of all the buttons.
- Manage your time. You’ll find that your time management skills will be critical in an online class. Why?
- Because it’s very easy to spend either far too little time or far too much time on the class. Set designated blocks of time to work on the class. This will help you stay up with the assignments and with the interaction required in most online classes.
- Download or print out pages for reference and review away from the computer.
- Set priorities and pay close attention to what your instructor says about priorities.
- Ask right away for help if something isn’t going right whether it’s a technical issue or something to do with the class environment. Don’t waste time trying to solve a problem; just email to the (1) Help Desk at oithelpdesk@jsums.edu, (2) call the PC Support Help Desk at 601.979.2069; or (3) contact the Blackboard Help Desk at 601.979.0245.
Communication
- Stay in touch with your instructor and your classmates. Remember that you won’t have all those verbal cues that you get in the physical classroom and neither will your instructor. Words on the screen help the instructor “see” you much more clearly. The teaching style used in online courses may be different from the traditional college model. Your teacher won’t know if you are having trouble if you don’t tell them. Post questions to the discussion board; a classmate may have a solution to your issue.
- Again, taking a class online means you won’t be sitting quietly in the classroom; participation is essential for everyone involved. You are responsible for initiating more contact, for being persistent when you don’t understand something.
Using your Computer
It is very important that you have had prior experience using a computer before taking an online course. Keyboarding skills are critical for your success and experience with word processing; email and Web browsing are necessary, as well.
Skills that you need to know include how to:
- Access your Internet service provider account
- Compose, send and read email messages
- Attach files to an email message
- Read and save attached files from an email message
- Use your Web browser to view, navigate, and mark Web sites for later viewing
- Create a document using a word processor
- Save and retrieve files to and from your hard drive
Academic Honesty
Jackson State University expects and insists that students are honest in their efforts to obtain an education at the University, any student found to be dishonest in acquiring, using or reporting information, or in any other manner be violating established academic codes of conduct will face a stiff penalty for the assignment/requirement in question.
Students must be honest in all their endeavors of academic matriculation at Jackson State University. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other act of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. In cases where evidence is sufficient to establish that a student cheated or was otherwise dishonest in completing a test, paper, report, etc., the penalty will range from repeating the assignment to expulsion from the University.
Online instructors may require that students engage a proctoring service which will verify student identity while testing. The service typically requires a secure log-in with picture identification and the use of a webcam. Instructors may also use SafeAssign, a tool that helps students properly attribute sources and deters plagiarism.
ADA Statement
If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and ADA Coordinator (as early as possible in the term) located in the Jacob L. Reddix Building (old student union), rooms 101 and 102. The office hours are: 8:00 a. m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The telephone number is (601) 979-3704 or (601) 979-6919 (TTY) and the facsimile number is (601) 979-6918. The mailing address is: Office of Support Services for Students and Employees with Disabilities, P.O. Box 17156, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS 39217.
