Is Distance Education Effective?

Many educators ask if distant students learn as much as students receiving traditional face-to-face instruction. Research comparing distance education to traditional face-to-face instruction indicates that teaching and studying at a distance can be as effective as traditional instruction,

• when the method and technologies used are appropriate to the instructional tasks
• when there is student-to-student interaction, and
• when there is timely instructor-to- student feedback ( see Moore & Thompson, 1990; Verduin & Clark, 1991).

These findings identify the critical components that every instructor should incorporate into the design or re-design of an existing distance course. You will note that designing any course encompasses much more than just these components but the course components involve manipulating the virtual environment to assure success. Generally instructors approach course design with the beginning of a learning need and lay out an outline something on the order of the following items:

• Subject Content (Text related, other resources, your discipline expertise)
• Student Orientation and Online Readiness

  • Your Class Rules, Orientation for Internet, etc.
  • Games
• Instructional Tasks (learning outcomes, performance objectives, student activities
• Method (of instruction)

  • Lecture Options/Alternatives
  • Games
  • Group Work
• Technologies (course management software)

  • WebCT
  • Tegrity
  • Elluminate
• Interaction (student to student, student to instructor, student to content, student to techology)
• Feedback (instructor to student)
• Assessment,(measure of mastery of learning outcomes, performance evaluation, grading)

Just as traditional course designs require careful planning, effective distance courses begin with careful planning and a focused understanding of course requirements and student needs. Appropriate technology can only be selected once these elements are understood in detail. There is no mystery to the way effective distance education programs develop. They don't happen spontaneously; they evolve through the hard work and dedicated efforts of the instructor and technicians supporting the delivery system.