Online Readiness Quiz
Online and hybrid courses have become a common part of the college experience. They offer flexibility and convenience, which means online students will need to be highly organized and motivated to avoid procrastination and keep up on assignments.
Students sometimes mistakenly believe that an online course will be less work than a course on campus. In fact, both require the same amount of effort. Some students find that online courses actually require more work because it takes more time to absorb lecture material online than it does in the classroom.
Take the self-assessment below to help guide you in areas where you might need extra support and resources for online courses. You should also talk with your college counselor before registering for courses. Call 575-6080 or visit the counseling website to schedule an appointment or talk to a counselor.
Technology Skills
Which of the following statements best describes you?
Successful online students already spend a lot of time online, and they really like it.
Successful online students have a high level of motivation. It can be difficult if you don’t have your own computer and a quiet place to use it whenever you want. You will be most successful online if you have access to your own computer. If you don’t, make sure you have all of the necessary apps for Canvas and creating documents for online courses readily available on your phone or tablet.
- Canvas Student App (Android)
- Canvas Student App (iPhone)
- Microsoft Office (Android)
- Microsoft Office (iPhone/iPad)
- Student Email through Outlook (Android)
- Student Email through Outlook (iPhone)
- Adobe Scan app to turn pictures of print documents into PDFs on your phone.
Being successful in online courses requires lots of time online. You’ll want to make sure you set aside enough time to complete your assignments every week.
When it comes to trying new things online,
Successful online students seek out support necessary to overcome technology challenges. If you ever need technical support for computers or Canvas, contact (209) 575-7900 *Press “4.”
You can be successful online only if you learn to overcome frustration. If you can walk away and come back later with a solution, you can be successful. If you ever need technical support for computers or Canvas, contact (209) 575-7900 *Press “4.”
Usually, successful online students are the ones who help other people with computer problems. They are not the ones receiving help. If you ever need technical support for computers or Canvas, contact (209) 575-7900 *Press “4.”
How do you usually access the internet?
Great! Online courses are easiest to access through a desktop or laptop computer. You should be all set.
Handheld devices can work for some online learning, but most of what happens in an online course still requires a desktop or laptop computer and monitor. If you don’t have access to a desktop or laptop computer, make sure you have all of the necessary apps for Canvas and creating documents for online courses readily available on your phone or tablet.
- Canvas Student App (Android)
- Canvas Student App (iPhone)
- Microsoft Office (Android)
- Microsoft Office (iPhone/iPad)
- Student Email through Outlook (Android)
- Student Email through Outlook (iPhone)
- Adobe Scan app to turn pictures of print documents into PDFs on your phone.
If you don’t have free access to a computer at all times, you’ll need to use your phone or tablet to check in on your online classes and complete your work. Make sure you have the necessary apps installed on your phone or tablet (Word, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF scanner).
- Canvas Student App (Android)
- Canvas Student App (iPhone)
- Microsoft Office (Android)
- Microsoft Office (iPhone/iPad)
- Student Email through Outlook (Android)
- Student Email through Outlook (iPhone)
- Adobe Scan app to turn pictures of print documents into PDFs on your phone.
Some instructors use social discussion tools such as Flipgrid, VoiceThread, web conferencing tools such as Zoom, and/or proctoring tools such as Proctorio that might require sharing images, audio, and/or video. Do you have access to a webcam and microphone or smartphone in order to share images, audio, and/or video in your online classes?
This is great! Most online classes will involve sharing images, audio and/or videos with other students and your instructor. If you attend Zoom office hours, you might want to share your audio and video. Proctoring tools such as Proctorio may require audio/video recordings. You should have no problem with this part of online courses.
Because ConferZoom video conferencing is frequently used for online office hours, we recommend checking out Best Practices for Zoom.
You can use Zoom from your computer, but you can also download Zoom on your phone:
Your excitement and willingness to try is a good sign for success. Sharing images, audio, and video online can be important.
Because ConferZoom video conferencing is frequently used for online office hours, we recommend checking out Best Practices for Zoom.
You can use Zoom from your computer, but you can also download Zoom on your phone:
You’ll need to be prepared to share images, audio, and video with your peers and instructor online. If you aren’t comfortable sharing video, please reach out to your instructor at the beginning of the course to discuss alternative options. If you attend Zoom office hours, you might want to share your audio and video.
Because ConferZoom video conferencing is frequently used for online office hours, we recommend checking out Best Practices for Zoom.
