The School of Education at St. Scholastica has been offering online courses since 1995.

Through our experience with online learning, we've learned what works best, and how to provide our students with the support they need to be successful. Our professors are available to meet with students when needed and will work to provide additional guidance and support on an individual basis.

Our academic advisors understand the technology our students are using and are experienced in helping with all manner of academic and technology issues.

Advantages of an online education

• Online access to class materials - All class materials, including discussions, videos, lectures, and readings are stored in one, easy-to-access location. This means that if you didn't understand that video from yesterday's class, you can watch it until you do. If you remember a great point one of your colleagues made in class, but can't quite remember how she put it, you can check back whenever you need to. It also makes review for testing a breeze - everything's in the same place!
• A flexible schedule - A virtual classroom means that you can study when and where it works best for you. You're not locked into a specific time, day and location.
• Constant improvement - Because all classes, lesson plans, lectures, and other materials are stored online, they can be reviewed and audited by our team of instructional designers on an ongoing basis. This means that each time a class is taught online, we are honing the curriculum and improving the content to ensure that every class is the best that it can be.

Blackboard 9.1

Blackboard is the software that runs our virtual classrooms. It is a secure online environment that can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection.

Blackboard offers 24/7 access to all course information, and has a variety of features that foster student collaboration and engagement, including:

• Web 2.0 applications,
• the ability to integrate YouTube videos and Flickr images,
• instant messaging, virtual discussions,
• instant access to recorded webinars and other instructional information,
• online access to your grades.

Other Student Resources

24-hour help desk

One of the advantages of online learning is that you can study on your own schedule. If you study best at 5 a.m. or 9 p.m., you don't need to worry about technology problems stopping you. Our 24-hour help desk is available to help.

Atomic Learning

Atomic Learning features tutorials for dozens of popular computer programs that help you learn the basics of a piece of software.

Topics covered include:

• Adobe Photoshop,
• Microsoft Excel,
• Microsoft Word,
• Adobe Flash,
• Adobe Creative Suite,
• recording videos,
• podcasting,
• searching the internet,
• basic PC maintenance and security,
• using PowerPoint to create effective presentations.

SMARTHINKING

SMARTHINKING is a website that provides online tutoring, providing live help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It can be accessed from Blackboard. Check out our demo video for more information on SMARTHINKING's capabilities.