Quick Links
Contact Us
East Campus
Room W106
Lois D. Aime
Director of Educational Technology
laime@ncc.commnet.edu
203.857.7288
Distance Learning FAQ
WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ABOUT ONLINE AND HYBRID COURSE OFFERINGS AT NCC?
DO ONLINE COURSES OFFER THE SAME NUMBER OF CREDITS AS GROUND- BASED COURSES?
Yes, online courses have the same number of credits as their equivalent face-to-face sections.
DOES MY TRANSCRIPT SHOW THAT I TOOK A COURSE ONLINE?
No, your transcript only shows that you have taken the course, not the format of the course.
HOW DO I KNOW IF ONLINE LEARNING IS RIGHT FOR ME?
Online learning is not for everyone. Take this self-assessment survey to find out whether you should take an online course.
WHAT IS MY USERNAME AND PASSWORD?
IS THERE AN ON-CAMPUS ORIENTATION?
Each semester there will be a series of one-hour on-campus orientations. The times and dates will be posted here. These are not mandatory but is suggested that you attend if you have never taken an online course using Blackboard before.
DO ONLINE COURSES EVER REQUIRE THAT I COME TO CAMPUS?
Some online classes will require you to come on campus for labs or an exam although most will not. Be sure to check the syllabus and check with your instructor to see if there are any on-campus requirements. Courses that require on-campus meetings will almost always be designated as hybrid courses.
WHAT DO I DO IF I EXPERIENCE A PROBLEM IN MY ONLINE COURSE?
If you experience technical problems you should first go to CT Board of Regents Technical Support Services to resolve the issue. The phone number is 860-493-0221.
If you experience problems related to the course subject you should contact your instructor. If you have problems that go beyond technical or subject matter concerns you should contact:
Lois Aime in the Educational Technology Dept. at (203) 857-7288
DO I NEED TO BUY TEXTBOOKS FOR ONLINE CLASSES AND ARE THEY THE SAME AS THOSE FOR CAMPUS-BASED CLASSES?
Yes, you will need to purchase textbooks as required by the instructor. Be careful though, sometimes the textbooks for online courses are different than those for campus-based courses. Be sure to let the bookstore know if you are taking an online course.
IS THERE A PARTICULAR TIME I HAVE TO BE ONLINE?
No, you do not have to be online at a specific time. You will be given a time frame in which to respond to discussion questions, do assignments and take exams but that time frame will be flexible enough so that you can work at night or during the day, whichever is more convenient for you. (Unless your instructor creates a chat area with specific instructions about when you should be online to participate. This is not a usual occurrence, but it may happen.)
WHERE CAN I GET MY TEXTBOOKS?
Textbooks for credit online courses can be purchased through the NCC bookstore. If you are on campus you can go to the bookstore. If that is not convenient, you can call them at 203-857-7239, order the book and ask that it be sent to you.
HOW DO I ACCESS MY CLASS(ES) ONCE I HAVE REGISTERED?
NCC online credit classes are located at http://my.commnet.edu. Log into myCommNet using your NetID and password. Once in, click on the link to Blackboard on the right side of the page.
WHAT KIND OF LIBRARY SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE STUDENTS?
You can access the library from off campus. From there you can search for journal articles, books and other resources available from the NCC Baker library and other CT libraries which include numerous databases, newspapers and internet resources on a variety of subject matters. You can ask questions of our librarians and request inter-library loans through the NCC Baker Library service page.
IS THERE TUTORING AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS TAKING ONLINE CLASSES?
Yes, NCC offers tutoring for all students through the Tutoring Center at NCC or online through eTutoring.org. You may access online tutoring by clicking on the link above or from the menu of links in the column to the left.
HOW DO I OPEN DOCX FILES, OR OTHER OFFICE FORMAT FILES?
Office 2013 and 2016 applications automatically save to new formats that are backward compatible with previous versions of Office applications.
HOW TO ADJUST BROWSER TEXT SIZE?
If the text in your browser is too small to read, you can adjust the text size to make it more readable. Most browsers support adjusting the text size with a mouse wheel. To adjust the text size with the mouse wheel, hold the CTRL key and
- Scroll down to increase text size
- Scroll up to decrease the text size
TO ADJUST THE TEXT SIZE:
FROM INTERNET EXPLORER:
- Click “View” -> “Text Size”
- Select from one of the four alternate text sizes: smallest, smaller, larger, or largest
FROM FIREFOX
- Click “View” -> “Text Size”
- Click “Increase” or “Decrease” to change the text size accordingly
- Alternatively, you can use the keyboard: press CTRL + “+” to increase the size or CTRL + “-“ to decrease the size
TO RESET THE TEXT SIZE TO THE DEFAULT SIZE:
FROM INTERNET EXPLORER:
- Click “View” -> “Text Size”
- From the side menu, click “Medium”
FROM FIREFOX:
- Click “View” -> “Text Size”
- From the size menu, click “Normal”
- Alternatively, from the keyboard: press “CTRL” + “0”
WHY CAN'T I OPEN AN ATTACHMENT?
There may be multiple reasons why someone might not be able to open an attached file in an online course. These include the issues concerning the file name, browser settings, or a virus.
It is possible that browser settings may also affect the downloading or displaying of attachments. If a file will not open when its link is clicked, you may try right-clicking on the link, and choose “Save Target As…” (“Save LinkAs…” in Firefox), save it to your machine, and open it from that location.
Another reason you may not be able to open a document is that it has been infected by a virus and the server has removed it.