Archer College

Archer College offers nationally recognised qualifications in business, management and finance that will help you get ahead in your career. Archer College will support and encourage your studies by providing you with an online tutor who will engage, challenge and motivate you to achieve the required levels of competency for each unit of study.

When studying online, the familiar face to face communication of the classroom is replaced by the use of online communication technologies. Contacting your instructor and other students is conducted within the Archer College Learning management system, using e-mail and forums. You have your own email function within the Archer College Learning management system. Using e-mail will probably be the most convenient and fastest way for you to contact your instructor.

It is important to interact with other students. While this is possible using e-mail, you are encouraged to use the forums where you can post messages, read other people's messages and reply to them as required. The interaction between participants is usually delayed but it is an important part of the learning.

Some Archer courses also include chat sessions where you can "talk" with other students in real time. Your typed message appears on the screen (often in a chat room) and other students may respond.

You then see their response on your screen. Response time can be affected by your Internet connection, other traffic, and the typing speed of the participants. The simple rule is to be patient!

Remember that all communication should be carried out in a courteous and civil manner.

While the turn around time for assignments etc being returned to you may vary depending on the nature of the content, it can be expected that under normal circumstances, it should take no longer than 10 working days. You will be notified if due to unforeseen circumstances there are likely to be delays in returning your work.

With most adult study, it is expected that the student will undertake a certain amount of homework such as reading, research, completing written assignments etc. During your enrolment you can expect an average of 5 to 10 hours self directed study or homework per week.

Keep track of resources you use so you can record them in your assignments. Software programs such as Endnote can help you with this if you have a lot to record. When you quote from a source, use the following method to refer to it:

Author. Title of document (in quotes). Title of the complete work if applicable (in italics). Full http address (URL) enclosed within angle brackets. Date of visit in brackets.

Example:

Macklin L, `Snow' 1996, (24 March 1997)

Online learning might take place anywhere - at home, work or in a library. However, most people studying using the Internet are likely to be at home.

It is important that you have a place to study that is quiet and away from distractions such as the television. You may have to consider moving your computer to another room if it is located in the same room as the television or stereo. You might have to share a computer, so work out a timetable for sharing with other users.

Your study area needs to be comfortable, with adequate lighting and ventilation. Your computer desk should be large enough to handle the computer, monitor, printer and mouse pad and still give you room for a notebook. A copyholder is a good idea for reading text at eye level while typing. A height and back adjustable chair is essential for correct posture and to keep your eye level in line with the top part of the monitor. Being able to look straight ahead reduces tension on your spine. Remember not to slouch in your chair. Get up and have a stretch every now and then!

A study timetable will assist you with your learning by organising your study routine. Map out a weekly diary which shows study, work and family commitments, and your leisure activities. For a longer term picture, use a semester or year planner. Pin it up on the wall or a board near your desk if you can. Use your planner to show the goals you have set yourself.

Studying online means flexibility for you. You are not tied to a study routine based on attending a class at certain times. You can access your course materials and send messages to your instructor at any time. You are able to organize when your assessments are being submitted. Map out due dates that fit in with your other commitments on your planner.

When planning times to login to your course, consider what is the best time to be on the Internet. Depending on the amount of "traffic", certain times of the day appear to provide faster download times than others. Try at different times and adjust your study routine accordingly.

If you share a computer with other users you will have to negotiate your online time with them. Remember to indicate any set times when you must be available to participate in online communications with your instructor. These should also be put on your planner.

Your time connected to the Internet costs you money (especially if you are a rural student who might not have local call connection). Look for ways to minimise this time. Downloading e-mail messages and disconnecting from the Internet before you read them will save online time - especially if there are a lot to get through and they don't require an immediate response. It might also be practical to download some of your course files to your hard drive to read later if this is a study option.

Acknowledgement to http://www.westone.wa.gov.au/courses/guide/s3/fs-learn.htm

Studying online means that your course materials are mostly web pages you access via the Internet. It may take a while to get used to not having a text book or print based course guide on your desk.

However, your instructor might suggest that you print out certain sections of the course notes to keep as a reference, for example, an essay plan.

