Communicating with Technology

Good communication skills are essential in online and blended courses. There are many different ways you’ll communicate with your instructor and other students in your class. Tutorial #4 introduces you to common terms you’ll need to know and some concepts that can lead you to success in your class. The following important topics are covered:

• the vocabulary that may be used to describe communication in your online class
• how communication is different for you as a student when you’re learning online
• some of the advantages and disadvantages of academic online communication
• how to become an effective communicator in an online or blended course

Mobile Learning and Social Networking

Mobile learning and social networking are both major players in college life and learning. You are likely quite adept at both! Consider the following statistics:

• Mobile Learning: By the time the class of 2016 graduates, close to 91.4 percent of U.S. college students will own a smartphone. See the eMarketer data graph showing U.S. college student smartphone users, 2010–2016. In 2010, the number was 8.14 million; the number projected for 2016 is 17 million. Students want and need to use their mobile device for learning.^[1]
• Social Networking: See the eMarketer.com data graph showing the daily time spent on select social networks by U.S. college student Internet users, as of May 2015. The graph answers the question about whether or not young people have given up on Facebook. Clearly, Facebook is still a winner. Social networking can readily facilitate learning.^[2]

Resources

• Are You Ready To Be An Online Student?
• Student Success—Thinking Critically In Class and Online
• The Case Files: What college was like before modern technology

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