"I’d love to take online classes! Do I need any special equipment? How are online classes structured?"

Those who develop and use technology to deliver online education and distance learning programs do not want to replace geographical limitations with technical limitations. Though there are many cutting-edge technologies to facilitate online teaching, educators do tend to use familiar technology so that no special training is necessary. In most cases, online degree programs have tutorials and telephone support for students. But students do need to know some computer jargon. You should know how to "post" an assignment or use a "drop box." Another technical obstacle to successful online learning is low bandwidth. If you need to download graphs or photos that take hours due to a slow dial-up connection, it can get frustrating. "Most computers purchased in the last five years have the speed and memory to support online learning. Some classes require a microphone to be plugged into the computer," notes Ray Schroeder from the University of Illinois at Springfield.

"Students are given a Web site to go to and the instructor goes there as well. Students see and hear the instructor and can press a button to indicate they want to speak. All students hear the instructor and each other as if they were in the same room. This uses as little as a dial-up connection and a $400 computer, which is generally within reach of most people who are paying college tuition."

Equipment List:

- Computer, preferably one made in the last five years - Internet connection, preferably high-speed - Microphone (for some classes)

Class Structure

Learning online and earning an online degree is not as different from learning in a traditional classroom as you may think. Just about every facet of a traditional classroom can be found in the online college, except the physical presence of students and teachers. People already are comfortable with many of the elements and tools used in online learning. Anyone who communicates via e-mail knows how to exchange thoughts in writing, rather than verbally. Virtual meetings, similar to what takes place in an online class, are common in business settings with people in distant offices participating through a speakerphone or video cameras.

Online students will find that classes at online universities are taught in, essentially, three different ways:

- Instructor-led - Instructor-facilitated - Independent/self-paced learning.

Students in online classes that are instructor led have the least control over what is learned and when homework is turned in. The independent/self-paced classes are just what they sound like—students have the most control. There are pros and cons of each, so it is to your advantage to be familiar with each online teaching method when you are researching online degree programs and individual classes.

As in face-to-face classes, online learning and distance learning offer great flexibility in how classes are structured. For example, online students can be admitted in cohorts (cohorts are students going through a series of classes together as a group, unlike the "regular" college class situation in which students take classes as individuals) and move from one class to another in groups of ten to twenty until the entire course is completed. Online masters degree nursing and business classes are often arranged in cohorts. Or, as in a traditional class structure, at an online college students sign up for a course and when it has filled, the class closes. Synchronous online classes tend to be smaller than the traditional undergraduate core classes where 200–300 students fill a lecture hall. This is because online teachers keep track of individual students via e-mail, which can become unmanageable with too many students.