what are the attributes of a good open distance learner

FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND MULTIMEDIA

COMMUNICATION

OUMH1103

LEARNING SKILLS FOR OPEN DISTANCE LEARNERS

WHAT ARE THE ATTRIBUTES THAT WILL HELP YOU TO BE A SUCCESSFUL

LEARNER IN AN ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?

BY : ANISAH A AZIZAN.

SEPTEMBER 2013 SEMESTER

OUMH1103 LEARNING SKILLS FOR OPEN DISTANCE LEARNERS 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

CONTENTS

MAIN TOPICS Introduction. 3

Definition of online learning? 5

Executive summary. 7

SUBTOPICS Subtopic 1 : Attributes of the learner and how it can help 8

them to be successful in an online learning environment.

Subtopic 2 : Characteristics of adult learners. 10

Subtopic 3 : Successful learning styles. 11

Subtopic 4 : Goal settings as self- motivation. 13

Subtopic 5 : Good time management. 15

Subtopic 6 : Practical suggestions to be successful in an online

learning environment.

17

Subtopic 7 : Read the syllabus 17

Subtopic 8 : Plan weekly study times. 18

Subtopic 9 : Log onto the course home a minimum three times per

week.

19

Subtopic10: Ask questions. 20

CONCLUSION 212


REFERENCES 22

WHAT ARE THE ATTRIBUTES THAT WILL HELP YOU TO BE A SUCCESSFUL

LEARNER IN AN ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?

1.0 Introduction.

Nowadays, it is common for us the know about the online learning environment. An online

learning is a method to help the learners to study without having to go the classroom. In online

learning there will be a bit different between other kinds of learning. These alternatives are

useful for the future education. Recently, many people have used it to get certificates through

online learning. However, this particular learning still was not significant for some people who

have lack of knowledge about its benefits.

The purpose of this report is to evaluate the attributes that should the learners take to be

successful in online learning. In this report, I will submit four attributes and four suggestions to

be judged its effectiveness. I am investigating ways of how these two elements are crucial among

students. It was stated that they were keen for the effectiveness in their learning styles.

After studying , I found out that in many countries including Malaysia, some universities already

take this opportunity to become involved in online learning. On the Internet, there are many

websites that offer this learning environment to the visitors. For example, Coursera, Canvas

Network, Cambridge.org, HP E-Learning, Microsoft E-Learning and many more. In Malaysia,

there a university that offers this kind of learning environment like Open University Malaysia.

The objectives are to give education for working people to get their own Diploma, Degree,

Master and PHD. In that case, they can go and study at the same moment. The education in an

online learning environment is planned in a very fair and affordable. Likewise, it will give many

good facilities to its learners.

Regrettably, the learners itself do have lack knowledge in managing the “ICT” (Information and

Communication Technologies). They have not enough skills to understand the computer tools. In

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an online learning, the students must be very adept at it. They must know how to fix the problem

that they will face. Otherwise, there will be no used because they might give up easily or asking

other people to finish their work. Besides, there also some problem with the students which they

can’t give a good commitment in their studies. The problem can be due to their problems with

maintaining the approachable to concentrate while executing the assignment. The long-life

learning might causes poor concentrate among students. They also have a problem in

maintaining the learning process.

It is essential for university students to need to know what are the attributes that will help them to

be a successful learner in an online learning environment. Unlike the face-to-face tutorial, which

teach the learners directly and are present in real classrooms, online learning is more to virtual

classroom environment. This report will discuss the main types of attributes needed, and

suggestions how to facilitate the learners to be successful in an online learning environment.

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2.0 Definitions of online learning.

What is actually online learning? Online learning is a learning environment that requires students

to study in front of the computer with the internet connection. The students have to access the

official websites of the online learning to view the modules inside it besides that, they have to

answer some questions given and contribute their ideas in forums. Due to this, student are able to

view assignment, assessment, news announcement, examinations, forums, online library, books

and many features by themselves. In other words, they have to study independently by

themselves. Based on my researches on article “Media stickiness and cognitive imprinting” by

Ruth Geer & Alan Barnes claimed that;

“Research into the interactive behavior and cognitive development in online learning

communities is constantly seeking increased understanding. One study using

asynchronous online discussion forums identified a number of findings which help to

explain the cognitive behavior of learners.”

