Course Information

The course information area is generally the first area students will see in their course and contains lots of important information about the course. The course information area (which may be called different things in different courses) contains the documents that you need to understand the requirements and expectations in your online course.

Communication Area

Most online courses have areas in which instructors and students can communicate with one another to ask questions or post announcements. The three most common areas for this type of communication in Open SUNY-Powered courses are the course announcement area, course mail, and the public ask a question area.

Modular Course Structure

When a course follows a modular structure, course content is broken up into a series of parts (called “modules”) that open (become viewable) at set times throughout the semester. A module is essentially a self-contained holding area for all of the course content items, lecture documents, assessments, and discussions included in a particular lesson or timeframe.