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There are a several forms of distance education courses:
- Independent study courses
- Courses that meet in multiple locations at a specific time for
lectures, course information delivery, and/or student interaction
- Courses that do not meet at any specific time, in one or many
locations
"Distance education is based on the premise that students
are at the center of the learning process, take responsibility for
their own learning, and work at their own pace and in their own
place. It is about ownership and autonomy." *
The good news: studies have shown that below grade
students perform better in distance education courses if they finish
them; and that at-grade or better students perform about the same.
The bad news: students tend to procrastinate and
drop out at higher levels than in traditional courses, especially below
grade students
Conditions for a successful distance education course:
Course information:
- Course website address
- Instructor's name, office location and hours, telephone number,
fax number, e-mail address
- Teaching assistant name, office location and hours, telephone,
fax, e-mail address
- Tutor name, office location and hours, telephone, fax, e-mail
address
- Librarian/research assistant name, office location and hours,
telephone, fax, e-mail address
- Resource center (RC) location and hours, telephone number; RC
manager with e-mail address
Logistics
- Course materials you can expect
- How you will receive the course materials
- How you will be notified, or learn, of course announcements and
class cancellations
Technical requirements:
- computing and internet hardware, platform, and specifications
- software type and version
- multimedia accessibility
Schedule yourself, and stick to an assignment schedule, that
Schedule yourself daily/weekly for course communications for
- peer learning/fellow student interaction via listservs, discussion
groups, case studies, etc.
Often you will be required to work on group projects or case
studies, whether at one location or through the Internet.
See the guides on group
projects, or case studies.
- feedback to the instructor
In a face-to-face course, an instructor relies on feedback from
students, whether with questions or facial/physical expressions.
In a distance situation this is most difficult, and you carry the
responsibility to inform the instructor how you are doing in the
course, whether by appointment or through phone conversations or
e-mail..
- assignment progress and submission
- progress reports: The instructor must provide feedback to
you on your progress through the course. Request
an evaluation schedule, conditions, and methods for your progress
through the material. Methods include
- tests reflecting knowledge acquisition or performance of tasks
- reports, projects, case studies, course portfolio, etc.
- qualitative and quantitative input into course discussions and
projects
* Wheeler, Steve, "Convergent
technologies in distance learning delivery", Tech Trends,
Volume 43, Issue 5, November 1999, p. 19.
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The Study Guides and Strategies web site was created and is
maintained by Joe
Landsberger,
academic web site developer at the University
of St. Thomas (UST), St. Paul, Minnesota. It is collaboratively
maintained across institutional and national boundaries, and last revised
September 04, 2002 .
Permission is granted to freely copy, adapt, print,
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