Ruth Geer & Alan Barnes (2012, p.123-136)

Based on the article, it states that online learning is a learning environment that needs high

understanding in interactive behavior and cognitive development on it. You have to interact with

your friends online and get involved in group discussion to discuss about the problem that you

face. In group discussion you can send the files or documents and besides that, you are able to

know the activities of other supporters when they are posting something in group discussion you

will get the announcement too.

The forum is not common for the students. In forums they can interact with the lecturers and

other students. There will be a wide network of connection between the students and lecturers. In

forum, students from East Malaysia are able to interact with the students from West Malaysia. It

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is very useful for them. In other words, it’s exactly like playing games in social network which

the players could talk to overseas players during game on.

All you need to have are an internet connection and electronic devices such as smart phones,

computer, laptop, tablet, iPad and other kinds of electronic devices. These materials are the most

important in online learning. By the existence of these materials, the accessibility for student to

access the virtual learning environment will be easier without have to attend the classrooms. The

students can do the assignment in any places. Nowadays, the internet connection is already becoming a

must for human. For example, in Open University Malaysia, there are facilities to access the digital

library this avoid the students from buy the books from the store. The existence of the digital library is a

good opportunity for students to view and download the books in just that manner.

Just like “Operating System” (OS) on your computer different folders in an online learning

environment will take the task to organize your workplace. There are many features of the

student’s facilities to use. Students and lecturer who enroll in are able to view, edit, delete and

update some information regarding them in the official website of the online learning. They can

view the examinations template and prepare the management of their learning process.

On particular website or organization, online learning will give free certificates to the students.

For example, Coursera, Canvas Network, HP E-Learning and many more.

Figure 1: Shows the official logo of

Coursera, Canvas Network and Hp Learning Initiative for entrepreneurs, they are

part of online learning environment.

Sourced by – http://www.e-learninglist.co.uk/

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http://www.e-learninglist.co.uk/


2.1 Executive summary.

This academic report provides details of the information gathered from reference books, Internet,

survey when asked for personal opinions into the current and future development of online

learning through web based approachable for students. The survey relates the activities that have

already been contributed in the current curriculum.

The attributes and practical suggestions derived are part of survey finding which is highly used

in any organization to motivate and passionate about Teaching and Learning in an online world.

It was proven that, the attributes and practical suggestions that were written in this report have

developed the innovative tools and applications. These have been successful attempts to train

students to become more effective and efficient learners. These have approached the

development of online learning to be higher in demand among adult learners.

It would appear that online learning through web-based are being successfully developed across

a wide range of discipline in higher education in the other hand, it has gave lot of benefits for

everyone in everywhere and any level of age.

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3.0 ATTRIBUTES OF THE LEARNER AND HOW IT CAN HELP THEM TO BE

SUCCESSFUL IN AN ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.

Is online learning right for Me? I’m sure many students who have lacked knowledge about

online learning are asking the same question. To be very successful in an online learning,

students must possess several attributes within themselves. Online courses are a course in online

learning that providing students relate to educational opportunities that they will not learn in their

local schools. School is different than online learning, it was a place for students to meet each

other and studying about formal education and it is different than virtual classroom.

Here could talk through face-to-face and discussing together but, they still lack of other elements

of the school. This contrast with the virtual classroom which enables the students to have higher

knowledge of many things. Still not believing it? Many students who are used to study through

online learning are capable to know more about the subjects rather than their own teachers.

Based on my researches on the internet and the survey, the students who ever involved in online

learning are able to access and learn those things that are not taught in school or universities.

These courses have provided students the flexibility of when and where they access their courses

through it. I have investigated that experience of many students who ever enroll the online

learning environment will provide better support for their learning styles. It was found that,

online learning is better than the traditional classroom. Some interesting theories about online

course are, they have proven successful for students with a variety of academic backgrounds and

needs. Also, it is important to realize that just as a traditional classroom setting may not be the

best fit for all pupils in all classes. Because, this method still has many problems. Thus, many

studies have been done to find some of the best solutions in this online learning method.

