The Online Learning Experience
Like a traditional university classroom, online learning offers a rich, interactive learning experience that often includes virtual office hours for your instructor. Instruction may be delivered at one time and received at another (asynchronous) or delivered and received at the same time (synchronous). Many courses facilitate interaction among fellow classmates using discussion boards, live chat, blogs, wikis and virtual groups.
Instructional Methods
The following list includes online learning instructional methods used in courses at the University of South Carolina.
Course that is taught 100% online in which students complete activities and assignments on their own time to meet course deadlines.
Example:
All course materials are provided online and students follow a course schedule with assignments that must be completed by an established due date.
Course that is taught 100% online in which students are required to participate in online meetings/lectures at specific days and times.
Example:
Course meets online on Tuesday/Thursday.
Course that is taught 100% online in which students are required to participate in online meetings/lectures at specific days and times and also complete activities & assignments on their own time to meet course deadlines.
Example:
Course meets online on Monday and students have additional online activities/assignments to complete on their own time by a specific due date.
Course that is taught both face-to-face and online with 50% or more of the course offered online.
Example:
Course meets in-person on Monday and either:
• Most activities/assignments are completed asynchronous online by students on their
own time by a specific due date; or
• The course meets online with synchronous instruction on Wednesday/Friday.
Course that is taught both face-to-face and online with 49% or less of the course offered online.
Example:
Course meets in-person on Monday/Wednesday and either:
• Meets online on Friday with synchronous instruction; or
• Activities/assignments are completed asynchronously online by students in lieu of
a Friday meeting.
Course that is taught in a traditional face-to-face classroom setting but also livestreamed online and recorded so students have the flexibility to choose the modality for any class sessions (HyFlex Model)
Example:
Course meets in-person on Monday/Wednesday/Friday in a classroom on campus that is
livestreamed online and recorded. On any given day, student may choose to attend class
sessions inperson,
synchronously online (via livestream), or asynchronously online (via course recordings.)
Course that is taught 100% via two-way video.
Example:
Course that meets specific days and times via two-way video delivered to a specific site (e.g. Columbia course delivered via two-way video to another system campus or specific site; Beaufort course taught on Bluffton campus delivered via two-way video to Beaufort campus; etc.)
Course that is taught more than 50% via two-way video to a specific site.
Example:
Course that meets in-person on Monday and meets via two-way video to a specific site on Wednesday/Friday
OR
Course that meets via two-way video to a specific site on Monday/Wednesday with activities/assignments completed asynchronously online by students in lieu of a Friday meeting
Course that is considered an internship, clinical, or practicum course and is part of a 100% online program.
Example:
Internship, clinical, or practicum course completed off-campus as part of a 100% online program.
Special Fee Notification
Students may be required to be proctored during online test completion. If students are unable to attend test proctoring sessions in person at the Distributed Learning office, additional fees may apply for online test proctoring.