Online Classwork

Online classwork can be broken down into two categories: content and assignments. Content is the stuff you have to read, watch, listen to, and interact with prior to completing your assignments. Typically this type of work is ungraded, completed independently, and required. Assignments are the exams, papers, speeches, discussions, and multimedia projects that you are required to complete, individually or with a group, for a grade. In short, content is what you’re expected to learn, and assignments are the ways you demonstrate you’ve learned the content.

That said, online classwork isn’t all that different from face-to-face classwork. The biggest difference is that the work is completed and submitted online. For example:

• Instead of listening to a lecture in class and taking a pencil and paper quiz, you may be watching a video of the lecture and taking an online quiz afterwards.
• Instead of handing a paper in to your instructor in person, you may be emailing a copy of your paper, typing an answer, or recording a video of your response.
• Instead of raising your hand to ask a question, you may be emailing your instructor the question or posting a question on the discussion board.

Before the cart gets too far ahead of the horse let’s have a closer look at online course content and assignments.

More helpful information

ONLINE COURSE CONTENT

Types. If you recall, content is the stuff you have to read, watch, listen, and interact with prior to completing your assignments. The good news is in an online course you generally have the ability to study and review the content as much as you need to master the material prior to completing an assignment. Some examples of online course content include:

• Read. Textbook chapters, nonfiction/fiction books, journal articles, and online web articles.
• Watch. Instructor lecture, TED talk, “How-to” videos, and feature films.
• Listen. Famous speeches, music tracks, and podcasts.
• Interact. Web apps, timelines, role plays, and simulations.

Who’s Responsible? Most of the time you’ll be reading, watching, listening, and doing all by your lonesome. Occasionally, though rarely, you’ll be asked to collaborate on content with a group of your peers. An example of this is if the instructor divides students into groups, assigns each group multiple readings, and then asks each group to divide the readings amongst group members so each member can explain to the group what they’ve read. This “divide and conquer” strategy for learning content can save your group members valuable time.

ONLINE COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

Individual Work. At times, your instructor will evaluate your understanding of the course content through assignments that you complete by yourself. Some examples include:

• A quiz you complete in Canvas, the Learning Management System (LMS)
• A written exam or a paper you submit to the Canvas LMS or via email as a Word document
• An online speech you record using a webcam and submit via the Canvas LMS or directly to the instructor
• A discussion forum where you write a post and respond to your peers in the Canvas LMS

To recap, unless you are told otherwise, individual assignments are created and submitted by you and you alone. Don’t freak out! You’re not really alone. You have plenty of resources at your university to draw from throughout your online experience including our Writing Center, Libraries, PASC and more!

Group Work. Group work (i.e. group assignment or group project) is completed by a group of students, typically multi-faceted, and may last multiple weeks or even an entire semester. It can be anything from a research paper the group writes together to a website the group develops to a video the group shoots, edits, and presents online. When you work on a group assignment, you and your group members must coordinate efforts to arrange meeting times, divide up the work, provide feedback on one another’s contributions, and evaluate the group’s overall efforts.

When you’re working on a group assignment, you will have to work with others; and when you work with others, you may encounter issues. To help make your group assignment successful, here are a few tips:

• Get organized. As soon as your group forms, encourage your team members to assign roles (document manager, scheduler, meeting organizer, editor, etc.), swap calendars, and create a roadmap of responsibilities with due dates. Put everything in writing and make sure everyone has access. You may want to establish a mutual Google calendar for your group’s schedule and put your individual responsibilities, etc., on a Google doc everyone can access.
• Stay in touch. Communication can make or break a group project. Make sure team members share contact information and availability, and then develop a communications plan. As due dates approach, check in with one another to see if your group members need help.
• Address problems. If a group member or members aren’t contributing to the overall effort, contact the group member and ask them how they’re doing and if they need help to get back on track. If you and your group member’s efforts fail, you may need to bring in the instructor. Remember, it’s easier to fix or change a flat tire than it is to drive on three wheels.

ONLINE CLASSWORK EXAMPLES

To get a better sense of the types of work you’ll be asked to complete in an online course have a look at the following examples. The first is a quiz, the next is an instructional video provided by Canvas on submitting assignments, and the last is an example of a case study that is more interactive than words on a piece of paper.