Some students have found success by taking notes on their readings or on the instructor notes from the website, much as you would do in an on-campus class. Other students form on-line study groups. They e-mail each other questions and hints. Course requirements may be ones that you are very accustomed to completing in traditional classes or they may be quite different. We are beginning to incorporate online exams into some classes starting with the Spring of 2000.
Many instructors require weekly participation in newsgroups or e-mail assignments.
Some students have gotten very creative and even do presentations to the class entirely online. You will probably be asked to contribute more to discussion that you might in an on-campus class. The primary benefit of online classes to students seems to be the scheduling convenience. Faculty are beginning to notice that online students, probably because of their active participation in the learning process, may be mastering the course content at a level that is higher than previously seen. Students need to be willing to work in a fairly independent manner.