NETg courses are online training courses that include a comprehensive offering of high-quality instructional content. If you're a faculty, staff, or student member of the UF community, these online courses are free and available for your use 24/7. And that's just what Dr. Raymond Issa, Director of Graduate and Distance Education Programs, Professor of the Rinker School of Building Construction, takes advantage of for his graduate students.

According to Issa, the students like using NETg, though many weren't aware of it before they took his classes. "They don't complain," he says with a laugh.

Dr. Issa assigns NETg courses in Microsoft Office (including MS Access), and Flash to his students because the assessment tests are a good way to make sure the students have the level of computer literacy they need.

"You expect students to be computer literate by the time they reach this level of work, but NETg provides a great way of checking to make sure they have that skill," says Issa. "I want to make sure that my students are familiar with the kinds of software that they will likely encounter in their careers. This means Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), but most especially MS Access and Flash."

Issa requires his students to complete the NETg built-in "pre-assessment" tests. That way, if they already are familiar with the material, they don't need to go through the entire course. Conversely, if they need a refresher or are facing the application for the first time, they can learn what they need to know outside of the classroom.

"I want them to understand Access because many building construction software applications are based on relational databases. Likewise, the use of Flash for webpages and presentations is important from a career standpoint. Although it is likely that many students will outsource their needs for such software in their day-to-day work, it is important for them to be conversant in the language of these applications so that they can be informed consumers of these services."

"The NETg support staff at CNS, especially David Burdette, has been very helpful and supportive in our use of NETg software," he added.

For more information on NETg and how you can access it, see http://netg.ufl.edu.