Questions and answers about online studies and e-learning.

Sound:

All sounds are amplified when using a microphone in an open online conference. Make sure you don’t have music, radio, or the TV on in the background that could interfere with teaching. Remember that both the lecturer and fellow students can hear you! 

Picture: 

In open online conferences, both the lecturer and fellow students can see you. Therefore, ensure you are wearing appropriate clothing and find a place to sit that is suitable for a teaching situation. 

Talking: 

Talking when other people are talking is just as annoying in an open online conference as it is in an ordinary teaching situation. In open online conferences where the lecturer allows discussion and questions, it is a good rule that students who want say something signal by raising their hand so that the lecturer sees this and you can take turns speaking. 

Studying online

As an online student at USN, you use one or more digital learning platforms. These give you access to teaching material and they enable participation in lectures, group work and supervision. The learning platforms also make it possible for you to partake in regular communication with lecturers and fellow students. USN provides new online students with thorough training in the various programmes used in teaching. 

Online study habits

Studying online places the same demands on good study habits as ordinary campus studies do. It is a good idea to establish good study habits as soon as possible: 

• Plan enough time to conduct your study work! 
• If you have full-time studies, the study work should at least correspond to an ordinary working week. 
• Start reading the syllabus right away and be prepared for teaching/lectures. 
• Participate in all teaching that is offered. 
• Play an active role in teaching/lectures and ask questions! 
• Find good study mates and actively participate in study groups. 
• Make active use of the learning resources that are made available throughout your studies! 

Asynchronous lectures are recordings that are posted on the Canvas learning platform and can be viewed at your convenience.

• Some courses are mainly organised using asynchronous teaching and a high degree of self-study. This provides a high level of flexibility so you can decide for yourself when you want to study. Learning resources such as audio files, documents, assignments and recordings of lectures are available in Canvas, and you can use these when you want. Most asynchronous courses will have coursework that involves submissions on specific deadlines in order for you to register for examinations. 

Synchronous lectures take place primarily on Zoom, with students present in real time.

• USN has a lot of studies that use synchronous teaching and supervision. Using modern online conferencing systems, currently Zoom and sometimes Skype for business, teaching can take place in real time with audio and video functions. This provides both flexibility and closeness between students and lecturers, despite the fact that you are physically not in the same place. 
• The technology enables close dialogue, discussion and collaboration between the students and the lecturer, and between the students themselves. This arrangement is somewhat less flexible in terms of time, as students must be logged in at scheduled times every week. However, we find that this makes it easier for students to achieve better continuity and progress in their studies. This form of online studies is particularly important in teacher education programmes, and in other studies where dialogue and collaboration with other students are fundamental. 

Many of our online programmes of study use both asynchronous and synchronous teaching methods. 

If you would like to combine part-time studies alongside work, it is especially important to thoroughly read the programme descriptions to find out how your programme of study is organised and adapt your working hours accordingly. 

At USN, students can take anything from short online courses lasting just six months, to entire courses of study spanning 5 years. An online course is more flexible than a regular programme of study, but study routines are required to complete the programme in this way.

We place increasing emphasis on student-active forms of working and learning. This is in accordance with the growing interest in so-called flipped classroom learning. 

Below, we briefly present some of the work and learning methods you will encounter as an online student. At USN, we primarily use the Zoom online conferencing system for online teaching, but in some cases we also use Skype for business for group work, supervision, etc. 

• Lectures are a teaching method in which the lecturer presents and discusses a topic/issue related to a specific course based on the syllabus. Online lectures at USN are either asynchronous or synchronous. 
  • Asynchronous lectures are recordings that are posted on the Canvas learning platform and can be viewed at your convenience. 

  • Synchronous lectures take place primarily on Zoom, with students present in real time: In hybrid teaching, some students are also present in the lecture hall on campus, and there is the opportunity to ask questions and talk with the lecturer. Synchronous lectures often have compulsory attendance. Some online studies at USN record all synchronous lectures, and make the recordings (video or audio) available to students after the teaching session has taken place. 