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Figure 2: Shows the enrollment of students who taking at least one online course.

Sourced by - http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/01/08/survey-finds-online-enrollments-

slow-continue-grow

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http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/01/08/survey-finds-online-enrollments-slow-continue-grow

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/01/08/survey-finds-online-enrollments-slow-continue-grow


Below are some attributes to consider when enrolling in an online course:

1. Characteristics of adult learners.

2. Successful learning styles.

3. Goal settings as self – motivated.

4. Good time management.

3.1 Characteristics of adult learners.

Students who may be considering an online course should take time to examine their learning

skills and aptitudes for taking a class online. “Learning Management Systems” (LMS) are

successfully utilized in e-education but they provide the same courses for all learners rather than

considering the learners’ individual needs for example, some students will think that they don’t

have to study this kind of subject because they think they should study other kind of subject.

Whereas, other students have to obey the educational needs and they just and just follow without

any objection. What is e-education? E- education is an education that need the existence of ICT

through it. We can conclude that, it is related to online education. In recent years, many

researches are done on incorporating the individual characteristics such as learning styles,

characteristics of learners, goal setting, time management and technical sets in technology

enhanced learning.

According to several educational theories, learners with a strong passion for a specific learning

style might cause difficulties in determining if their learning style is still not considered as

significant by the teaching environment. In addition, providing courses that fit the individual

learning styles makes learning easier for students. This kind of alternatives depends individually.

As a strong requirement for studying learning styles into consideration in “Learning

Management System” LMS, the behavior of students in online courses needs to be investigated.

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It was also suggested, providing students with the experience of taking a distance education

course to let them know to face many kinds of challenging materials in the online education

world. Besides that, resolves scheduling also helps learners to manage their studying time with

effective and efficient.

3.2 Successful learning styles.

To ensure the success in online learning students must have several methods of successful

learning styles to support their long-life of an online learning process. As a result, this

information about learning styles can be used to merge the different features in a course in order

to support the different learning styles among students. Furthermore, the information can act as a

foundation for providing adaptive courses as elective courses.

Moreover, we analyzed the behavior of students and their learning styles with respect to

correlations. As a result, we found out several significant correlations which can be used to

investigate and develop several approaches for detecting learning styles based on the behavior of

learners in LMS. LMS is a short form of Learning Management System. This is true that

learners have different ways of learning. The way they manage their learning is vary. In many

cases, some learners prefer to work in groups, whereas others like to learn alone and some

learners prefer to learn and concentrate on those concrete materials such as data and facts;

whereas others prefer abstract content like theories and their underlying meaning and some

prefer pictures and visualization.

The learning styles among the students can cause the main reasons for differences of

examination scores among them. Besides, students have their own perception of a course or a

learning environment might be different. For some students, an online course seems to be very

easy, whereas others have problems with learning in the same course. The level understanding of

learners is different and the way they investigate the problem they face also different. This is also

including the way they try to solve the problems are also differ

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Figure 3: Shows two pie charts with probability between online learning styles with on site

learning styles.

Sourced by – http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Apr_08/article02.htm

According to the pie charts above; there are eight types of learners that were investigated in this

academic report; active learners (Active), reflective learners (REF), sensing learners (Sensing),

intuitive learners (Int), visual learners (Visual), verbal learners (Verbal), sequential learners

(Seq) and global learners (Global).

We can accurate their level of understanding regarding to its capabilities to handling the learning

environment. According to an article “Analyzing the Behavior of Students in Learning

Management Systems with Respect to Learning Styles” by S. Graf and Kinshuk had done

research from Jonassen and Grabowski claimed that ;

“The reason can be seen in the individual differences of learners which also include

their individual learning styles.”

-Jonassen and Grabowski (2002, p. 56).

