Online Orientation Course - Essay Example

Online Orientation Online Orientation Introduction American Sentinel stands exceptional for the excellent online learning environment it arrange for the students. In order to ensure the students find the study comfortable, the University has arranged various support services including success advisors, NetTutor, New Student Resource Center, personalized student portals, online interaction with other students through messages and chat rooms, a special two week orientation course which covers learning the moodle system, course structure, policy essentials, essentials of student success, critical thinking, time management, research and writing process, webinars, and student support.

In addition, students also learn to use the 24 hour library service. An ideal Orientation Course Admittedly, the main purpose of an orientation course is to offer knowledge about the basics. It is supposed to offer the students a fundamental idea about the way the online course operates. That means the course will make the students aware about the course content, duration, and the way the students are assessed. In addition, the students should be given enough insight into the essential rules and regulations and the student assessment criteria.

Furthermore, it is vital in the case of an online course to teach the students how to achieve optimum performance in an online environment where the students are likely to feel lonely. Moreover, such orientation training will make the students familiar with the various resources and will teach them how to use the resources. Furthermore, it is vital to teach the students how to conduct an effective research because admittedly, an online course can only offer less student-teacher interaction than an ordinary classroom does.

In addition, it is likely that in an online learning environment, at times, students fail to understand whom to approach when they face difficulties which are personal, study related, or financial in nature. It is necessary for an orientation course to ensure that the students are well-informed about the available student support facilities. Furthermore, it is necessary for an orientation course to teach the students how to manage their time effectively while working independently. One can say that a perfect orientation course is one which reduces the possibility of mistakes and speeds up productivity through enhanced familiarity.

In total, it becomes evident that a perfect orientation course to online learning will make the students familiar with the course and its contents, the rules and regulations, the resources available, and how to use the available resources. Critique to ASU Orientation Course From the student experience section of the University website, it becomes evident that the University’s students are highly satisfied with the online courses. It is seen that 97% of the students are satisfied with their studies at the University.

Admittedly, the orientation course has an important role in retaining this higher level of satisfaction among the students. One of the major parts of the orientation course is the introduction of students to the Moodle System. Admittedly this is the most important step in the case of online education because students need to create and operate their own account to do all the activities related to their study. So, the most important part of this orientation course is to learn the Moodle System.

Also, during the orientation course, it seems useful to help the students improve their computer skills while teaching to operate the same. In other words, along with moodle system, students should also be given knowledge regarding computer skills if necessary. Yet another vital part of the orientation course is to make the students familiar with the course structure along with time management tips. It will help in enhancing familiarity. Evidently, most of the students of ASU are working professionals or people who are busy in their lives.

Thus, this orientation will help them have an overall idea about what they have to do and within what time they have to complete the same. Another vital part of the orientation program is the knowledge it provides about the student support facilities. It is common for students to get confused when they are in any study related problems. However, this particular information will be helpful in their studies as they are well aware about whom to approach and for what purpose. Yet another point to be mentioned is the webinars and other areas of student interaction.

Knowledge about this helps students in studies as they are capable of discussing their study related issues with other students. Conclusion In total, it becomes evident that the orientation course offered by ASU is very effective in making the students familiar with the University policies, the way the online courses work, how to study effectively, how to seek support, and how to interact with other students. References American Sentinel University. Orientation Course. Retrieved from http://www.

americansentinel.edu/student-experience/student-support-services-and-resources