Getting Started With WIU Interactive OnlineSM
Welcome to WIU Interactive Online, where you enjoy the richness of live sessions and the benefit of real-time connection with faculty and peers, as well as the flexibility of recorded playback. You have the choice to attend your class session live, view your recorded class session, or a combination of both! It’s live, it’s recorded—it’s whatever works best for you!
Completing the following steps will assure your smooth online education experience. Should you have any questions or need assistance in setting up or checking your system, please contact WIU Interactive Online Technical Support.
Computer Requirements
Review the WIU Interactive Online Computer Requirements for the hardware and operating system requirements to set up your computer system.
Headset and Microphone Test
Once your system is set up and prior to your first live online class, please be sure to contact WIU Interactive Online Technical Support to perform a headset and microphone check and make sure you are completely ready to begin!
Verify Your MyWIU Login Access
After you enroll at WIU, you'll receive an email with instructions to initialize your MyWIU login ID and password, as well as access instructions for your MyWIU student Web site account and email. Follow the instructions in the email to make sure you can enter the MyWIU site. Your Enrollment Counselor and the WIU Technical Support team will be happy to provide assistance, if necessary.
The MyWIU site also offers additional detailed "how-to" information and FAQs to assist you with navigating through WIU Interactive Online.
Class Attendance
You'll post your weekly attendance and access your live and recorded classes after logging in to MyWIU. Please be aware that you may have to disable the pop-up blocker on your computer in order to enter a class session.
It's important to log your attendance every week, whether you choose to attend your live class session or view your recorded class session. Students who do not submit attendance for at least 1 of the first 2 weeks of class and students who do not submit attendance for 4 class weeks will be administratively withdrawn from the course.
Class Participation
In addition to posting your class attendance, participation points are awarded by instructors for specific actions requested in their classes as specified in the course syllabus. Participation points are generally given for interaction within a live class session OR for submission of an alternate participation assignment, if you choose not to attend the live session. Alternate participation assignments usually require the student to view the recording of the live session and submit a minimum one-page summary of observations, experiences, and applications of the material presented that you normally would have made during the live class session.
The intent of the participation assignment is to assure viewing of your recorded session and to receive your input regarding the class content. Participation assignments are due by the end of the academic week, in order to receive that week's participation points. However, for timely posting of grades, participation points for the final class session of each course will only be awarded for attendance/participation during the live session. No alternate participation assignments will be accepted for the final class session.
Class Sessions
New courses begin the first week of each month and meet weekly for 2 months. In the event a live online class session cannot be held, a make-up session will be scheduled.
Each class session consists of 2 hours of content/lecture, interaction, and discussion, plus 30 additional minutes for students attending the live session to receive instructor assistance. Attendance for this additional 30 minutes is optional.
Recordings of the live class sessions are available for playback 24 hours after the live event and for 8 weeks after the final class session for the course.
Due to the popularity of WIU Interactive Online, some courses may split into multiple sections. Should a course be split, students may be placed into a separate section of the course held at a different time. Classes will normally be scheduled at the following times: 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., or 8:00 p.m. All courses are scheduled for Arizona time, which remains on Mountain Standard Time (MST) year-round.
