Most online education providers have some from of a web-based orientation that newly admitted and prospective students can access in order to get a "feel" for how online learning actually works.

UMUC’s Orientation to Distance Education web site provides an extensive amount of options for students to choose from. The site is a constant work in progress developed by a steering committee comprised of representatives from almost every undergraduate and graduate department at UMUC, says Enid Bank, director of instructional technology for the School of Undergraduate Studies. The site is maintained and upgraded by UMUC’s Communications Department.

The orientation site allows prospective students to test drive WebTycho (UMUC’s home-grown course management system) in a number of ways. Users can explore sample courses inside the site’s overview section. A "Getting Trained" section provides both a static tour of WebTycho’s functions, as well as a live "Tour 101" of a WebTycho-driven class. The static tour presents a series of screen images as guides. Students are taken page by page through a WebTycho class.

For Tour 101, visitors are given a guest ID and password to enter. The format of the class is exactly like a normal UMUC online classroom, with announcements, a syllabus, conferences for questions and feedback, assignment folder, bios, etc. Tour 101 is intended to be interactive, so WebTycho support staff members oversee the conference and reply to submissions. "The live tour takes you right inside the classroom where you can learn about the functionality of the product and then actually play with it and practice," says Bank, adding that students can also use a help function whereby questions can be asked via live chat, e-mail or by toll-free telephone service.

Additionally, there is a section inside the orientation site that provides access to a full online catalogue of courses and programs, as well as an online self-assessment that provides feedback on a student’s readiness for online learning.

"The orientation site serves us quite well, and it can be used by faculty as well," adds Bank. "But, it does need constant revision. For example, the sample courses up there right now are old and in the process of being replaced. Some of the design of the entire site is being reviewed so that we can make it more attractive and as modern as possible."

www.umuc.edu/distance/de_orien/