For Students

Spring 2017

Photo Courtesy of Indiana State Communications & Marketing Online tutoring Students at a distance benefit from abundance of virtual assistance

Online ollege can be difficult. Although sometimes it’s time management, each student has had a course or two that is challenging because the content is com- Tutoring plex. When an Indiana State student on campus encounters this, there Email: ISU-CFSS- are usually others in that same course or on his or her dorm floor with whom to Tutors@mail. commiserate. However, for online students, it seems a bit more difficult to get that assistance. CYet, if you talk to Roberta Allen, director of the Center for Student Success, she would dis- indstate.edu agree. Help of many types is readily available for online students, according to Allen, and there are Provide in Email: trained tutors willing to help with content knowledge right now—even from a distance. “As distance ed programs have grown, we have expanded our services,” Allen said. “So at this subject, point in time, we can offer [help for] any course that we tutor here face-to-face, we can offer that course number, same course to a distance student.” section number, Continued on page 2 ’s full name Spring 2017 YOUR ONLINE SUCCESS IS OUR STORY

Graduate student Jay- lon Hines, right, helps a student through content at the Center for Student Success. Hines said she works to be responsive to the student’s learning style when tutoring so that she can learn what they know already and how best to help them learn what’s next.

Photo Courtesy of Indiana State Communications & Marketing

The courses and subject areas that tutors will help, even if it means switch- Allen is referring to are numerous (see Maybe it’s not content ing from YuJa to Skype or the phone. a full list here), and once a session is but computation Getting access to this confidential con- set up, it can last for up to an hour. tent assistance is easy for distance students The tutors that partner with or composition? by emailing [email protected] learners throughout this process are state.edu with information on the subject, both extensively trained and eager to course number, section number, and profes- help, as evidenced by one graduate sor’s full name. From there, a student will student – Jaylon Hines, who is quite be matched up with a trained tutor for that systematic in her instruction. course and given choices to meet through “Normally, the tutor tries to evaluate YuJa. Once a student clicks a link provided what the student knows already, so they’ll in an email, the session begins. ask them ‘What types of things are you If a number of students need doing in class right now?’ ‘What do you assistance with a specific course, the need help with?’ just to sort of assess Center for Student Success also does what the student knows,” Hines said. group tutoring, which Allen said can be Hines said the learning methods beneficial for learners. vary from there, whether it’s going “Let’s say we have a spot at 6 over concepts or giving examples and Click screenshot to view math & writing center tutorial o’clock for one evening, and let’s say then gauging understanding. it’s for AHS 340 (Health Biostatistics),” While she’s getting her MBA, Allen said. “So, there might be multiple Hines said she enjoys working with Visit the people in there. It’s a study group at that both face-to-face and online learners Math & Writing point, and that’s worked out very well.” who need content help, but she does From nursing to business to sci- caution students against a common Center Online ence, the setup can be different de- misconception about tutoring. Make an appointment: pending on collaborations with various “We can’t work on any assign- Call (812) 237-2989 Indiana State colleges, but regardless, ment that will be graded,” Hines said. either tutoring or supplemental instruc- “We don’t want the tutors doing their tion (SI) can help any student reach his work for them.” You will receive an email or her academic goals. The Center for That means the tutoring is meant for a digital web conference Student Success can even refer students to help a student really learn, or re- through YuJa to the Math and Writing Center, which learn, the content. Hines said tutors also tutors online, if that choice would use a number of tools, from screen better suit their needs. sharing to uploading documents to Have a copy of the “Really, the services are identical to the YuJa whiteboard to demonstra- assignment, any readings, what we would have on campus,” Allen tions through video, so the tutor can and a copy of the paper ready said, but she also reminds students that be responsive to learning styles. because the tutors are both well-trained Although technology for dis- and successful at helping learners, there tance tutoring isn’t flawless, Hines assures students she and the is also high demand, so tutoring is “first come, first served.” YOUR ONLINE SUCCESS IS OUR STORY Spring 2017 Woods reinvents her journey ONLINE scribed her current employer as a pri- t took 25 years and more vate bank for ultra-high-wealth clients. than 800 miles for Kathy Car- In this Wall Street-like environment, ter Woods to complete her Indiana Woods has been able to apply content State University bachelor’s degree. from ACE courses, such as ACE350, Although it wasn’t the Dimensions of Leadership. Itypical route, she said it couldn’t have Woods noted several suggestions happened any other way. she has made have now become firm- Woods’ move to New York City wide policies due to her learning. and work at a high-end investment firm “Once I started going back to gave her the focus and desire to finish school, I feel like I got moved from what she started so many years ago. back burner to front burner,” she said. And, it was Indiana State Online that Her instructor, Ken Brauchle, also have her the opportunity. dean of extended learning at Indiana The biggest surprise for Woods, State, noticed Woods’ expertise. however, wasn’t the ability to take the “Kathy revealed herself as an next step in her journey -- it is how outstanding student very early in the much she is enjoying the process. class,” Brauchle said. “Her inputs “I am shocked at how much I love to online discussions were always it,” she said. “I thought it was something well-researched, thoughtful, respectful I would have to suffer through ... but it and enjoyable to read.” taught me a lot about myself as a student.” Woods said the online format also This online path was a continuation of her time on campus, suits her life in New York City in ways she didn’t expect. where she was a Radio, TV, & Film major from 1988-1992. Her commute is an hour and a half – each way, every day – “I had been looking for online program for years from ISU,” and she listens to lectures as she walks the streets, using famous Woods explained, noting her desire to finish the BA she had left landmarks for comprehension aids. incomplete at the beginning of her senior year. While taking an African history class and walking her regular But, one day while at work, she randomly logged onto the route from the 30 Rock building where she works to the Port Au- Indiana State University website and noticed Indiana State On- thority, she started remembering content based on where she was line – with more options than she’d ever seen before. in the city. Another time, she was trying to recall something from “I thought, wait a minute, this is a much more filled-out a lecture on YuJa, and she remembered her professor mentioned online infrastructure,” she said. “Instead of updating my , the detail when she was in Times Square, by a hot dog cart. This I’ll apply to college – it was just that simple.” opened up a learning style she didn’t even know she possessed. Woods said it went quickly after that initial application and With one of her own children in just about every phase of phone call, for which she credits the Indiana State Online staff. life, Woods also reflected on what her bachelor’s degree comple- “I got a quick response, and a response that felt really posi- tion has meant for her family. tive to me,” she said. “I think it’s been a real power of example for them … you Woods also said most of her credits transferred from her are never too old to learn. There have been nights when we are original degree, which doesn’t exist anymore, to Online’s Adult all sitting at the dining room table doing homework together,” and Career program. This program gave her skills she said. and knowledge that transferred directly to her work at Bessemer Even with a full-time job in New York’s financial industry, Trust located in Rockefeller Center. a full class load, a family at home, and a cooking/crafting blog “It’s a degree completion program with a large focus on hu- called OneBrownMom.com, Woods still made dean’s list last man resources development,” Woods said. “What I’m learning, semester. And even though she’s taking this spring off due to a you can use in any professional setting. It is all stuff I have used job change within her company, Woods said she can’t wait to in my professional career.” start online again this summer. As the assistant to the head of wealth planning, Woods de- “I miss it desperately,” she said. Spring 2017 YOUR ONLINE SUCCESS IS OUR STORY What’s YOUR Online Success Story? From a variety of places with a variety of majors, students talk about what Online means for them Click on each image to learn more about that program.