Based on my research, by S. Graf and Kinshuk ( 2002, p. 56 ) were actually studied the learning

styles among the students and what they expected from them according to some researchers

based on (Jonassen and Grabowski). Due to this, they (Jonassen and Grabowski) were proposed

that every person will present their own learning skills. Besides, some people might enjoy

relaxing environment while others love to get involved in a serious discussion with others

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http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Apr_08/article02.htm


students. For example, student A will listen to music while student B will put his or her greatest

effort concentrating the books. Here, student A enjoy relaxing environment while, student B

don’ts. According to researches that were made by S. Graf and Kinshuk from Felder had claimed

that ;

“For example, pointed out that learners with a strong preference for a specific learning

style might have difficulties in learning if their learning style is not supported by the

teaching environment . On the other hand, incorporating learning styles makes learning

easier and leads to better achievement.”

Felder ( 2008 , p.54.)

To enable learners to view ideas and combine with various ideas, Felder (confirmed this by a

study showing that students that attending an online course that matches their preferred learning

style and it can be either through sequential or global. Due to this, it’s already achieved

significant better examination results than those who got delivered a course that did not match

their learning style. For example, in web-based learning systems, highly attention is paid to

incorporating learning styles and providing courses that fit to the students’ individual learning

style, these alternatives are crucial to ensure the learning process to fit students' needs.

3.3 Goal settings as self- motivation.

As a student it is important to have highly self- motivation in every single way of studies. Goals

are important to ensure that you can achieve what you want in your studies. The goals can be

getting a good mark, gain new knowledge, graduated in within the specified time and get

improved in your field. One of the best ways to ensure that you succeed in school is to find

sources of self- motivated. There are two main types of self-motivated. It can be divided into two

parts. The first one is intrinsic motivation while the second one is extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic

motivation involves internal motivators, such as the desire to do well for your own pleasure.

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Whereas, extrinsic motivation involves external motivators, such as rewards or presents for good

grades.

The students can benefit from both types of motivation, but students with intrinsic motivation

tend to perform better than students who rely on only extrinsic motivation. This is due to the

desire to get the rewards and they really want to get the rewards. For example, a student wishes

to buy a guitar and he or she ask parents to buy it if she gets an outstanding result in exams in

this semester. Due to this strong desire, she passes with flying colors and get the guitar that she

desire.

Here are the self – motivations and its importance that should be carried out for every online

learners to succeed.

Build a relationship for communicating effectively and consistently with the lecturer

It is important in maintaining good communication between students and lecturers.

Organize and stay ahead on assignments.

It has lots of benefits despite it ensures the learners to keep the assignment on the right

track. Learners will know how to organize and when to finish the task according to their

priority.

Plan for deadlines.

This will act as an alert for learners to finish their assignment on the right time and avoid

procrastination. Due to this, learners will ensure to managing their scheduling to finish it

with good organize.

Find a mentor.

A mentor will act as pendorong to influence the learners to act like their own mentor. The

successful stories from mentor will highly speed up their spirit to getting better at their

job, universities and as people who got their won charisma.

Practicing good discipline.

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The most important elements if you want to be a successful learner. You should have

good discipline or otherwise you will always live in comfort zone.

3.4 Good time management.

What is time management? Simply put, time management is a way to balance your hours of rest,

work and leisure. Whether you realize it or not, you’re always making time management

decisions. Every day, you decide when to sleep in, go to class, study, go to the library, go to the

gym or chat online. And these decisions play a role in your personal time management strategies.

To succeed during any level of school, developing clear goals is a necessity. When you have

goals, it is easier to focus on your schoolwork because you know what you are working toward.

It is also helpful to learn time management skills. These skills will help you to meet the

educational goals you have set for yourself. By managing your time effectively, you will be able

to study when you need to, complete your homework by its due date, and prepare for exams.

Developing effective a study habit is important as they will help you use your study time more

productively and will also help you handle stress. Other tips for studying include learning some

effective memory techniques, developing a good support network and working with other class

members to enhance your study habits.

Be organized.

Organize your material; books, modules, Internet connection, housework, assignments

and examinations note books.

Have folders for every course subjects.

Make sure you have the study guide, assessment guide, handouts and any other material

available before the class starts.

Put your name and contact details of all important material such as, email, name and

phone number to your course mate.

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Plan long term

Graduated from university and own degree successfully.

