Sample Activities: Online Student Success Orientation

Sample Activities:
These samples demonstrate how learners meet the following objectives:
Terminal Objective 1:
Summarize the expectations students must meet to succeed in an online learning
environment.
Enabling Objectives:
o State how often a student should log into an online course.
o Explain how to locate information pertaining to course due dates and deadlines.
o List the technical skills a student must have to effectively participate in an online
course.
Terminal Objective 2:
Summarize the importance of effective time management for student success.
Enabling Objectives:
o Plan times each day for schoolwork, household responsibilities, employment, etc.
o Create a comprehensive weekly schedule including course study times, due dates,
and non-school responsibilities.
The Terminal objective defines the learning outcome; enabling objectives are the steps to
meeting the terminal objectives. Absorb activities are where the learning takes place
readings, videos, observations, etc when new knowledge is shared with the learner. Do
activities reinforce the new learning, and Connect activities tie the new learning to prior
knowledge.

Image: Online Student Success Folder in Blackboard Learn

The Online Student Success unit consists of six modules designed to teach students the
difference between campus-based and online courses, and to provide them with tools for
success.
An About section provides background and context; this is an Absorb activity:

Image: About Online Student Success

Module One focuses on student readiness, the purpose of Terminal Objective 1: Summarize
the expectations students must meet to succeed in an online learning environment.
This module takes the students to an external assessment to analyze their preparedness via
Smarter Measure:
Are you ready for online courses?
Test your online readiness with SmarterMeasure through Open SUNY.
SmarterMeasure includes seven major assessment components which measure:

Individual Attributes - motivation, procrastination, willingness to ask for help, etc.

Life Factors - Availability of time, support from family and employers, finances, etc.
Learning styles - Based on the multiple intelligences model
Technical Competency - Skills using technology
Technical Knowledge - Knowledge of technology terms
On-screen Reading Rate and Recall
Typing Speed and Accuracy (note: typing portion cannot be completed on a mobile device.)

Image: SmarterMeasure Online Readiness resource information from http://www.genesee.edu/Online

Module Two forces students to confront the need to prioritize their time in order to
successfully fit online courses into their lives. This meets Terminal Objective 2, Summarize
the importance of effective time management for student success:

Image: Module 2: Time Management

Digging deeper into Module Two we can examine the activities the students will engage in.
First, the students write a reflective response to a pretest question. The question asks, How
much time per week do you think you can devote to each online class you plan to take?
This is important for metacognition and self-awareness at the conclusion of the time
management activities. This activity is conducted in the Blackboard Learn assignment tool:

Image: PreTest Question for Reflection

Next, the students consciously map out the daily demands on their time.
This do activity is the first step in planning for online course study each day. This activity is
conducted in the Blackboard Learn assignment tool:

Image: Daily Plan activity

The daily plan is incorporated into a weekly schedule. This do activity also folds into another
part of the orientation in which students create a calendar of Dates and Deadlines. This raises
awareness of the importance of prioritizing course work and managing time in order to
successfully meet deadlines.
The students will download the linked forms, fill them out, and upload them into the
Blackboard Learn assignment:

Image: Weekly Schedule activity

Next, the students compare the number of hours currently available to engage in online study
with the number of hours required for success in a do activity.
This activity is conducted in the Blackboard Learn assignment tool:

Image: Online Study Time Analysis activity

In the final step of this module the students reflect on how they will make enough time in their
lives to successfully study online. In this connect activity the students will gain a deeper
understanding of the demands in their lives and the importance of prioritizing those demands.
This activity is conducted in the Blackboard Learn quiz tool as an essay question:

Image: Time Management Wrap Up activity

These Time Management activities meet the following Online Student Success Orientation
learning outcome:

Summarize the importance of effective time management for student success.

o Plan times each day for schoolwork, household responsibilities, employment, etc.
o Create a comprehensive weekly schedule including course study times, due dates, and nonschool responsibilities.
Time Management Module Terminal and Enabling Objectives

Time Management is reinforced in other modules of the orientation also, tied to the
expectation for each online student to participate 5-7 days per week:

Image: Expectations of Online Students

This Online Student Success Orientation is designed to be self-paced, however, a facilitator is

available to respond to students questions and provide feedback, particularly for the
reflective activities.