Research consistently tells us that measures of support must be provided for distance learners that may not necessarily need to be provided to "traditional" students. Why? Support structures help students become comfortable with a distance course and the individual lessons.

As a course is designed, you want the participants to have as much “up front” knowledge about the course as possible. Many first-time distance learners are very nervous and apprehensive about the venture. Therefore, as you develop courses, you want to do as much as possible to ease that anxiety. You might even want to provide your students with online surveys to determine whether they would be a good online learner. Some sample sites that can help distance education learners identify their strengths and weaknesses before a distance education course begins can be found at: 

Do I Want to Learn at a Distance? Distance-Educator.com http://www.distance-educator.com/portals/quiz.html

Are Distance Learning Courses for Me? Center for Independent Learning http://www.cod.edu/dept/CIL/CIL_Surv.htm

You also may wish to provide them with a list of frequently asked questions about the distance education experience, such as the questions in this list.

Just remember that part of thinking like a distance education student is to consider what it's like to take a distance education course. Following are ways you can help students succeed in a distance education environment by putting yourself in their place:

Adult Learner Considerations

• Learn about students' backgrounds and experiences. Encourage them to share about their life, work, and educational experiences as part of the learning process.
• Focus on being "problem-solving oriented." Adults want to learn to solve or address problems and are more satisfied with their learning if it applies to their everyday experiences, is practical, or is current.
• Be sensitive to different communication styles and varied cultural backgrounds.
• Allow distance students to reflect on what they are learning.

Interaction and Assistance

• Assist students in becoming familiar with the delivery technology and prepare them to resolve technical problems, should they arise.
• Be aware of students' needs in meeting standard university deadlines, despite the lag time often involved in the off-campus delivery of materials.
• Be aware of possible physical disabilities that some students may have that could negatively impact how they perform in a distance-delivered course. Accessibility will be covered more in Destination 5: Distance Education Teaching Methods, but a couple of points should be made now:
• Many students are vision-impaired; you will need to ensure that all graphics have "alt tags" (alternate information that describes the graphic or photograph). 
• For hearing-impaired students, all videos and narrated PowerPoint presentations will need to be provided in full-text versions so that students can use "text-reading" software so they can see what was said. 
• Make students aware of and comfortable with new patterns of communication to be used in the course. Students, most likely, will have to communicate through writing. For some, writing -- as the primary communication method -- may be a new experience.
• Provide methods for students to interact with each other. It builds a social community and helps dispel the notion that a geographically isolated student is "all alone."
• Allow students to develop Web pages that tell a little bit about who they are or use chat rooms and bulletin boards. (This also helps build a sense of community.) 

Course Management

• Develop a detailed course syllabus and provide it well before the class starts.

• An examples of a course syllabus can be found at the following Web site: 

• Food and the Environment University of Florida University of Florida
• http://als5106.ifas.ufl.edu/syllabus.html

• Inform students – early on – of what their responsibilities are as a distance education student. This information should be included in the syllabus and should include:

• Attendance and class participation.
• Time for class – How much time will the class take? Students have to make time to complete assignments on their own.
• Equipment requirements – What do students need (computer system requirements, Internet connectivity)?
• Technical know-how – What technology knowledge must students have to succeed (download files, open up video clips, interact on chat sessions)? 

• Texas A&M University's Kim Dooley provides students with the technical know-how information they need early on to succeed in her course.

• Technical difficulties – Where do students go or whom should they call if they need technical assistance?
• Assignments – Requirements should be spelled out.

• Provide information and tools (software, hardware) to students at the beginning of the course, so they can succeed from the start.

University of Florida instructors Rick Rudd and Tracy Irani and instructional designer Ron Thomas discuss how they help distance learners succeed. 

Irani, Thomas, and Rudd on helping students succeed (1:39)

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Let's look at some specific support structures needed in a distance education environment.

Destination 4: 3 of 15