You can use Zoom from your computer, but you can also download Zoom on your phone:
When it comes to communicating and discussing with other people using social media such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook,
Online courses will be full of people who might have different or varying opinions on topics. Online students do well with reading and reacting to opinions that are different from their own and can interact with those with differing opinions in a respectful manner.
Online courses will include discussions that include varying opinions on topics. It’s important that you are able to communicate in a respectful way even with those you disagree with.
Online courses will include discussions that might sometimes ask you to post your honest opinions and beliefs. It’s important that you are able to do so in a respectful manner.
Study Skills
When a big assignment is due in a few weeks,
Online classes can be more difficult because you have to work on your own and set your own deadlines. Your instructor is not always there to remind you. Being organized and planning ahead is essential to success in an online class.
It is far better to complete assignments in advance even if you think you will have time later. It’s important that you keep up with weekly due dates in an online class on your own. Use the Canvas calendar as a way to keep track of your assignments for all classes. You will need to say on top of your assignments and leave extra time for any technology issues that may arise. Contact Canvas support for help:
- Daytime Canvas Support: 209-575-7900 *Press “4”
- 24/7 Canvas Support: (844) 303-8280
In online courses, you have to be your own boss because your instructor will not be there to remind you. You will need to say on top of your assignments and leave extra time for any technology issues that may arise. Try to get started by working on smaller parts of your assignments so you don’t leave everything for the end.
I do most of my schoolwork and studying
This is the best scenario for academic success, online or not. It’s even more important online though because online students do not go to class every week with other people who are all focused on the same material at the same time. Online students need extended periods of quiet study to absorb the course content.
Most research indicates that successful students have a dedicated place where they can study for long periods of time without interruption. However, studying in several places can work if you are disciplined and do not confuse social time with study time.
While busy lives can make this kind of studying the only option, it is not normally a style that leads to success. More often, the opposite is true. If your life is so busy that you only have a few minutes to study here and there, you will need to plan to set aside time to complete the large projects and assignments that are part of every online course.
When things get difficult, I
Technology often can be frustrating. In virtually every online course, there will be times when something doesn’t work the way it should. You’ll need to be prepared to deal with obstacles in online classes.
- Call MJC Tech Support (209) 575-7900 *Press "4"
- 24/7 Canvas Support (844) 303-8280
- Search the Canvas Guides
In an on-campus course, when students begin to stop submitting assignments and pull back because they don’t understand, the instructor can usually see by the look on a person’s face that they need help. That cue does not exist online. It is essential for students to reach out for help when they run into problems. Online students have to be brave enough to ask for help.
- Call MJC Tech Support (209) 575-7900 *Press "4"
- 24/7 Canvas Support (844) 303-8280
- Search the Canvas Guides
Successful online students approach problems as learning experiences. The answers are out there--the game is finding them. If you need help,
- Call MJC Tech Support (209) 575-7900 *Press "4"
- 24/7 Canvas Support (844) 303-8280
- Search the Canvas Guides
Which of the following best describes you?
Excellent! You’re in a great position to succeed in an online class.
If you have this kind of life, you can succeed online if you have a high level of motivation. Consider talking with your family and employer and trying to get their support. If they know how important college is to you, they are more likely to help you with the steady schedule and the support you will need to be successful.
Students in this situation are the most vulnerable to dropping out of online courses. You really will need significant blocks of time to be successful. Very few people can focus on academic material after a full day of work, when they are exhausted. High motivation levels will be needed if you are in this situation. Chat online with a counselor if you need support.
I am someone who
Successful online students are able to concentrate on material some people might call “boring.” Without a live instructor in the classroom, online material sometimes requires extra focus.
Although some online courses are interactive, most online courses require more independent learning than face-to-face courses. Expect that you will be doing most of your learning alone.
Successful online students tend to be a little compulsive. They are often list writers who keep calendars and obsess about staying on schedule and meeting deadlines. If you have a little (or a lot!) of this in you, online courses are likely a good fit.
Reading Comprehension
In the following paragraph, the speaker talks about purchasing some farmland. After you read it, answer the five questions below.
My imagination carried me so far that I even had the refusal of several farms — the
refusal was all I wanted — but I never got my fingers burned by actual possession.
