I've been asked several times what exactly online classes are and how they work. It's a good question! Online lessons provide an inexpensive way of learning, and learning in the comfort of your home at your leisure. Online classes are available in a multitude of subjects, from Microsoft Word to Adobe Illustrator to Corel Painter. There are classes in traditional art, classes in writing. In fact, just about anything you want to learn!

One of the best things is that online classes are fun...and there is no pressure! It works like this: you will be asked to choose a username and password when you enroll. It will be used for all classes you enroll in, if you choose to do more than one.

Each class has a classroom page that you will access using the username and password, and your lessons will be accessed from that page. One lesson will be posted each week. You will have all week at your leisure to complete the lesson and homework. Sessions last 6 weeks, so there are six lessons, or three double-length lessons.

There is also a class message board where you can post questions and any feedback you have. I encourage posting to the board because chances are if you don't understand it, someone else may not either. I also give students my email address so they can contact me directly if they want. I check the board at least twice a day, usually more. I will be there to answer questions and help when needed. After you complete an assignment, just post the URL to the board and I will review your homework. One of the things I love most about this job is that with the same set of instructions, student's imaginations take over and the most wonderful creations come out of it!

There are no grades, because participation is of course up to you, but you do benefit from interaction with other students.

Baseline skills are determined by the course; for most introductory courses you should be familiar with opening programs, finding a file and opening it. Basically you just need to know the basics of your mac or windows operating system, like what it means to open a file or save a file.

For advanced courses, some teachers have an entrance exam which is really only for you to decide if you are ready to take the next course or an earlier one. It isn't graded. Some classes have prerequisites of previous classes in a series (for instance, to take Illustrator 3 you need to have completed Illustrator 2) because the later courses expand and build on what was learned in the earlier ones.

I discovered online classes a few years ago when I wanted to learn my software with some guidance and someone I could ask questions of. The help files are great on most software...as long as you know what to look for. Sometimes it is much easier to have a person to explain what you want to do rather than trying to figure out what the right term is to search for in the help file. I was instantly hooked! And although I teach now, I still take classes every semester.

Online learning is FUN!

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All designs and images on these pages are copyrighted to me, Sara Froehlich and Northlite Designs, or inthe cases of software boxes and logos, their respective copyright holders. If you want to use something of mine you see, please contact me for permission. Thank you!

©1995-2002 Sara Froehlich