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Online Readiness Questionnaire


Welcome to the world of online learning. Before you enroll in an online course, take some time to think about yourself as a learner and see whether your characteristics would help you be a successful online learner. Your answers to these questions can help you decide whether or not to take an online course. You can also talk to your advisor before you decide.

Online Readiness Questionnaire by Penn State University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Original Survey by Vicki Williams of Penn State University

Please indicate whether you agree with the following statements:

  • I finish the projects I start.
  • I am good at setting goals and deadlines for myself.
  • I have a really good reason for taking an online course.
  • I do not quit just because things get difficult.
  • I can keep myself on track and on time.
  • I learn pretty easily.
  • I can learn from things I hear, like lectures, audio recordings or podcasts.
  • I have to read something to learn it best.
  • I have developed a good way to solve problems I run into.
  • I learn best by figuring things out for myself.
  • I like to learn in a group, but I can learn on my own, too.
  • I am willing to e-mail or have discussions with people I might never see.
  • I usually work in a place where I can read and work on assignments without distractions.
  • I can ignore distractions around me when I study.
  • I am willing to spend 10-20 hours each week on this online course.
  • I keep a record of what my assignments are and when they are due.
  • I plan my work in advance so that I can turn in my assignments on time.
  • People around me will help me study and not try to distract me.
  • I am willing to use e-mail and other online tools to ask my classmates and instructors questions.
  • I am pretty good at using the computer.
  • I am comfortable surfing the Internet.
  • I am comfortable with things like doing searches, setting bookmarks, and downloading files.
  • I am comfortable with things like installing software and changing configuration settings on my computer.
  • I know someone who can help me if I have computer problems.
  • My computer runs reliably on Windows or on Mac OS X.
  • I have a printer.
  • I am connected to the Internet with a fairly fast, reliable connection such as DSL or cable modem.
  • I have virus protection software running on my computer.
  • I have headphones or speakers and a microphone to use if a class has a video conference.
  • My browser will play several common multimedia (video and audio) formats.
Last Updated: 9/18/24