Decide how much time you'll need for collecting information. (The amount of time you

allow should depend on the value of the assessment. Allow more time for major

assignments).

Try to give yourself a week to relax at the end of large assessments.

Plan short term

Make a plan for the week and list things that need to be done.

Time-table your week.

List in the 'must do' jobs.

Look for extra time

Cut down on TV or Facebook viewing time.

Perhaps get up one hour earlier in the morning to ensure you can plan your study

activities early.

Say 'no' to things where appropriate; all kinds of distractions.

Don't overlook even small chunks of time - they can be very useful. Use them and do

not waste your time.

Stay motivated

Remind yourself why you're doing the course and assignment.

Get started, even with something easy, your work will be very easy to handle.

Reward yourself when major tasks are completed. Learn to appreciate your own effort.

Break things into smaller tasks, this will help you to cope with stress.

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4.0 PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN AN ONLINE LEARNING

ENVIRONMENT.

1. Read the syllabus

2. Plan weekly study times.

3. Log onto the course home a minimum three times per week

4. Motivation.

4.1 Read the syllabus.

One of my suggestions to online learners is read the syllabus before you attend the class. The

syllabus is the most important material to help learners to understand the topic better. It can be

printed, software or books. If the syllabus is in software material, students still can read it over

and over again by print a copy. Before the first day of the class the topic will not be so hard to

understand for students. Some of the universities who conduct the online learning environment

has provided books to the students. This will give a big opportunity to students to understand the

syllabus better.

One essential method on how to read the syllabus is by highlight the important facts that you

think is crucial on examination paper. By reading the syllabus also a lifelong learning and

information management that must be dominated by all online learners. In addition, reading the

syllabus is one of the lifelong learning and information management skills. Both these elements

are actually related to how students gather information for their theses and assignments. In online

learning, the students need to know the requirements.

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4.2 Plan weekly times.

To practice good habit among students, planning management at this level is more about

developing a successful routine in their daily life. Scientifically based has proven that everyone

has different habits here. The habits can be classified as different times when you're most wide

awake on every morning, different times when you can get on with things undisturbed and

different degrees of success at getting down to hard work even when you've only got a short time

available. The important lesson here is to learn to control the things rather than be pushed

around. This is important to control the stress level among online learning students.

For an example, at the beginning of the course week it seems like there is plenty of time to get

everything done. For sure, procrastination will take place in during the middle of studying. But

after lectures, seminars, sleeping, eating, traveling etc. there is frustratingly little time left. This

will lead to poor concentration on studying and laziness to facing the examination will take

place.

Here are some suggestions for how to get the most of the remaining hours.

1. Estimate the probability of finishing the assignments on time

2. If you think there will not be enough time sacrifice your entertainment during the

weekend to finish assignment

3. Keep reminding yourself the reason you're doing the assignment.

4. Scheduling what need to be done, for the parts that hard to understand, prepare the

keywords to search on the internet.

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4.3 Log onto the course home a minimum regularly at least three times per week.

A survey had revealed that online students have to access the online website to ensure that get all

the information correct. This is because, they must follow the instructions once they already have

access to the official online learning website. Once the course gets going, students must review

the assignment instructions, discussion topics examination dates and etc.

At the beginning of each week and students must consult grading the guidelines and check due

dates again. This to ensure that students will not get lost the news announcement or other kinds

of information. In the future, students will be amazed how much easier assignments become once

they are very familiar with the instructions.

As I mentioned above, these are several methods to study the learning material through online :

1. You should take your time to understand each lesson, there is no need to rush for you

can always replay the video.

2. Understand each lesson completely before moving to the next one.

3. Avoid distraction : Log of social media sites such as Facebook or twitter or YouTube, if

you can't help it, download a browser extension that blocks these websites, you can

always set the block duration to a certain time.

4. After finishing your course online, you can always reward yourself by visiting these sites

again, assuming that you have already finished your online course

4.4 Ask questions. 19


It is important for learners to understand the subject better. If not, they will not be highly

motivated to study harder. Asking questions to the tutor will avoid students from missing of any

information that regarding the subjects teaching, assignment submission, examination date and

etc. Besides, asking ethics between them will develop the way of students’ critical thinking and

solving problems.

