Distance Learning
Getting Started
In order for an instructor to add
you to the course Blackboard site,
you must set up your PIN #, login
password, and e-mail address in the
Student Information System.
Once
logged into the Student Information
System, you will need to create your
Blackboard account.
click here for
instructions
Any student desiring to take an
online course at ICC must take the
Orientation to Online Learning course. The
orientation course must be completed
by the end of the first week of
classes.
By taking the
Orientation to Online
Learning Course, you will be able take any
number of online courses provided
meeting the prerequisites for that
course. Once you have completed your
online orientation and passed the
exam, your instructor(s) will be
notified. If you have not passed
this online orientation course by
the deadline, you will be dropped
from all online courses in which you
are enrolled. You must still
complete the orientation prior to
completing future online courses.
PLEASE NOTE
your online classes will NOT
be available until the day the class
is scheduled to begin.
Please
view each of the links below for
information pertinent to the effectiveness of your experience with
an on-line course at Independence Community College.
Fall
2008 Online and video-based
courses
ICC Blackboard
Student User's Guide
 in
PDF Format
Orientation to Online
Learning Course Completion Guide
Blackboard
Compatibility
Issues in
Windows Vista
The Windows
Vista operating
system has not
yet been
certified or
established to
be compatible
with Blackboard.
Students and
Faculty members
who do decide to
upgrade to Vista
at this point
may encounter
some issues. You
might consider
downloading and
installing the
Mozilla Firefox
browser.
|
The following information excerpted from the Orientation to
Online Learning class.
How does an online
class work?
-
The student must first be
admitted to ICC.
-
The student must be enrolled in
the online class.
-
The student must have their
books purchased and course
packet obtained (if provided by
the instructor) from the ICC
Bookstore.
-
The student must set up their
PIN#, password, and e-mail
address in the
Web
Information System before
any instructor can add them to
Blackboard.
-
Students enrolled
in an online course are to
contact their instructor prior
to the end of the first week of
classes.
-
This initial
point of contact will assist in
the communication process of
beginning the course.
-
The instructor will guide the
student from there. If the
instructor has a course packet
in the ICC Bookstore, this will
likely serve as the starting
guide.
How do I communicate
with my online instructor?
It depends on your
instructor. Most means of
communication will come from e-mail
messages and discussion boards.
There may be times where students
are required to participate in a
chat room (Virtual Classroom in
Blackboard) or instant messaging
session. Your instructor will
provide instructions and guidance in
participating in discussion boards,
chat rooms, or instant messaging
sessions. Popular instant messaging
programs include:
Windows Messenger (http://messenger.msn.com)
Yahoo! Messenger (http://messenger.yahoo.com/)
AOL Instant Messenger
(http://www.aim.com/)
How do I communicate
with other students in my online
course?
It depends on what
your instructor prefers. Most
courses utilize the message boards
in Blackboard for general
student-to-student communication.
Projects that require group
participation and file sharing may
necessitate the use of e-mail. Your
instructor will provide additional
details.
How is my progress in
an online course evaluated?
Your progress is
evaluated the same way a traditional
class is evaluated. Your
assignments, projects, quizzes, and
exams will be graded and then
recorded on the Blackboard grade
book. Grades are also posted to the
Web Information System (http://myacount.indycc.edu)
after the 5th, 10th,
and Finals week.
Do I have to come to
campus for exams?
Maybe.
While we are working toward 100%
online courses, not all instructors
are there yet. You may have to visit
campus for supervised exams. An
example on-campus exam may involve
science lab materials, etc. that
cannot be performed at home. Ask
your instructor for additional
details.
Some exams may
require proctoring. Exam proctoring
is the process of having someone
serving in an official education
capacity to administer an exam to
you. Typical proctoring sites can
include public schools, colleges,
universities, public libraries, and
testing centers. Testing via a
proctor requires a proctor
application form to be completed by
the prospective proctor and the
student. The ICC Proctor Application
form and the Exam Proctoring form is
available for download at
www.indycc.edu/icconline. Your
instructor must approve the proctor
prior to any exams being
administered.
Communicating Online
Communication!
Communication is such an important
issue in online courses. Fortunately
in today’s world, there are many
forms of communication.
While telephone
communication is useful in
communicating directly with
individuals, voice mail tag is not
necessarily productive in an
educational setting. All online
instructors have e-mail. E-mail is a
common form of initial communication
with your instructor. Once your
course begins, however, a common
avenue for communication is the
Discussion Board in Blackboard.
Discussion Forums
serve many functions. Each
instructor may utilize Blackboard
differently from another instructor.
One instructor might use the
Discussion Board to address
attendance by requiring each
participant to post comments a
specific number of times per week.
Another instructor might use the
discussion boards for Question and
Answer (Q&A) sessions where students
ask the instructor and other
student’s questions about the course
and its curricula. Yet another
instructor might use the discussion
board to allow students working on a
group project to communication with
each other and attach files. Some
instructors, however, may use a
combination of the above to engage
students.
While the discussion
boards are good for general course
comments and discussions, matters of
a private nature might be better
communicated via e-mail. For example
if a student is unsure why they
received a 75% on their research
paper, it probably is not
appropriate to air this
disappointment in the discussion
board.
Important ICC Websites
ICC Library (www.indycc.edu/library)
The ICC Library is
located on the 2nd floor
of the Academic Building. The online
card catalog allows you to search
the library holdings by keyword,
author, series, category, title,
subject, or call number. The
InterLibrary Loan agreement allows
students and employees to access
books from other libraries through
the ICC library. The InterLibrary
Loan page has additional details.
Buccaneer Newspaper (www.indycc.edu/buccaneer)
The Buccaneer
newspaper is a great source of
campus news written by ICC students
and sometimes employees.
Academic Calendar (www.indycc.edu/academiccalendar.htm)
The
Academic Calendar is extremely
important to students during the
course of a year. The Academic
Calendar identifies when classes
begin, when the last dates of
enrollment are, holidays, breaks,
advisement day information, Final
Exam information, graduation
information and much more
Faculty and Staff
Directory (http://www.indy.cc.ks.us/facultystaff/StaffDir.htm)
Whether you
need to be admitted, enrolled,
advised, or counseled, the Faculty
and Staff Directory can help you
find the person you need to visit
with. |
