You are pursuing an online degree or an online degree program for certification. However, are you using all the resources at your disposal? Do you constantly keep repeating the same procedures again and again? Are you lost in a maze of usernames and passwords? Did you lose your portable USB flash drive last week, and your assignments and other documents? Do you immediately know the first thing to do when interrupted at the keyboard? Many of you may know some of the answers, but probably few of you know all of them. And there are often several or many good answers to each one. We will cover one or two of these, and other useful strategies, each week for the next several weeks.

Repetitions
This is where computers really excel! Whenever you find yourself doing something over and over again (which can get very boring in a hurry), you are doing something wrong, or more probably not doing something. Let the computer do this type or work whenever possible; and the computer does it thousands of times faster and much more reliably.

For example, you are constantly switching between applications. Which is getting more worn out, your mouse or your fingers? Probably both! Try the Alt/Tab keys – hold down Alt and tap the Tab key. Pretty neat, isn’t it!

Copy/Cut/Paste are often used repeatedly. As a quick keyboard alternative, try Ctrl/C, Ctrl/X, and Ctrl/V, respectively. It saves me a lot of time.

Some word processing symbols in MS Word are often used repeatedly. Click on Insert/Symbol and choose the symbol and font of your choice, or the special characters; then click the “Shortcut Key…” button and tell the program the keys you wish to use. I use Alt/Z for this “checkmark” symbol.  It works slick and saves much time!  (Note: the “checkmark” symbol could not be reproduced on this webpage.)

Bold/Underline/Italics/Select All/Slide Show – these can all be executed with two buttons after an item, letter, word or other text is highlighted or selected, or the cursor is placed correctly. In order these are:

Bold: Ctrl/B    Underline: Ctrl/U    Italics: Ctrl/I

Note: In each case, hitting the same keys again will undo the bold, underline or italics command; this also often works in a wide variety of programs.

Place the cursor in any field in almost any program; and Ctrl/A will select all text, files, graphics or all anything else that is listed in that field. Try it!

Select one or more graphics (and sometimes other files), then press Ctrl/S. Instantly you are seeing a slide show of all the selected files, or a full-screen picture of the selected graphic.

Caution: In word processing, Ctrl/S is also used for “save”; however, always be careful when saving, copying, replacing and deleting files. You can lose data and documents very easily, if you do not form the habit of “thinking first”! We will cover more about this in later articles.

See you next week, when we will continue with more useful and time saving strategies for My Online College Courses.

Thank you for reading!

You just started an online college course and you have a question. It may be as simple as, “Do I need to buy a textbook?” or as complicated as, “I just don’t understand the XYZ process, as explained. Is there any other explanation?” The thought goes through your mind, “Maybe I should have taken this course in the classroom?”

Examine Online Materials Carefully – Especially the “Syllabus”
As much as possible, instructors creating online college courses, or any level of online courses, carefully design the website and the associated materials (some of which may be in hardcopy) to be user friendly and self-teaching. The first document a student should find is the course syllabus. Accrediting agencies almost always require a course syllabus to be given to each student the very first day of class. Here you will find information on prerequisites, required course materials, course schedule (including starting and ending dates, quiz and test dates, all homework assignments and their due dates, etc.), the purpose and goals of the course, grading, instructor contact information and much more. The course syllabus answers the general question, “What can I expect from this course?” Whenever you have a general question about an online course, or any course, always check the syllabus first.

The Many Options
Today there are so many avenues of communication, students may ask, “Which one does this instructor prefer?” or “Which one should I use?” Although email, text messages and the telephone are the most common, there are many others. If you do not need an answer immediately, certainly try email or a text message; you may get lucky and get an immediate answer. Many instructors may prefer this, because they can answer them when it is convenient. However, if you have already spent much time going through the syllabus and other online materials and are getting frustrated, by all means get on the phone. However, here are still other alternatives to consider:

• Online Chat: Your instructor may be right at the computer, but his cell phone is in another room or he has not checked his email in a few hours. You may get your question answered immediately.
• Video Chat: Almost like talking to your instructor in person, this is another option, but it requires a webcam. However, if you are taking courses online, you probably will need one sooner rather than later; so make the investment and be ready. (Cost is as little as $20 to $40.)
• Google Talk: This is just one of many free Internet phone services. Others include Skype, Gizmo Project, PhoneGnome and Yahoo Messenger with voice. Have one or more of these ready at all times. Your instructor or another student might even call you! Your ought to be ready.
• Fax Machine: Admittedly, this may be somewhat dated; however, often instructors will include a fax number in the syllabus “contact information.”

