Students tune in, take notes, then meet on test days. Anyone can view the telecourses on the Lakeland Channel, but credit is given only to those students who register and pass the course. If a broadcast date is missed, copies of the courses are available in Lakeland s bookstore and at the Lakeland library. Students are required to attend an orientation before taking a telecourse during which they meet their instructor, receive a syllabus that includes the cable broadcast times and dates of the course, and have the opportunity to ask questions. In addition, students meet with their instructor to review the material and ask questions as many as four times during the course.
Online classes are similar to a telecourse.
Students meet for an orientation, and have a minimum requirement of four times in which to meet with their instructor during the course. Students log on to Lakeland s web site and take the class there. Sometimes the online classes are able to communicate through threaded discussions in chat rooms. The main advantage to online classes is that most of our students are full time employees and the program accommodates their schedules, says Melissa Zhuo, Instructional Technologist at Lakeland. As long as students have Internet access, they can take their class anytime, anywhere.