Thailand Cyber University - Information for students

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Learning at the TCU
	E-learning is a new way to learn, there are many questions for the new student. What are the differences between e-learning and conventional classroom learning. Is there a teacher? Do you have classmates, discussions or collaborative activities? How about homework, tests and examinations?
Although e-learning is different in many ways, it does cover all the basics of classroom learning. For example, you have online tutors, work with other students, do activities, homework, tests and examinations. The major change is the way in which you can learn. The teachers and students don’t have to be in the same place and students don’t have to study at the same time, enabling them to plan their own learning schedule. They can study at home or when they have free time in the office, using a computer and the Internet. The Internet also allows communication between the students. The flexibility of time and location is a huge benefit for students who have difficulty joining in regular classes. The students must be responsible for their own learning, as teachers cannot observe them closely, like in the classroom. They must follow up their study and submit their projects on time! This means that they will need good study skills, like planning and time management. They will need to do activities, manage communication, work in groups, search for information and make decisions. Basic computer skills and knowledge of the Internet are vital for e-learning. Being able to type in Thai and English will be an advantage. The students will need to become familiar with communicating by email and using audio/video systems (like MSN messenger). Audio and video communication is possible with a high speed Internet connection.
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How to be successful using e-learning

Studying by e-learning is not difficult if students prepare themselves and have a good understanding. The following are some guidelines to help the student with e-learning.

Become familiar in using computers and the Internet. Learn to search for information, send emails and use communication programs. Experiment with good places to study, like at home, at work, in the library, at school or at university. Some places have bad Internet connections which will make studying very slow or they might be a firewall or network setup that causes problems for study.
Read the course syllabus. If you know the syllabus well you can prepare yourself more effectively for studying. You will know how you are expected to study, when your assignments are due and what the learning outcomes are. Find out how to communicate with teachers and other students and how to ask for help, if you have questions.
Plan your own learning schedule.Decide when and for many hours you will study online, leaving some extra time in case. Try and finish your work and assignments ahead of the due date, to avoid last minute problems. This is very important for e-learning as their can be delays like the network going down or your computer malfunctioning.
Establish good working habits on the Internet. Check you email regularly, at least once a day. Read the announcements for your courses and check webboards for questions and answers that might help you.
Communicate effectively with text. When communicating by email, webboard or chat room, it is not possible to see facial expressions or hear how something is said. Therefore it is very important to write text in a way that is brief and clear. Read other peoples messages carefully, so you can be sure that you have understood their meaning.
Join online communities.Get to know other students and teachers by being active in online communities. Classmates will rarely come into physical contact, therefore communicating online is very important, to give students the chance to learn from each other. If the students do not get to know other students who are studying the same courses, they may start to feel alienated and this can cause further problems for study.
Ask for technical support immediately when problems occur. Don’t leave problems for too long or spend too much time trying to solve them yourself. Sometimes technical problems can be complicated and they need a specialist to solve them. While waiting for a problem to be solved you can benefit by learning more about the tools used for e-learning.
Understand how you learn. Try and find the best ways for you to learn online. People have different learning styles, some learn better by reading and watching (visual), others by listening and speaking (auditory) and others by carrying out activities which they can interact with (kinesthetic). Find the learning solutions that best match you. For example if you learn better at night, when there are no disturbances, then schedule your learning at night.

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