Additionally, you may find links to some of these services within the course website; or it may have them built into the website. Spend a little time early in each online course just exploring the website and other online links and resources.

Online Research – Should I Take The Time?
Usually, “No.” You should be able to answer most questions from the website or other online documents and resources. However, you should also be very familiar with using at least one or two online search engines or webcrawlers. I use Dogpile.Com and Google, but there are many others. Sometimes, if I just need a URL, the correct spelling of Mississippi, a well known company physical address or phone number, or if I just want a little commonly known information to jog my memory or give me some ideas, I will also use one of these resources. Like so many other Internet resources, the more familiar you are with them, the more efficient you will be and the more time you will save.

Thank you for reading! Your comments and questions are most welcome.

Online colleges courses are here to stay. Many, and quickly approaching most, colleges and universities in the USA and throughout the world now have undergraduate and graduate degree programs, offered completely (or almost completely) online. As a faculty member and flight instructor for one of the best, I believe the best, aeronautical universities in the world, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), I found myself intrigued by computers in the mid 1980s. I even bought a “Commodore 64″ for myself and my wife at Christmas time. I also decided that computers were the “wave of the future” and I better learn as much about them as possible, because I knew ERAU was, and would continue to be, using computers. I did not want to be “computer illiterate” and left behind.

My Example Equipment
So I bought an IBM compatible PC, then another a few years later and several more in later years, which were invaluable during my 27 year tenure at ERAU. And the University even financed most of them at zero APR for two years! What a deal! I still have the last one, a Dell Dimension 8200, sitting right beside me; but I also have a new HP P6837C with an AMD Athlon II 645 3.10 GHz quad core processor with 6 GB of RAM on the other side. Today, the PC is simply an indispensable tool of the trade for about any career discipline you can name, and certainly a necessity for online college courses.

Convenience
Read, study or do research. All can be done on your schedule and anytime of the day or night. Many college students, who are also dads, cannot afford to stop working or neglect family responsibilities to pursue a college degree. And many college students, who are also moms, cannot stop tending to the kids or neglect maintaining the household to pursue a college degree. Even if you are single, the convenience of pursuing a college degree at your own pace and on your own schedule is extremely appealing.

Very fast and reliable personal computers, either PC or Mac, are easily purchased for $300 to $1,000; and many include a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Add a printer and subscribe to an ISP (Internet Service Provider) and you are ready to go, and ready to learn! The only thing left is to pick a college. And what a selection you have!

Online College and University Courses Galore!
Although this website is dedicated to do’s, don’ts, strategies and benefits of taking online college courses, links will be provided directly to hundreds of online college and university websites and other Internet resources listing, categorizing and guiding you to select the best online colleges and universities for you. Thus, whether you are thinking about an undergraduate or graduate degree, a certificate for a trade or simply want to explore a favorite subject at your local college, it is very easy for you to access “My Online College Courses” right from your home!

Thank you for reading! A new and informative article will be published here each week. Do come back and visit us again soon!

Online college courses do expect you to have, or have access to, some minimum amount of hardware and software. Although the students well-versed in using computers and the Internet will intuitively know what is required, this description of minimum requirements will serve as an excellent reminder. And for those new to computers, it will serve as a list of minimum essentials. However, this treatise on minimum required hardware and software should not be regarded as comprehensive, but rather only a primer on taking online college courses.

Most Important Component
The most important requirement for taking any online courses is subscribing to a reliable Internet Service Provider or ISP. Usually, the ISP will also provide the technical guidance for setting up the connection. Each computer must have a unique identification and the ISP also has a number of settings to identify it and assure accurate data for connection time, billing, monitoring connection reliability and a host of other technical data. The whole process should only take between five and twenty minutes, depending on the type of connection and the efficiency of the communication by the technician, which usually is done completely by telephone.