The tutors are really want to help their students to be successful in their studies, this can be the

main reason why they want students to be successful and expect students to ask questions.

During the asking process, the tutor can evaluate the understanding level of students.

In discussion group, students are encouraged to post good questions for discussion among them.

The tutors will view the questions and reply it as a feedback. Students and tutors can discuss on

issues that related to the course as this will highly increase better understanding among students

about the course.

If you have a question about course content, need clarification on a difficult concept or subject

please ask! And when you do ask a question, make your question relevant to answer by the tutor.

Before you post a question, you must know what you are asking and why. Lastly, be clear and

concise in your communication. You will be glad when you asked! Participate in online

discussion often; students are able to discuss the question with other course mates.

5.0 Conclusion.

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In a nutshell, all attributes and practical suggestion that I have stated in this report must be

accomplished based on physically and mentally aspect of online learners. In the centralization,

all types of online learners prepare themselves in order to face the challenges and ensure that

they know how to put them in the right position. Even though, they are not able to avoid some

circumstances that relate to their daily life or habit, they still can improve themselves and prepare

for the real environment of the web-based education. They must work hard to be successful. The

positive attitude eventually pays. Vital thing here is, every student should never underestimate

their own strength.

( 4,253 words)

6.0 References.

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S. Graf & Kinshuk., (2008). Analyzing the Behavior of Students in Learning Management Systems with Respect to Learning Styles, Studies in Computational Intelligence (SCI). Analyzing the Behavior of Students in Learning Management Systems with Respect to Learning Styles, 93 ,53 – 73. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Felder ,(2008). Analyzing the Behavior of Students in Learning Management Systems with Respect to Learning Styles, Studies in Computational Intelligence (SCI)., Chapter

2 in S, Graf & Kinshuk. (Ed.), Analyzing the Behavior of Students in Learning Management Systems with Respect to Learning Styles, 93 ,54 – 54. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

G, Ruth., & Barnes, Alan. (n.d). Media Stickiness and Cognitive Imprinting: Inertia and

Creativity in Cooperative Work & Learning with ICTs. (Volume 210.). GPO Box 2471 Adelaide, University of South Australia.

Tan,L,P. & Pillay, H. (2007) .Understanding learning behaviour of Malaysian adult

learners: a cross-cultural sensitive framework.(Volume 7). In SpringerLink (OUM Digital Library).

Lytras,D,M., & Pablos, D, O, P., Damiani, E., Avison, D., Naeve, Ambjörn, N., Horner, G, D.(2002). Best Practices for the Knowledge Society. Knowledge, Learning, Development and Technology for All. (Vol.49.). In SpringerLink (OUM Digital Library).

Kumar, D., & Turner , J. (2006). Education for the 21st Century — Impact of ICT and Digital Resources (Vol.210.). In SpringerLink (OUM Digital Library).

R. del Valle, T. M. Duffy. (2009). Online learning: Learner characteristics and their approaches to managing learning 37(2), Springer Science+Business Media : Springer Netherlands.

L, Song., Singleton, S, Ernice., Janette, R,H., & Koh,H, M.(2009).Improving online learning: Student perceptions of useful and challenging characteristics 37 (2), 59-70.

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http://link.springer.com.newdc.oum.edu.my/search?facet-author=%22Ambj%C3%B6rn+Naeve%22

http://link.springer.com.newdc.oum.edu.my/search?facet-author=%22Ambj%C3%B6rn+Naeve%22


Lederman , D.(2013).Growth for Online Learning. [Online]. Available : http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/01/08/survey-finds-online-

enrollments-slow-continue-grow

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strategy- for-student-success-with-online-learning/ . [2013,November 8].

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http://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/five-step-strategy-%09for-student-success-with-online-learning/

http://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/five-step-strategy-%09for-student-success-with-online-learning/

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/01/08/survey-finds-online-%09%09%09%09enrollments-slow-%09continue-grow

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/01/08/survey-finds-online-%09%09%09%09enrollments-slow-%09continue-grow


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