Class Summary

Distance education involves instruction occurring through telecommunication systems

involving instruction occurring through a distance in location, in time or a combination of the
two. Synchronous communication involves the interaction occurring at the same time but at
different locations. Asynchronous is the educational interaction occurring at different times but
could be at the same geographic location or at a distance. Garrison and Shale (as cited
in Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012. p. 36) indicated three criteria for distance
education: (1) majority of communication occurs non-contiguously, (2) involves two way
communication, and (3) uses technology to meet the communication needs.
The approach has been different in varying countries. Initially this caused some concern
for the rigor associated with distance education being of the same caliber as face to face
instruction. Simonsons equivalency theory (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 52) proposes that distance
education be utilized to provide equivalent, but not identical, learning opportunities. The needs
of distance students are not always the same as face to face students nor is the circumstances
associated with them being a student. However, the level of work required should be equivalent
to what is expected in similar face to face courses. These reasons that a traditional face to face
class cannot just be transcribed into a distance education course and be sufficient to meet the
needs of these students. Students in my courses would traditional be adult learners with
circumstances that must be considered in the design of a course.
A study done by Gorsky, Avner and Inbal (2004) suggested that intrapersonal
communication was not sufficient for a student to be successful in a chemistry course. The study
found that all the students required some level of interpersonal communication. However, the
instructor was the last resort for this interaction so in designing a course student support should
be a consideration. The study by Koohang and Durante (2003) also suggests an instructor should
consider the prior distance course experiences of the students. Students with prior experience
were successful in the course but students without prior experience had lower positive
perceptions. Since most of my students would be first semester freshman who may not have prior
experience, I would need to plan some mini tutorials or setup short seminars on just the basics of
using the technology of the course.
Communication is a critical primary component for a successful distance education class.
Communication would occur asynchronously through the classroom management system in the
forms of a course syllabi with the general expectations, a calendar of assignments, module
instructions and assessments, and class discussion threads. External web available technology
could also be used such as educational videos and blogs. Synchronous communication can take
place utilizing Google hangouts for simple interaction and Vyew for document and video
interaction. A good distance education class should involve both synchronous and asynchronous
communication. Synchronous to provide immediate feedback and group communication while
asynchronous allows student to work around their life obligations in addition to school.
Four approaches to course design for distance education are proposed by Simonson et al
(2012, p. 167-168). These are (1) linear-designed instruction, (2) branched-design instruction, (3)
hypercontent-design instruction, and (4) learner-directed design. Linear designed provides for all
students to take the same modular path while branched allows for some students to take alternate
paths based on skill or interest level. Hypercontent allows the learners to cover teacher
determined modules in any order while learner-directed allows students to determine the topics
covered in the course. The course design is a factor that must be considered based on the needs
of the students, students skill level and student interest.
In my courses we have both diverse students in both field interest as well as skill level. I
can see using a slight combination of branched-design and learner-directed design. The first part
of the course could cover about three to five modules that could be traveled through based on
skill level to learn basic conceptual knowledge in order to get all students to the same level of
understanding. The last modules cold be more student driven in terms of topics that are of
interest to the students but build on earlier learned concepts. The addition of a few modules at the
end of the course whose topics are planned by the students would allow for students to be more
invested in the learning process, introduce new technology that might not be known to the
instructor, and gain a stronger conceptual understanding of the topics.
The perspective of the all individuals within the distance education requirement should be
understood. The instructor should provide sufficient information to allow all students to feel
comfortable in the environment and participate as active learners. This can be accomplished by
providing a complete course syllabus listing the objectives, assessments, and grading criteria.
The instructional modules should also be set up to provide opportunities for active learning in
order to engage students. The students should then be able to access this information in order to
gain a clear perspective of their roles within the course. The student should record important
assignment dates, identify the technology that will be use and seek additional help if unfamiliar
with the technology. Instructors providing technology instructional videos could also be included
so that perspectives are equally understood.
A distance education class should follow the distance education policy established by the
institution. An education policy covers seven general areas as cited by Simonson et al (2012, P.
327): academic, fiscal, geographic, governance, labor, legal, and student support. The policy will
help students to address concerns associated with accreditation, transferability of the course,
equitable academic rigor in relation to face to face courses, financial responsibility and student
services available. A good policy also helps the instructors in understanding the support from
administration that they would have, the course load comparison, technology support and other
institutional commitments.
As an instructor I would plan my courses using a branched-instructional approach since I
have students coming in with diverse basic conceptual understanding and skills. I would
incorporate a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous active learning modules for both
blended delivery and total online distance education courses. I realize the need to provide a more
complete syllabus in the beginning and better instructions and grading criteria within the
modules. This would help to better communicate with the students so that there is a mutual
understanding of the goals of the course. Through this course I have a better understanding of
some of the tools necessary for a successful distance education course and will incorporate these
tools into future distance education course that I will be instructing.









References:
Gorsky, P., Avner, C. & Inbal, T. (2004). Use of instructional dialogue by university students in a distance
education chemistry course. Journal of Distance Education, 19 (1), 1-19.
Koohang, A. & Durante, A. (2003). Learners perceptions toward the web-based distance learning
activities/assignments portion of an undergraduate hybrid instructional model. Journal of
Information Technology Education, 2(1), 105-113.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S, Albright, M & Zvacek, S (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance:
Foundations of distance education (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.