Talk to others in your local area, especially those also taking online high school or college courses. Have they ever experienced significant “down time”? Is the Internet connection frequently interrupted? Have they ever been late on an assignment, quiz, test or project, just because of the ISP’s poor service? If any of these questions are answered with “yes,” find another ISP.

Essential Hardware
The computer of your choice should have at least have three gigabytes of RAM; otherwise, multitasking may be difficult and could be impossible. It is very convenient to have several software applications open simultaneously together with several open websites. These take a significant amount of random access memory (RAM). Four to six gigabytes of RAM should be the minimum.

If your online course is graphics intensive, you will also need large hard drive. One at least 500 gigabytes to one terabyte (approximately 1,000 gigabytes) should work fine; otherwise, hard drives as small as 200 or 300 gigabytes will be more than adequate. Additionally, you may want to carry electronic documents with you on a portable USB drive, which should have at least 2 gigabytes of capacity; however, 4 or 8 gigabytes may occasionally be required if you have many graphics or video.

Of course, a keyboard, mouse or trackball, printer and a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) should all be standard equipment for taking online college courses. Why a UPS? Well, someday you will be just finishing a rather long, involved assignment and the power will go out and/or the battery on your laptop will fail. And you may have just lost all or the last 30 minutes or so of your work, depending on when you last saved your work or when the computer was set to automatically save your work. In this scenario a UPS is invaluable. Just get one, set it up and you can forget it for the next three to five years or more. They last quite a long time and require little if any maintenance.

Essential Software
In addition to specific software required by the course itself (consult your instructor or the course syllabus), you will invariably need the following: a word processor, a spreadsheet program, an Internet browser (preferably two or three different ones) and email program; although you may also use one online email program, such as Google’s Gmail or Microsoft’s Windows Live Mail.

Additionally, there are several software applications, usually included with the operating system, which you should become thoroughly familiar with using. The most important of these is the file management system. Saving, organizing, renaming and copying your assignments and associated data is almost always critical to the successful completion of any online course. Make sure you are not only familiar with these operations but confident in using them. Hours of hard work may be lost by carelessly or unknowingly copying, moving, saving, renaming or deleting the wrong file. Think before manipulating valuable homework, project or other critical computer files.

Also, some type of data backup software, or an online backup subscription, should be employed. (More guidance on this will be provided in later articles.)

Finally, anti-virus software must be used. Constant or frequent use of any Internet connection makes your computer very vulnerable. It is like insurance. You should never drive your vehicle without it; besides being illegal, you are taking chances unnecessarily. Without anti-virus software, it may be legal but loss of valuable data, and possibly the computer itself, will also be taking chances unnecessarily and may be very costly.

Your comments and questions about My Online College Courses are most welcome. Thank you for reading!

Online college courses are unique and strategically require a different approach than traditional classroom instruction. This website is designed to help you manage your online college courses, keep your work and data files organized and communicate regularly with your instructor and other students taking the same online course or related online courses. Some of the subjects and issues addressed will include the minimum computer equipment, hardware and software required and the available hardware and software specifically designed to enhance the online college course experience. Others include the most appropriate methodology for contacting the instructor, identifying courses which should not be taken on line and specific strategies for taking online tests and quizzes.

Articles on this website will also address how student reviews of online courses compare with reviews of traditional classes. Are online college courses usually less expensive than traditional classes? Do I need a desktop, a laptop, a smart phone and a tablet? How important is an uninterruptable power supply, or UPS, while taking online classes? These questions will also be addressed.

Typically, online courses are very dependent upon email correspondence. My Online College Courses will also explore alternatives to email and email attachments, identifying which ones work best for online college courses.

Headsets are uncomfortable; and the hum, beeps and other distractions from speakers can be annoying. Suggestions for other alternatives will also be explored.

These a just a few of the many questions and subjects to be addressed on My Online College Courses. Your comments, questions and feedback are always most appreciated. Let us know when the posted articles are helpful and how they are helpful; or even let us know if they are not and why. A new article will be posted at least weekly. My Online College Courses is created to help you get the very best education possible from your online courses. So come back and visit us regularly!