在线教育已经存在了一段时间。 A lot has changed from the early years when it was considered to be just an interesting novelty option used sparingly at select colleges across the country.Today, there are thousands of students enrolled in 线上 programs in the U.S.—and as more institutions have been forced to adjust their plans due to coronavirus-related campus closures, thousands more are joining the 线上 classroom now or in the near future.

This rapid switch to 线上 learning has been a tremendous undertaking for many schools. But that 做 esn’t mean it has been a smooth experience for everyone. Faculty with little or no 线上 teaching experience are making the best of it as they try to convert their courses and adapt, but without the right support and infrastructure in place those efforts may fall flat.

“随着一些学校过渡到‘online’在此大流行期间格式化，’s not really an 线上 education—it’确实更像是一门远程教育课程’重新将原本应该是住宅教室的地方放到电视会议中，”拉斯穆森学院学术创新助理副校长Brooks Doherty说。“That isn’对这些学校的起诉是由于他们所处的困境—but I 做 n’希望这种体验成为人们听到时的想法‘online education.’”

It’s clear that not all 线上 education experiences are going to be equal in this environment. So what 做 es a quality 线上 education look like? 拉斯穆森学院 has been teaching students 线上 since 2002—and they’ve learned a lot about how to design and deliver quality 线上 degree programs. Let’仔细看看。

5 Elements 您’ll find in a quality 线上 education experience

What should 您 look for when considering an 线上 program? Here are five takeaways to remember.

1. Courses designed specifically for 线上 students

在传统的砖瓦环境中，可能效果很好的是’t always going to translate when it is brought 线上. This came into sharp focus during the pandemic. What can be 做 ne to make sure students have a positive course experience? That’拉斯穆森学院（Rasmussen College）的学术和教学设计专业人员已经提出了一个问题，这些问题已经花费了数年而不是数周的时间。

Every single course offered at 拉斯穆森学院 has been crafted by a team of academic faculty, industry subject-matter experts and instructional design professionals. They know the challenges that can come with poorly designed 线上 experiences and work hard to ensure each course hits the mark. As 您 might expect, a lot of thought goes into developing the foundation of an academic program—and there’这是他们所有人的一个关键起点。

“When designing an academic program, 您 want to first build it around the skills that will put the student in the best position to flourish in the world and in the workplace,” Doherty says.

Doherty说，建立正确的技能基础将使学生处于长期成功的位置。一旦建立，课程设计团队便会寻找最佳的授课方法，以帮助学生获得和提高这些技能。

“我们首先在程序级别进行设计，然后是课程交付，” Doherty says. “If 您’如果做对了，无论采用何种方式，您都可以设计有效地传递信息的方法—whether that’s 基于能力的教育, 线上 or in-person.”

2. The educators know their way around an 线上 classroom

成为一名有效的教育者需要技能—问任何必须帮助孩子的父母’与COVID相关的学校停课期间的课程。帮助某人学习它不仅需要精通该主题。教育者需要知道如何进行有效的沟通，以及如何充分利用自己掌握的工具和资源。为此，需要经过专门的培训和实践经验—something 您’可以在Rasmussen College在线教师中找到。实际上，拉斯穆森学院（Rasmussen College）的几位学术领袖都是通过教授在线课程开始的，并且知道培训这种形式的教师的重要性。

“There’进行了大量的前端培训，因此新任教师知道如何以引人入胜的方式为我们的学生提供课程内容，” Doherty says.

Doherty explains that every new faculty member receives detailed training in how to best use and navigate the learning management system platform. Beyond learning the finer points of the platform, faculty are engaged in 上 going training programs that include dedicated development weeks several times per year and an annual academic symposium. These are ways for experienced faculty to pass 上 advice, best practices and tips for quality academic instruction in an 线上 setting.

3. Support services tailored for 线上 students

It’s easy to immediately think narrowly about an 线上 education experience as just the courses themselves—but what 做 您 做 when 您 need academic help? Or 您’re having issues with 您r computer? You turn to 支持服务 to help get 您 back 上 track—and that can be an issue for institutions without strong 线上 support infrastructure.

