New River Community and Technical College (New River) course offerings are extended beyond the schedules and locations of traditional classrooms to accommodate students requiring flexible schedules and/or who have geographic constraints preventing them from enrolling in our traditional courses. These "distance learning" courses are offered in a variety of delivery formats which are explained on this page.
When students register for any online course they should receive an introductory letter explaining how to get started. We also provide hands-on orientation experiences to new students who attend New Student Orientation.
ANGEL: ANGEL is an online Learning Management System (LMS) used at New River to deliver instructional materials via the Internet. ANGEL has a number of features including: (1) robust communication tools such as course-based email, (2) discussion lists, (3) online assessments and grade books, and (4) online course content with assignments and a drop-box for submitting course work to the instructor. This instructional delivery format requires the most student self-discipline since some courses require no in-class meetings at all. Because these courses involve so much computer-based interaction, students should have average (or better) computer skills and a computer with a fast connection to the Internet is highly recommended (each of our campuses have computer labs).
ITV: Instructional Television is a distance-learning format utilizing broadcast television (meaning that course broadcasts may be viewed live as they are broadcast or taped [at home or at the college] and viewed at a later time). Some class meetings are held at the campus where the class is scheduled. The course instructor and students discuss important ideas and concepts, review the recordings or readings, and give or take exams. Students taking these classes are expected to view the video broadcasts and attend scheduled class meetings. This distance learning format provides fewer class meetings than traditional courses but requires students to exhibit self-discipline to complete assignments between class meetings.
ITVWE: Instructional Television Web Enhanced combines the ITV system with a portion of the course using ANGEL. With fewer class meetings than a traditional class, this delivery format requires students to view the video broadcasts and to access the online ANGEL information.
IVN: Interactive Video Network is a two-way audio/video system used for teaching and learning in which students are seated in designated electronic classrooms at Beckley, Ghent, Lewisburg, Princeton, Summersville, or Pocahontas County High School. These courses involve scheduled class meetings at the designated classrooms. Each course meets at all scheduled sites simultaneously and attendance is required. This instructional delivery format enables students located at one site to receive instruction from (and interact with) an instructor located at one of the other sites (in real time). Although the video of each class is archived and available to students to review, it is strongly recommended that students strive to attend every class since live instruction is an interactive experience and reviewing archived recordings lacks this interaction.
IVNWE: Interactive Video Network Web Enhanced combines the IVN system with a portion of the course using ANGEL. This delivery format requires students to attend scheduled class meetings for the IVN portion of the course and to access ANGEL for a portion of the course.
TRAD: This code denotes a traditionally taught course with regular class meetings. If no code is specified, then the course is TRAD.
WEANG: Web Enhanced ANGEL courses are a combination of traditional teaching methods involving regular class meetings with a portion of the course being delivered online using ANGEL. As a result of having a substantial portion of the course online, there may be fewer class meetings than a traditional course.
WEBDL: Web-based Distance Learning refers to courses that New River has brokered through external agencies. Current examples of these brokered relationships include AIB, KYDL, EXCITE, and SAIL. These courses are not taught by New River faculty and do not utilize the New River learning management system (ANGEL). Instead, students must initiate contact with the designated point of contact from the brokering agency (AIB, KYDL, EXCITE, or SAIL).