If you are viewing a web page that does not contain frames, to print that page is the same as printing from a wordprocessor - choose File : Print from the drop down menu.

If the page has frames, make sure you click in the frame you wish to print. Then choose File -> Print Frame from the drop down menu.

You may need to download a file and save it to disk for future reference, for example a template to use for answering an assessment task. When you click on a download link you will ge presented with a window with some browsing options. Select with folder you wish to save your downloaded file into.

Downloading can take several minutes. The download window will show the approximate time for this to happen. You can cancel the operation and try again later if the time seems too long (and you are paying for it!)

To help manage your online time, keep track of any websites that you visit regularly. This is called bookmarking a site.

To bookmark a site:

• Go to it.
• Choose Bookmarks -> Add Bookmark from the drop down menu. The title of that web page is recorded as a bookmark and the page can then be accessed in the future by choosing its bookmark name from the same menu.

Note: If you are using Internet Explorer, bookmarks are called Favourites. If you collect a lot of bookmarks, group them into folders containing websites with similar information.

You could bookmark the login point of your course to make it easier to find (and don't forget your login details!)

Many students take notes during classroom lectures. Studying online is no different, take notes with pen and paper if you wish. Another way is to use a word processor.

While you're studying online, have your word processor open. Switch to the word processor to type notes, then return to your course when you want to continue reading.

HINT: To swap quickly between programs press the Alt and Tab keys if using Windows or the Apple and Tab keys on a Macintosh. A small window appears to show which program will appear next.

To copy a section of text:

• Use your mouse to highlight the text.
• Choose Edit -> Copy from the menu.
• Switch to your word processor.
• Click your mouse pointer where you want to put the text in your notes.
• Choose Edit -> Paste from the menu
• Save your notes document regularly.

Always acknowledge the original author and URL (web address), and keep the URL handy so you can get back to that site later. See How do I indicate web references in assignments.

The speed at which web pages are loaded is determined by:

• The speed of your modem.
• The Internet link provided by your Internet Service Provider.
• The amount of Internet "traffic" at the time.
• The size of the page you are loading.

You will wait longer if it has large graphics files (or sound/movie files). Be patient!

If you just require the text from the web pages and do not need any graphics you can set your browser to download text only by turning off the load images option.

Acknowledgement to http://www.westone.wa.gov.au/courses/guide/s3/fs-learn.htm

Make sure you have adjusted your browser's window size to take up the full screen. Maximise the screen by using your mouse to drag the edges/corners of the active window towards the side/bottom until the full screen is taken up. This also reduces the need for horizontal scrolling.

The viewing area can also be increased by turning off or hiding the browser's menu bars which take up extra space. In Netscape you can do this by choosing Options -> and deselect any of the Show items such as Show Toolbar. You will still have access to these functions from the drop down menus and can reselect them at any time.

If using Internet Explorer, choose View -> and deselect Toolbar/Status Bar. You can reselect them if you need to.

If you are reading a web page which has frames and wish to enlarge the viewing area of one of them, put the mouse cursor over the frame border and drag it to one side. The frame will reload and the text will flow out to fill the wider viewing area.

Do not resize the viewing area while a page is loading. It may cause a crash. This often happens when a sound file or animation file is trying to load. Also wait until the page has completely loaded before attempting any onscreen interactions.

If you are having difficulty reading the text on the screen, you can adjust the font display size in your browser's menu options. For example, in Netscape you would go to the Options menu -> General Preferences-> Fonts, choose font and change the size.

If you are using Internet Explorer, click the Font button in the Toolbar, or choose View -> Fonts -> and select the size.

Normally the web pages you see are developed using complimentary text and background colours. Check to see if your browser has been set to use its own colour combinations. If so, you will need to adjust the settings to allow web pages to display their original colours.

In Netscape, do this with the same menu choices for changing the font size but choose colours instead and set to the default setting.

In Internet Explorer, choose View -> Options -> choose Colour and check the settings.

Sometimes (although not very common now) web developers use colours that will not appear on all computers so some may not be able to display particular colours correctly. There is nothing you can do.