It’s Easier 5

It Isn’t I Can’t I Won’t Accredited Get Help Get a Job YOUR ONLINE SUCCESS IS OUR STORY Spring 2017

“I also stress Dean, the importance of written communication advisor in online classes.” Dr. Kara Harris, gives College of Technology counsel r. Kara Harris, associate bility, which she said her online advisees dean of student success for appreciate. the College of Technology Want to speak “Many students who work full-time at Indiana State, knows or live too far to commute to campus with an Indiana first-hand how students benefit from online programs,” Harris State Online Dcan benefit from distance learning. said. advisor? However, as an advisor of Indiana Although the benefits are many, Har- State Online students, she strives to put ris, who also is an associate professor of We’d love to help! the ball in the students’ court regarding Applied Engineering and Technology their readiness to engage in an online Management and the Technology and education. Indiana State Online Engineering Education program coordi- “I really let students take the lead on nator, does provide a few cautions along Tirey Hall 134 this,” Harris said, regarding her advis- with her advice, emphasizing deadlines Indiana State ing. “Many students have already tak- and composition skills in particular. University en an online course or are in an online “If a student is considering taking an 812-237-2345 program. They prefer this mode for a online course and has not taken one pre- IndianaStateOnline variety of reasons that differ between viously, I try to stress to them to fully each student.” @indstate.edu understand when assignments are due,” Those different reasons tend to co- she said. “I also stress the importance of alesce around a general sense of flexi- written communication in online classes.”