How do I know if virtual learning is for me?  Take a moment to complete the survey below and then compare your results with the guidelines listed below.

Online Learning Survey or download and print the Survey-PDF Version.

51-60 – You seem to realize that online courses require time and you are willing to spend it.  You have a perfect studying environment with minimum distractions.  You typically finish all projects you start and are persistent in reaching your goals.  You seem to learn very easily, have good problem-solving skills and feel very comfortable using online communications and discussing course topics with people you have never met.  All these are very important qualities for successful online learning, and you seem to be fully prepared to take charge of your own learning process.   The fact that you consistently do things in advance and keep track of all your commitments also bodes well for your success in online learning.  It looks like you are a very experienced computer user, and shouldn’t have any problems accessing or interacting with the online course.   Hopefully this survey has helped you assess whether or not you want to enroll in an online course.  If so, then, Good Luck!

41-50 – You seem to be well organized.  Good organization and time management skills are very important for online learning, as you will have to work independently much of the time.  You are prepared to pace yourself, figure out things on your own and communicate with people in writing.  You generally seem to realize that taking an online course requires more discipline than a face-to-face class.  Overall, you will probably do fairly well in an online course, with little extra effort on your part.  Hopefully, this survey has helped you assess whether or not you want to enroll in an online course.  If so, then, Good luck!

26-40 – You seem to be fairly well organized and learn fairly easily.  That’s good, but you have to remember that learning from an online course usually requires more time and effort, because you will often have to pace yourself and figure out things on your own or with limited support from the instructor.  If you want to improve your organizational skills, you may consider allocating certain hours to work on each individual task to stay on track.  This online course consists mainly of written text, as well as audio recordings.  You will have to communicate electronically in writing with the instructor.  You may need to improve your basic learning skills, such as reading, listening, writing, and problem solving.  Since you have reported that you are fairly good at using the computer and the Internet, you should have no problem interacting with the online course environment.  However, you may lack some of the necessary technical tools.  Make sure that your computer meets the online course requirements.  Make sure you have help from someone who knows computers pretty well.  Overall, you seem to need to work on some of your learning and time management skills before trying an online course.  If you follow the recommendations above, you should be able to be fairly successful in an online course.  Hopefully this survey has helped you assess whether or not you want to enroll in an online course.

11-25 – It looks like you might work better when external organization is imposed on you.  While this may work just fine in a face-to-face class, an online class requires more independence in setting and following work goals and deadlines.  In an online course you will have to pace yourself and figure out things on your own or with sometimes-limited assistance from the instructor.  As far as time management, you may want to develop a strategy for keeping yourself on track, such as keeping a written record of your tasks and allocating certain hours to work on each task.  To become a successful online learner, you may also want to improve your basic learning skills, such as reading, listening, writing, and problem solving.  Based on your answers about your technical readiness, it seems that you are not very comfortable using the computer for learning.  You also need to make sure you have all necessary learning skills before you try an online course.  You may want to wait with online learning till you have gained more experience with studying and time management.  Hopefully this survey has helped you assess whether or not you want to enroll in an online course.

0-10 – From your answers, it looks like your time management skills and study habits (such as keeping yourself on track, meeting deadlines and working independently) need to be improved before you can be successful in online learning.  If you feel that you have trouble processing new information, are not comfortable with written communications, or are not used to solving problems on your own, you may reconsider your decision to take an online course, as it usually provides less support from the instructor, than it may be necessary for you.  This online course also requires at least 4 hours a week, which you may not be ready to spend at this time.  Regarding your technical readiness, you don’t appear to have many of the necessary technical tools to take an online course and don’t seem to be very comfortable with the online resources.  Overall, it looks like at this point you might be more successful in a course that meets face-to-face, where you can have more support for your learning.  You might try an online course when you have gained more experience with computers and study skills and time-management.  Hopefully this survey has helped you assess whether or not you want to enroll in an online course at this time.

Online Readiness Assessment by Vicki Williams and The Pennsylvania State University is licensed under Creative Commons www.adha.org/downloads/nbr/Online_Learning_Survey_Tool.doc