Self-Assessment Tools

E-Learning at Boise State New to E-Learning? Taking a Web-Enhanced Course? Student Online Privacy Notice Contact Orientation Home AT Home

Self-Assessment for Potential Students
Will online learning fit your circumstances, lifestyle, and educational needs? Here are some basic questions to ask yourself in deciding if an online program is right for you.

1. Can you create, save, and manage files on your computer?
Yes No

2. Do you know how to install software on your computer?
Yes No

3. Do you currently have an e-mail address?
Yes No

4. Do you know how to send and receive e-mail attachments?
Yes No

5. Do you know how to paste text from a word-processed document into an e-mail?
Yes No

6. Can you access e-mail and the World Wide Web at least five times a week?
Yes No

7. If you do not have your own computer, can you get to campus to use the computer labs or arrange to use some other computer at least two hours per day?
Yes No

8. In class or on the job, do you stay on task without direct supervision?
Yes No

9. Can you prioritize your own workload?
Yes No

10. Are you good at assessing your own progress?
Yes No

11. Do you enjoy learning new computer or technology skills?
Yes No

12. Do you usually understand written instructions?
Yes No

13. Do you learn best from reading text and completing text-based assignments?
Yes No

14. Are you planning to allocate as much time in your schedule for your online course as you would for a traditional course?
Yes No

If you answered YES to 9-14 questions, you are a good candidate for online learning.

If you answered YES to 6-8 questions, online learning may work for you, but you will have to reflect on what you need to do to become a successful online learner.

If your answered YES to 5 or fewer questions, online learning may not be for you. The benefits of studying online could be outweighed by the difficulties you encounter. Some of the benefits are the ability to access your course materials at your convenience (at any time, from any place), to attend lectures multiple times if necessary, to have time to think and reflect before participating in class discussions, and many more. However, some of the difficulties you may encounter are that you must be extremely self-disciplined, somewhat knowledgeable about technology, and able to communicate well through writing without ever meeting face-to-face with your instructor or classmates.

More Self-Assessment Tools

The Kiersey Temperament Sorter is an assessment of personality and temperament that identifies you as an Artisan, Guardian, Rational or Idealist. This is the same test used in career development programs at Fortune 500 companies and in counseling centers and career placement centers at major universities. When you've completed the test, visit this page to learn how your temperament relates to education and learning.

The Diablo Valley College Online Guide is designed to help you become a more successful student. It includes a Learning Style Survey that will help you identify your learning style, as well as learning strategies that will help you study in a way that matches your unique learning style.

Learn more about learning styles--and how you might turn learning styles into learning strategies--by reading "Learning Styles Can Become Learning Strategies" and "Learning Styles and Strategies."

This Transferable Skills Survey asks you to rank a number of skills valued by employers to determine where your strengths and weaknesses might lie.

The VARK Questionnaire attempts to answer the question "How do I learn best?" That is, the questionnaire aims to find out something about your preferences for the way you work with information.

From North Carolina State University comes this Index of Learning Styles questionnaire, designed to identify your particular learning style.