The nearest that I came to actual possession was when I bought the Hollowell place,
and had begun to sort my seeds, and collected materials with which to make a wheelbarrow
to carry it on or off with; but before the owner gave me a deed of it, his wife —
every man has such a wife — changed her mind and wished to keep it, and he offered
me ten dollars to release him. Now, to speak the truth, I had but ten cents in the
world, and it surpassed my arithmetic to tell, if I was that man who had ten cents,
or who had a farm, or ten dollars, or all together. However, I let him keep the ten
dollars and the farm too, for I had carried it far enough; or rather, to be generous,
I sold him the farm for just what I gave for it, and, as he was not a rich man, made
him a present of ten dollars, and still had my ten cents, and seeds, and materials
for a wheelbarrow left. I found thus that I had been a rich man without any damage
to my poverty. But I retained the landscape, and I have since annually carried off
what it yielded without a wheelbarrow.
- Henry David Thoreau, from Walden (1854)
Answers to the reading questions cannot be changed once you click on them.
The farmer
The speaker originally planned to
The speaker feels
The farmer’s wife
I feel like it took me a reasonable amount of time to read the above paragraph. I feel like I understand what it the writer is saying, and I am fairly confident I answered the questions about the paragraph accurately.
Great! If you didn’t have much difficulty understanding this paragraph, you should be able to understand the directions and other reading content you will likely face in online courses.
College-level reading can sometimes demand more concentration than new students are used to. If you struggled a bit with this paragraph, you can still be successful if you possess other attributes of successful online students, particularly motivation.
Online courses require lots of reading. You will face complex directions to difficult assignments. You will most likely need to read academic textbooks and other college-level material. When you’re taking an online course, you’ll want to make sure you give yourself extra time to read the material each week and reach out to the instructor immediately if you have questions. If reading this paragraph and taking this quiz caused you lots of anxiety, you might consider setting aside extra time each week to meet with a tutor online.
- Tutoring Center
- Writing Center
- Use NetTutor for online tutoring support. Read about NetTutor on the MJC Tutoring & Writing Center website.
Typing Speed
Online students should know how to type at least twenty words per minute (without looking at the keys!) in order to give themselves the best chance for success. You will be typing in discussion boards and email, and in tests where there are short-answer and essay questions. There will probably be essays to write and submit online. Typing is a big part of every online class. (Note: If you have accommodations through ASC for extra time, please share with your instructor at the beginning of the course.)
Check your speed here: www.typingtest.com.
Typically, a typing speed of 26-49 wpm is needed to be successful in an online course. You might consider some typing practice before the course begins, and you will need to set aside extra time for completing assignments. If you have accommodations through ASC for extra time, please share with your instructor at the beginning of the course.
Typically, a typing speed of 26-49 wpm is needed to be successful in an online course. It may be difficult, but this speed may be enough to be successful. You might consider some typing practice before the course begins, and you might need to set aside more than the average amount of time for completing assignments.
You type fast enough to be successful in an online class.
You’re a fast typist! Your typing skills will help you be successful.
Results will appear here when you finish. If you don't see your results, check to make sure you have answered every question.
Excellent. You’re online ready.
You possess the tools necessary for a positive experience online. However, your score alone is not a guarantee of how well you will do in any given online class. Experiences can vary widely based on a number of complex factors. If you are not sure or would like to discuss your options, please make an appointment to see an MJC counselor. Please refer to the resources listed throughout this quiz and the Online Student Resources page for other resources and guides.
Good. You’re almost there.
You possess most of the tools necessary for a positive experience online. However, your score alone is not a guarantee of how well you will do in any given online class. Experiences can vary widely based on a number of complex factors. If you are not sure or would like to discuss your options, please make an appointment to see an MJC counselor. Check out these Online Readiness Tutorials for tools that can help you prepare for online courses! Please refer to the resources listed throughout this quiz and the Online Student Resources page for other resources and guides.
Fair. Some resources recommended for success.
You possess some of the tools necessary for a positive experience online. However, your score alone is not a guarantee of how well you will do in any given online class. Experiences can vary widely based on a number of complex factors. If you are not sure or would like to discuss your options, please make an appointment to see an MJC counselor. Check out these Online Readiness Tutorials for tools that can help you prepare for online courses! Please refer to the resources listed throughout this quiz and the Online Student Resources page for other resources and guides.
Need support. Extra resources recommended for success.
Your answers indicate that you might need extra support and resources to have a positive experience in an online course. You might consider Study Skills 78—College Study Skills (See these courses in the MJC Catalog), a three-unit course designed to help students prepare for the demands of college (including note-taking, test-taking, time management, organization and reading). Check out these Online Readiness Tutorials for tools that can help you prepare for online courses! If you are not sure or would like to discuss your options, please make an appointment to speak with an MJC counselor. Please refer to the resources listed throughout this quiz and the Online Student Resources page for other resources and guides.