Your experience in this on-line course will be similar in many ways to what you are use to in a more traditional classroom setting. You will learn about biology in three ways. One is through on-line lectures and on-line lecture-like materials from other sites on the Web. The second is through active learning homework assignments and the third is through textbook reading assignments. About 1/6 of the grade in the course is based on homework assignment scores and the remainder is based on quizzes and exams. See the Syllabus for information about the textbook and more information about grading.
The major difference is that you will "attend" lectures and access other on-line course materials using a computer connect to the Internet. All course materials will be available on-line 24 hrs/day, 7 days/week so you will be able to choose when you "attend" class. Note that this flexibility comes with added responsibility, since there is no set class time! If you want to be successful in the course, you will need to discipline yourself to "attend" class on-line on a regular basis.
The on-line lectures are similar to those in a more traditional classroom setting. When you access a lecture you will hear the instructor and see a series of visual aids that highlight key points or clarify what the instructor is saying. In some lectures the visual aids will change automatically in synchrony with the what the instructor is saying. In other cases the instructor will tell you when to change slides. The lecture may appear in a new browser window. In this case, when the lecture is done you should close the browser window and continue on with the course.