Distance Education
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Distance education has joined the mainstream of college class offerings. Community college students, many of whom have jobs and families to support, are attracted to online classes for ease of scheduling and remote access. Students with disabilities, elderly students, international students, and others who have trouble physically getting to campus, embrace online education.
Laney College is expanding its online and hybrid class offerings. We will be using Moodle open source software as our learning management system. The Peralta Community College District’s online offerings, are posted on eperalta.org. Information about Peralta online courses can be found in this document: online-education-at-peralta-community-colleges-with-faqs-03-05-09 Laney’s Distance Education offerings for the current semester, including class name, instructor name and contact information, and type of class can be downloaded here: laney-distance-ed-classes-s09. |
| Laney encourages distance education for students with disabilities. This is consistent with the California Community College Chancellors Office 2008 Distance Education Guidelines, which states: “One of the primary concepts of Distance Education (DE) is to offer students ‘Learning anytime, anywhere.’ Therefore, all DE resources must be designed to afford students with disabilities maximum opportunity to access distance education resources “anytime, anywhere” |  |
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At Laney College, faculty who teach online courses must first take appropriate training in the use of Moodle, the online course management system supported by the Peralta Community College District.In order for a Laney course to be taught online, a Distance Education Addendum must first be approved by the Laney Curriculum Committee. Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment methods for online courses must adhere to the same standards as traditional courses.Laney Student Services support our Distance Education efforts, as described in this document:student-services-for-distance-education-at-laney-college |
| Online education can be a rewarding experience, but not all students are adequately prepared to use online technologies. For this reason, Laney College provides orientation and support services for students planning to take online classes. Students who are not prepared to use online technologies are advised to obtain appropriate training before enrolling for online courses. |  |
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The success of online education depends on student and faculty enthusiasm and on the use of technologies that can provide the same, rich educational interactions that exist in traditional, face-to-face classes. This includes online discussion groups, multimedia presentations, and interactive online learning materials. |