Course Delivery
Delivery of Instruction
Virginia Tech's Online CPS/CAP Review Course is entirely Web-based and involves no face-to-face communication with an instructor or other students, although you will have opportunities for electronic communication among participants and with the Instructor (e.g., discussion boards, virtual classroom chats, and/or threaded discussions).
The Review Course is just that - a guided review of the material that will be covered on the exam. You will complete each module of the course by progressing through all materials in the order provided. Unlike some distance learning classes which are "self-study", the pace of these modules will be set by the Instructor. Dates and times for completion of discussions and module sections will be determined after consultation with the students at the beginning of each module.
Each module will guide you through a sample test under the belief that repeated practice with multiple choice questions will help you to frame your knowledge in a way useful in answering specific and targeted exam questions. Each practice test should be timed by you as directed. You will be expected to manage your own timed practice tests - note, giving yourself additional time only cheats yourself as you prepare for the exam
Curricular materials consist of a hardcopy textbook for each module (purchased separately; see Course Materials), plus Web-based materials that may include any of the following: (a) plain text, (b) annotated text, (c) PowerPoint presentations, (d) narrated PowerPoint presentations, and (e) other forms of pre-recorded short lectures and supplemental media, such as short video clips, longer streaming video, and/or animation.
Online learning requires only simple, basic computer and Internet literacy, but a high degree of self-motivation and discipline. Successful participants recognize they are the ones primarily responsible for their own learning, and that they must be confident in their own abilities.
Minimum Computing Requirements
Minimum computing capacity should include:
Microsoft® Windows Vista, XP, 2000 w/ SP 4
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later
(alternatively, Mozilla Firefox 2) - Adobe Flash® Player 8 or later
- Intel® Pentium® II 450MHz or faster processor (or equivalent)
- 128MB of RAM (or higher based on Operating System)
Mac OS X v10.4, 10.5 (Intel)
- Intel CoreTM Duo 1.83GHz or faster processor
- Firefox 1.5.0.3, 2.x
- Safari 2.x
- Adobe Flash Player 8 or later
Mac OS X v10.4 (PowerPC®)
- PowerPC G3 500MHz
- Safari 1.x, 2.x
- Firefox 1.x
- Mozilla 1.x
- Netscape 7.x or later
- Adobe Flash Player 8 or later
