The Keys to eLearning Success

Jacqueline Hall had enrolled at Tarrant County College twice before, and wondered if this third time would end differently.

In 1977, she found it difficult to raise her children and focus on her studies. In 1986, she tried again. “I still wasn’t prepared,” she said. When she enrolled again in 2008, she chose to attend online, yet felt doubts arising before the class.

“I thought, ‘Is this really going to work for me? Could I keep up? If I didn’t understand, could I reach the instructor?’” she said. Then Hall logged on to her class and explored the site. “It gave me a sense of peace and ease that I could do it,” she said.

TCC’s eLearning program serves more than 40,000 students annually. Nationally, online numbers have increased each year. In 2013, 5.5 million students, up 4.68 percent from the previous year, logged on for classes, according to the Instructional Technology Council.

Educating people in ways to meet their needs is nothing new for the College, as TCC has used innovative technology since 1973.

“From correspondence to telecourses and from computer-mediated instruction to online courses, TCC students have benefited and completed their degrees in a flexible, convenient and affordable way,” said Carlos Morales, president of TCC Connect.

Online education provides students with options as they pursue their education.

“It gave me the flexibility to work at my own pace as time was available to me,” Hall said.

Online students have to be very independent and organized. There are no teachers or classmates in front of them reminding them of work that needs to be completed by the deadline.

When Hall needed help, she took the initiative to contact her instructor with questions. Online students also can reach out to Tutor 24/7 or receive assistance from the Online Writing Lab. Additionally, students can use the Ask A Librarian service and access an ever-growing collection of online databases, research guides and information literacy resources.

Asante Buil, who graduated from TCC in 2014, took four classes online while working part-time and traveling to see family in the Bahamas. He praised the updates TCC provides to Blackboard, a program that hosts the online class sites.

“It almost looks like Facebook for Blackboard,” Buil said. “It’s easier to interact. You can put up your picture. You can use Blackboard IM to send instant messages.”

In some classes, instructors set up webcams to talk to the students. Instructors also set up discussion boards for the students to comment on different topics.

“It encouraged interaction with other students because we had to comment,” Buil said. “In a traditional class, the professor lectures, a few students comment and the rest stay quiet. As online students, we all comment and it makes discussions more interesting.”

Cheryl Taylor-West, an adjunct instructor of psychology and sociology at the Southeast Campus, teaches Human Sexuality and the Psychology of Adjustment online, both of which quickly fill each semester. Her class assignments send students to drugstores and allow them to watch videos in addition to the readings and mandatory student discussions. In developing the classes, Taylor-West asks herself one question from the student vantage point: “If I never saw a teacher, how would I get all the details and information?”

“I always find something to adjust every time I teach it,” Taylor-West said. “My belief is to get students engaged even though they do not personally meet. Our conversations reveal similarities in students who are vets, stay-at-home moms, full-time employees, single parents, grandparents and much more. Once they realize they have something in common with each other, they feel like part of a group even though they only converse through the Internet.”

Student development activities are used in both types of classes. But in online courses, these activities are presented on the discussion board. Tests and activities are different in online courses. Instead of several comprehensive exams that are assigned in live classes, online courses have many mini-quizzes that cover fewer chapters, but are taken much more frequently.

Both of Taylor-West’s courses have the same number of assignments and expectation levels, so if students are comfortable with the management style of one class, they will frequently enroll in another class she offers.

“This gives me great satisfaction to see a student return and enroll in a second semester,” she said. “It makes me think I am doing something right!”

But success depends on the student.

“A large majority of students do well in online courses. However, we see increased success in those that are self-motivated, manage their time well, communicate frequently with their professors and ask questions when they face difficulties,” Morales said.

Hall discovered that while pursuing her degree in Information Technology, which she earned in 2010 through almost all online classes. She checked daily for assignments and messages from her instructors. She worked diligently to complete her homework on time. And she made the Dean’s List semester after semester.

“It takes dedication, commitment and discipline,” Hall said. “I think TCC has an awesome program, be it face-to-face or online, for any person to achieve their goals if they put their minds to it.”