Initial Results of CDL001: Orientation to Learning Online Look Promising

A critical component of JSRCC's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) focuses upon preparing students for online learning prior to their enrollment in distance classes. For several months in Spring and Summer 2011, faculty and staff members from various divisions collaborated in the creation of CDL001: Orientation to Learning Online, a new and vigorous two-week orientation module that introduces students to resources, key strategies for effective online engagement, and fundamental academic attributes for distance learning. The orientation integrates the use of Blackboard (Bb) technologies and features so that students also become familiar with the technical requirements of navigating a course management system. Students who successfully complete the various requirements of CDL001 receive a certificate. 

In a survey that is one of the exit assignments for the Orientation, participants report an overwhelming degree of satisfaction with the learning objectives and outcomes of the two-week module. They also report feeling a high degree of preparation for their online, academic classes.

Apart from participant satisfaction with CDL001: Orientation to Learning Online,  the College is also beginning to see evidence of academic success among those who complete the full two-week module.  The 47 students who finished the Summer 2011 pilot of the Orientation progressed forward to enroll in 65 distance learning courses in Fall 2011. In these 65 DL enrollments, students successfully passed 60 (or 92.3%) of their courses. While the success of the "oriented" students rests upon several factors, these initial results speak promisingly about the potential effects of a solid introduction to online skills and strategies.