Lord Fairfax Community College | Current Students | Academic Information | Distance Learning and Instructional Technology | eLearning at LFCC | Is Online Learning Right for Me?

Although there are a number of benefits to online and hybrid learning, the success of students depends highly on good time management, self-discipline and self-motivation. Additionally, online and hybrid learners must have proficiency in computer literacy and competency. In order to help you be a more successful distance learning student, we strongly recommend you examine your learning preferences and technology-related skills before registering for an online or hybrid course.

There are a number of assessment tools available to help you assess your readiness for the distance learning environment. Please visit the Student Online Readiness Tool (SORT) (courtesy of the University System of Georgia) and take the online assessments.

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Students who are considering taking an online or hybrid course for the first time may also find it helpful to complete an inventory of their learning styles. There are many learning styles inventory tools available on the World Wide Web. Here is one that is fairly easy to access and use:

http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Finally, if you feel you'd like to take an inventory of your technology-related skills and check this against the list of skills LFCC feels online learners should possess, please click here. If, after looking through this list you feel you may be lacking some of the "prerequisite" technology skills, it is recommended you complete the ITE 115 or CSC 115 course before enrolling in your first online or hybrid course. Alternately, you can complete an "independent-study" of these skills by visiting Atomic Learning library of online tutorials that is available within the Blackboard course management system. A direct link to Atomic Learning that will log you into LFCC's subscription to the library is located in a module on the LFCC institution page in Blackboard.