Tips for Students Using LATTE
Classes conducted using LATTE presents an opportunity to experience a rich learning environment that is not limited by time or location.
Like the traditional classroom, you and your classmates share similar goals from the course even if part, most, or even all of the work takes place online. With online course activities, you are given the chance to participate at your pace and have the opportunity to help create an open and friendly course. As you may expect, the freedom and flexibility of the online environment bring responsibilities for each student to be committed and disciplined to keep up with the subject matter and assignments.
Some of your peers have come to enjoy online interaction within LATTE forums, and they often credit the success to a few techniques:
- Giving themselves the time to think ideas through before responding.
- Participating actively in the discussions - not merely assenting to another's post, but clarifying, exploring, questioning, and/or connecting to that post on a meaningful level.
- Keeping up with the course by logging on throughout the week. Don't let too many days go by without logging on to the course; it makes it harder to catch up.
- Seeking help regarding technical difficulties or any areas of confusion so that problems can be corrected or addressed for everyone's benefit.
Getting Familiar with Your Course
- Read the course overview, syllabus, and other materials carefully. Ask questions in case of doubt.
- Spend some time at the beginning of the session exploring your course so you can navigate around in it easily. If you have problems, contact your instructor immediately.
Communicating: Forums & Chat
Make sure to follow the rules of netiquette in e-mail messaging and discussion board posting:
- Get involved. In the online environment, you don't get credit just for showing up. (Refer to the course's syllabus for explicit online participation requirements.)
- Act with respect.
- Address the idea, not the person.
- Choose your words carefully in a message. It is easy to sound flippant or rude when all the other person - or perhaps even worse, your instructor - sees is a typed message. Use humor and irony sparingly.
- Proofread. The more accurate your messages, the more likely they'll be understood.
Community
The same standards of courtesy and respect are needed in the online environment as in the regular classroom. In fact, those standards might be considered even more important for online classwork because you can't rely on visual or vocal "cues" to convey your meaning or to help you interpret what others mean.
- Be polite and respectful. You may be tempted in the environment to be less guarded than perhaps in the standard classroom, but remember that there are real people reading your messages.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help.
- If you need any research help or help with any library resources, be sure to contact a Brandeis Reference Librarian.
- Finally, make sure to keep in touch with your instructor.