Learning Technologies

The Library 

The primary purpose of the library at Johnston Community College is to provide materials and services to advance the educational goals and objectives of the College. The library provides resources for a variety of subject areas, including resources to serve the academic, vocational, and general interests of our students, faculty, staff, and residents of Johnston County and the surrounding areas.

Library Resources

The JCC Library has over 30,000 physical items including print books, journals, audiobooks, magazines, DVDs, CDs, and newspapers. Items not available at the JCC Library but held by other North Carolina Community Colleges may be available through the interlibrary loan service. Additionally, the library has over 1.6 billion online resources including articles, newspapers, videos, and audio bites. Remote access to all electronic resources is available to currently enrolled students and employees of Johnston Community College. The library’s equipment includes webcams, mobile WIFI hotspots, camcorders, USB microphones, calculators, and laptops. All of these items are available to students for checkout or in-library use.

The library facility, located in the Learning Resource Center, includes many areas for both individual and group study and an open computer lab that has 26 computers with printing capabilities. The library hosts 5 group study rooms, a Listening and Viewing Room with multimedia production stations, a North Carolina Archives and Local History Room, and a Children’s Area. A 30-computer information literacy classroom is used for library instruction and workshops.

Library Services

Johnston Community College librarians assist students in increasing their research skills in both digital and physical resources, identifying credible resources, and providing citation assistance. Assistance is available face-to-face during operating hours as well as via the online Chat service which is available 24/7.

The library additionally offers many services to faculty, primarily, library instruction sessions personalized to the subject area and research skills necessary for assignment completion and course success. Furthermore, there is an embedded librarian service for interested instructors in various subject areas that is delivered through various models. Instructors are encouraged to reach out to their library liaison or Director of the Library for additional information.

Distance Learning 

Jaguar Office of Learning Technologies (JOLT)

JOLT expands learning opportunities by promoting the use of nontraditional delivery methods to meet the needs of a growing diverse population of learners. Each distance learning course is equivalent to the on-campus sections of the same course in terms of objectives, contact, rigor, and transferability. Students may choose to take asynchronous online, synchronous online, hybrid, blended, or interactive television (ITV) courses. Although the nontraditional methods of instruction offer a high degree of flexibility, they do require self-motivated and self-disciplined students.

Online Courses 

The College offers a variety of courses that are computer-based and use the Internet as the main method of delivery. Students enrolled in online courses communicate with their instructor(s) and other students by e-mail provided by JCC and through JCC’s learning management system, Blackboard.

Asynchronous Online

  • Asynchronous Online courses allow you to attend classes when it’s convenient for you from the location of your choice.

Synchronous Online

  • Synchronous online courses are web-based courses that students are required to participate in through Blackboard Collaborate at the scheduled class time from the location of your choice.

Instructors use a variety of resources including textbooks, study guides, Internet sites, and personally designed materials that supplement their instruction. Students who wish to take an online course at Johnston Community College should have access to a reliable computer with Internet. Before enrolling in an online course, the student should be very comfortable demonstrating the following competencies:

  • Computer operation and start-up.
  • Setup, maintenance, and troubleshooting through technical assistance resources from your Internet Service Provider.
  • Understand and have knowledge of basic word processing.
  • Basic Internet skills.
  • Knowledge of using e-mail.

Suggested Computer/Software Requirements

  • Chromebooks, netbooks and e-readers are not recommended for online courses
  • 2 GHz processor or better
  • 4GB RAM or better
  • 256GB or greater hard drive
  • Broadband internet connection
  • USB port

Software

  • Operating System: The most recent version of Microsoft Windows or iOS
  • Web Browser: Current versions of Firefox, Chrome, or Safari
  • Documentation: Adobe Reader or Foxit
  • Antivirus software

Hybrid and Blended Courses

Hybrid and Blended courses combine a variety of different teaching methods. At JCC, hybrid and blended courses require on-campus attendance for part of the instruction, and the other part of the instruction could occur either online using the learning management system, or other media delivery methods. Attendance is required on the days and times listed in the class syllabus.

Blackboard

Blackboard is the current online learning management system used for online instructors to build and manage virtual classrooms. Instructors and students can access Blackboard sites anytime and anywhere. Blackboard offers a 24/7 support center to assist with problems that may be encountered during off hours, weekends, and holidays.

Blackboard Collaborate is the current web conferencing tool used for synchronous online instruction.

JCC E-Mail

Registered students, faculty and staff are provided with Microsoft Office365 accounts to access email and the Microsoft Office Suite. Email can be accessed through a link on the JCC Web site (https://www.johnstoncc.edu), through Blackboard (https://bb.johnstoncc.edu), or by directly entering https://login.microsoftonline.com into an updated browser.

Microsoft 365

Office 365 is a cloud-based package of business-class MS Office applications including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Also included are 1TB of cloud storage through OneDrive and the option to download Office 365 on up to 5 non-college owned computers or personal devices.

Accessing Blackboard, JCC E-Mail and Self Service

From Self Service, located on JCC’s main Web site (http://www.johnstoncc.edu), Account Information will direct you how to verify your User ID and create your password to access Blackboard, JCC e-mail, and to gain access to Self Service student information.

Distance Education Through Continuing Education

Johnston Community College offers a distance learning program designed to improve employment opportunities and job-related skills from either home or office. A complete listing of CE Internet courses is available under Continuing Education on the main JCC Web site. Some of these courses require a minimum number of scheduled on-campus visits for orientations, testing, presentations, etc.

Students enrolled in distance learning courses use a variety of techniques to communicate with their instructors and/or their cybermates. Distance learning courses are facilitated by qualified, competent instructors who structure the course so that the learning outcomes are comparable to those in a traditional classroom setting. They also serve as a resource to the students. Costs, credits, and registration procedures are the same as on-campus courses. Students have access to the same services and library resources.

Information Technology

The IT Department provides the foundation, technical support, and management for many student access, electronic communication and collaboration tools, and learning technologies offered at Johnston Community College. Some of these technologies include college-wide public wireless Internet access and Web systems. IT also manages Internet services and the College’s telephone system. These learning technologies are intended to provide greater flexibility and convenience for students and faculty at JCC.