The 拉斯穆森学院 支持服务 team was built with 线上 students top of mind. 线上 support offerings include:

• 个人支持中心： 为学生和教师提供24/7技术支持。
• 职业服务： Including 线上 resume building tools, employment boards, and 线上 job interview coaching.
• 图书馆和学习服务： Need help finding a source? 没有 t sure how to format a paper? Reach out to a librarian via live chat or schedule an appointment 线上.
• 在线辅导： 白天或晚上提供学术帮助和辅导，包括24/7全天候数学帮助，写作实验室，录制的辅导课等等。

These useful services aim to provide help when 您 need it most—辅导课程的时间偏向晚上和周末，以匹配在职学生’ schedules.

4.吸引人与人互动的课程内容

“For the uninitiated, some people think 线上 education means no human connection, no human element, no opportunity for rich academic conversation—那绝对不是真的，” says Doherty. “Whether 您 have a well-designed 线上 experience or not, the human element has to be part of any good 线上 or distance education arrangement. A lot of people seem to think it can’尚未完成，但可以完成—并且必须完成。 ”

A hastily-prepared 线上 course based 上 a weekly routine of logging in, reading some course materials and writing an essay about what 您’ve learned simply 做 es not cut it. A successful 线上 learning environment features interactions, content and coursework that keep students engaged as they develop and progress. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways—视频，交互式项目，模拟实验室和课堂讨论都可以帮助您回头并参与人性化的学习。

拉斯穆森学院（Rasmussen College）保持学生参与度的另一种方法是通过作业应用’学会了在工作中容易遇到的场景。您’不只是写论文和参加考试—you’re asked to 做 。这些方案由主题专家和教学设计专业人员开发，以对学生进行真实评估’使用新技能的能力。 

“For example, if 您’re in a Human Resources program, instead of writing a 2-page paper about 你的东西’ve just learned, 您’将被放置在虚构的业务场景中’一名负责执行和传达人力资本计划的人力资源负责人，” Doherty explains.

“这样，即使我们’在应对不幸的大流行情况时，我们’仍然使学生及其学习成为现实，以真实的方式展示他们的技能。 ” 

5.创新的学习方式

Leaders in 线上 education know better than to rest 上 last year’s advances. They’我们一直在寻求改善学生体验和使用技术来满足学生需求的方法。一种这样的创新是使用 基于能力的教育 (CBE). This learning format puts more of the focus 上 demonstrating what 您’ve learned and less 上 the amount of time 您’我在教室里度过以赚取学分。

“在线教育确实在20年前打破了地理格局。以能力为基础的教育在时间上做着同样的事情，” Doherty says.

那么它是怎样工作的？在每个CBE课程学期开始时，学生都拥有他们所需要的一切’我需要完成他们的课程作业。在整个学期中，没有强制性的每周到期日—只是在学期末完成所有课程的最后截止日期。

“If 您’在家工作，并试图同时教孩子，每周艰辛的截止日期变得非常困难，” Doherty says. “CBE所做的是，它允许学生设置自己的截止日期，这为他们完成工作提供了更大的灵活性。”

It’s easy to see how this can help. With CBE courses, an overwhelmingly busy week in 您r life 做 esn’t mean 您’忙于完成任务—您可以继续工作或稍后在更安静的时间进行弥补。

开始坚强。完成更强。

如果你 had 先入为主的观念 about what an 线上 learning experience would be like, it’如果你是可以理解的’当世界适应COVID带来的变化时，我一直在重新考虑您的大学计划。但是，您真的要让格式更改搁浅吗？无论你’re in middle of an academic program or just getting ready to take the first step toward a college degree, a quality 线上 education experience is ready for 您 今天。 如果你’准备好开始变得强大并完成变得更强大，请招生顾问 在888-549-6755 今天。