Several questions need to be answered before someone selects how a distance education course will be presented, such as: What is the intended delivery format? Will the instruction be synchronously or asynchronously delivered or will a combination be used?

In addition, the preferences of the instructor and program will impact the answers to these questions, as will the technology capacity of the institution and/or unit. For example, the decision on whether to use synchronous or  asynchronous delivery may already be answered if the course is part of a degree program delivered by a specified technology, such as the Internet or two-way videoconferencing.

Once the delivery format is selected, technology "tools" need to be selected based on several considerations, including:

• Instructor’s expectations: Developers should determine what the instructor wants students to master in the course. What are the desired learning outcomes? The desired learning outcomes will help determine the appropriateness of the available technology "tools."

• Expertise of the instructor: Developers should consider the instructor’s past experiences with the delivery format selected and the technology involved. For example, if the delivery format is to be Web-based, what are the experiences of the instructor in working with Web-editing software packages or in working with hypertext markup language (HTML), the predominant "language" of the Web? Or if the delivery format is two-way televised course, has the instructor prepared visuals appropriate for such delivery?

• Available technology: The technological capacity of the institution places limits on what tools will be used in delivering a course because of equipment, software, and/or support provided. For example, an institution might have a license for a learning management system, such as WebCT or Blackboard, and not provide direct central support for open source, stand-alone departmental systems in delivering a Web-based course. The technology will also vary within institutional units; some will have limited capacities while others have a variety of technologies and support available within their units. (More about institutional capacity will be provided in Destination 8: Technology Development at Institutions.)

• Support available: Will the instructor develop the course alone, or will there be others available to assist the instructor? Ideally, support will be available, but realistically that might not be the case. The support that is available will guide the "tools" that can be used.

• Learner’s access to technology: Developers should be aware of the characteristics of the intended audience before selecting technology "tools." For example, a Web-based course should select tools based on off-campus students’ Internet connection speeds, rather than what is available on-campus. A developer cannot build a course using "tools" that require a high-speed connection if the majority of students will be accessing the site using a 56-kilobit modem.

• Subject matter: Course content makes a difference. The nature of the subject matter helps determine the "tools" that can be employed. The tools or the way they are used might be different in social science disciplines compared to biological or physical science disciplines. Entry-level courses differ from graduate-level courses.

But what about keeping up with how fast technology changes?

Destination 6: 2 of 5