Elevator Speech

      For GEN105 Week 1 Assignment: 

      Construct your own 350- to 400-word scenario in which you explain distance learning to a friend. Your response should explain how Axia courses work and should correctly use each of the following terms at least once:

    Threaded Discussion

    Forums

    Asynchronous Communication

    Feedback

Here is my paper:

My new college is great!  I attend classes via the web.  I just log in to the student portal and all my classes are listed on my home page.  From there I click on which class I want to visit.  I take two classes at a time for a period of nine weeks, and they are grouped in a way to have the best impact on my learning experience.  I have several forums I use for each class.  The main forum is where the teacher posts information we need for our assignments and discussion questions for class participation.  The chat room forum is where the class can discuss off assignment topics.  It is also where we check in.  I need one post on each of two separate days for attendance each week.  I have an individual forum where I post my assignments to my teacher alone.  Only my teacher and I can see what is posted there so all my work is kept private.  I also have a forum where I can find all my course materials to help me with my assignments.   My classmates and I communicate with each other and the teacher thru asynchronous communication, which just means we aren’t always on at the same time as you are with an instant messenger which is a synchronous method of communication.   In the forums we use threaded discussions to answer the posts from the teacher.  For class participation my teacher will assign a reading assignment and post two separate questions for discussion and the students respond with their answers.   I get feedback from my teacher in responses to my discussion questions or directly to my individual forum for my assignments.  I also get feedback from the students themselves and I can respond to their answers as well.  Each posted response to a class discussion question is graded as substantive or not substantive which is just a big word on whether or not my response is one which is a complete thought and propels the conversation forward.   I need to submit two substantive posts on any three days for that week for my class participation grade.  My grade is dependent on only my substantive posts. 

There are many resources available to me thru the online Library. There is a section for help in writing.  I can use their WritePoint tool, which is a tool to check grammar and word usage.  There is also a plagiarism tool, where I can submit a paper and check it against any paper or article anywhere on the web so I can ensure my assignment is original.  There is a center for help in math that offers practice tests and tutoring help.  There is also a section on overcoming math anxiety.  There are many student labs and workshops I can attend at any time I need a bit of extra help.

I also have an amazing support group from the school which consists of my enrollment counselor, an academic counselor, a financial advisor, and a student advisor.  All who check in with me once or twice a week to make sure I am getting all the help I need for my classes.  If I ever need to contact them, I can call or email anytime and they are always right on hand.  My teachers are also available whenever I may need them.  I can email, post a question in the main forum question thread, or I can call them if it’s within business hours.  The best part of my new college is it is all online I can log in right from home, or from any other internet connection I can use at any time of day that fits me best. 

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