• Group work is either teacher-driven or student-driven, and involves smaller groups of students collaborating on a joint project or assignment, and solving it together. Through access to virtual breakout rooms in Zoom, students can meet in real time with audio and video, discuss assignments and exchange documents with each other.
• A seminar is an informal teaching method, where the teacher and students work together on subject-specific tasks/projects. In online seminars, students and teachers meet in real time in a virtual Zoom room and according to a schedule. (Tips and advice on netiquette in these types of seminars). 
• Supervision can either take place in groups or in person between the student and the lecturer. In separate web conference rooms, the student and lecturer meet in real time according to an agreed schedule. In a supervisory session, written answers, oral presentations or other student work is discussed with the lecturer and feedback is given. 
• Learning resources are the sum of all teaching materials produced or shared by the lecturer on a course and made available to the students. Such resources may include recordings of teaching, films, text documents, links to important websites, etc. The resources are made available to the students via the Canvas learning platform, and are generally available from the time they are published and throughout the semester. 
• Self-study is the work you put into your studies that is not included in the stipulated teaching provision. Self-study includes reading syllabus literature and other relevant academic literature, using available learning resources, writing assignments, etc. 

Some programmes of study use special software, and this may have an impact on what kind of computer you need. You need to check this with the faculty you are going to study at. 

Requirements regarding digital examinations 

You must use your own laptop computer (PC or Mac). You must have administrator rights on the laptop you will use to complete the examination. 

Digital examinations cannot be conducted using tablets, Chromebooks or hybrid PCs. Remember to also bring your charger (and mouse if necessary) if you have a written examination. Check that the camera on your computer is working, you will sometimes need to use it. 

If you need special digital tools, you must apply for this as extra facilitation during exam.

Minimum laptop requirements for use in teaching and during examinations  

Computer requirements:

• PC: Windows 10 

• Mac: OS X 10.10 or later. 

  • NB: Some studies at USN are based on Windows software. Therefore, when purchasing a Mac, a Windows installation must be established on the machine using Parallels, Oracle Virtualbox, or similar systems that allow both the Windows operating system and the Mac operating system to be installed on the machine at the same time. You need to check this with the faculty you are going to study at. 

Processor (CPU) requirements 

• Minimum i5 or ryzen 5  

• USN recommends: 4 cores (e.g. Core i5, AMD FX-8350 or equivalent) 

Memory (RAM) requirements 

• 8 GB – Preferably more 

Storage requirements 

• 256 GB disk space (preferably SSD) 

Other minimum requirements 

• Integrated wireless network card 

• Latest version of recommended browsers: Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox 

• Integrated camera, must be able to deliver images in 640x480 resolution or better. You will sometimes be required to take pictures that will be included in answers. Using mobile phones during invigilated examinations is not permitted. 

Laptop requirements for online studies 

The minimum requirements mentioned earlier also apply to online studies, in addition to the following minimum requirements: 

Web camera 

• USN recommends: External USB camera with HD resolution. 

• Integrated webcams are approved for some studies (minimum resolution 640x480), but we recommend external cameras for better quality and more flexible use. 

• An external webcam is required for courses that have online oral examinations. 

Headset 

• Headsets that use USB for audio, with a microphone or combination desk microphone and speaker (important with echo cancellation). 

• USN recommends: Think about quality when buying headsets. 

• Keep in mind that this will be your tool as an online student for several years to come. 

Internet connection 

• It is not recommended to run a wireless network at web conferences. Wired network connections between PC/laptop and router are recommended. 

Information about this will be provided by the lecturer and will also be available in programme descriptions. Therefore, read this carefully. 

The following forms of assessment and examination are used in online studies: 

• Oral examination (both online via web conferencing and physically on campus).
• Written examination (both digital examination and traditional).
• Written home examination.
• Continuous assessment / coursework. 

Remember, as a student, it is your responsibility to register for examinations.