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Many important issues stem from the characteristics of distance learners, whose aims and goals may be quite different from those of traditional students. As we have already mentioned, distance education systems were originally developed at the post-secondary level, and are only recently being used at the K-12 level.
Aims and goals
Adult learners have a wide variety of reasons for pursuing learning at a distance: constraints of time, distance, and finances, the opportunity to take courses or hear outside speakers who would otherwise be unavailable, and the ability to come in contact with other students from different social, cultural, economic, and experiential backgrounds (Willis, 1993). As a result, they gain not only new knowledge but also new social skills, including the ability to communicate and collaborate with widely dispersed colleagues and peers whom they may never have seen.
Modes of learning
Another important variable in learning effectiveness is the preference of the student for a particular mode of learning, i.e., cooperative, competitive, or individualized (Johnson & Johnson, 1974). Many current distance education projects incorporate cooperative learning, collaborative projects, and interactivity within groups of students as well as between sites.
Scardamalia and Bereiter's (1994) CSILE Project relies on distribution of knowledge among students. Knowledge-building is accomplished through student-initiated interactions and reflections, in real-time in class, and in delayed-time using an electronic bulletin board system (BBS). Pea's (1994) distributed multimedia learning environments involve a dialectical opposition between the symbol-processing and constructivist viewpoints, to enable students to construct and transform knowledge through progressive discourse.
Effective learning, however, requires both knowledge of learner styles and advance preparation on the part of the teacher or site facilitator. Teachers and site facilitators are better able to make curriculum decisions to suit the preferences of their students, such as grouping certain students productively for project work, or assigning particular students to individual research projects, if they can determine the prevalent learning modes within their own classrooms. Site facilitators have the advantage of eye-to-eye contact and personal contact with students in their classrooms, whereas studio teachers must often rely on televised images, telephone conversations, or electronic messaging for feedback on student preferences.
If a teacher recognizes the existence of these alternate learning styles, and if he attempts to make a match between these modes and the content to be learned, then he can develop a local instructional theory. As with most distance learning situations, a localized theory has a greater prospect of success than a general instructional theory intended to function satisfactorily in variety of settings, with a variety of practitioners (Owens & Straton, 1980, p. 160).
Factors which influence success
Sylvia Charp (1994) notes that with greater autonomy, student characteristics such as active listening and the ability to work independently in the absence of a live instructor become crucial for success. David Godfrey (personal communication, June 17, 1994) found that at most 80 percent of his former students at the University of Victoria may possess such characteristics. As a result, frequent, supportive teacher-student interaction and student-student networking take on increased importance for the remaining 20 percent, as well as facilitating the learning process for all students involved in the program.
Bernt and Bugbee's study (as cited in Schlosser & Anderson, 1994), examined two types of study strategies used by distance students: primary, cognitive strategies, such as active listening, and secondary, affective strategies, such as ability to work independently of the instructor. As expected, the researchers found that students who passed their courses differed significantly in primary strategies from those who failed: in testwiseness, concentration, and time management skills. In contrast to Charp, they found little difference among them in secondary strategies: active learning, diligence, and positive attitude.
Instructors tend to blame the high dropout rate among post-secondary students on poor time management and procrastination. However, in a study of the effectiveness of university-level audioconference courses in Alaska, Sponder (1990) found that climate, geography, the efficiency of the postal system, the university support network, telecommunications facilities, studentsÕ hearing problems, and other factors also come into play. Miscommunication between students and teachers, and lack of course relevance to students, may also have negative repercussions.
Like Charp and Godfrey, Porter (1994) found that teacher mediation increases the completion rate for distance education courses. Neither can we assume that all students have sharpened their primary study skills to the same extent, nor that a positive attitude will make the difference between success and failure. Students need support and direction to enable them to make the transition from traditional classroom environments to self-directed learningÑparticularly tools to help them monitor their progress and obtain timely feedback on their activities.
Learner support
There are many ways of facilitating learner support. Studio teachers may visit the distant site, or students may take a trip to the studio. This has worked well in the Denver area where sites are few in number and not widely scattered. Audio and video teleconferences or interactive chats with mentors and other students are two real-time alternatives to site visitation, office hours or telephone calls.
Interaction and support may also take place by delayed time. Students may E-mail or FAX questions to their instructors or fellow students, or post them on electronic BBSs. Teachers and peers, in turn, may respond at their convenience. Frequent teacher-student interaction enables the teachers to get to know the students better than if their only contact were via a televised image from a distant classroom. Students, too, need guidance in putting information together, reaching their tutors, completing and submitting assignments, and charting their progress (Porter, 1994).
Teachers also need support when they are learning about new technology, regardless of their level of classroom experience. As they begin their hands-on training with new technologies, some feel intimidated by the equipment, even in a non-threatening environment. At this point, they need to be able to communicate with other teachers who have gone through this process themselves, and who are competent to advise them and serve as role models. For example, the University of South Florida has set up a mentoring system and an on-line discussion for participants in the telecommunications course. Athabasca University assigns ten students to one mentor in the Master of Distance Education program. The University of Wisconsin uses audioconference seminars to link instructors together. The University of British Columbia uses teleconferences with other students and tutors, as well as a telephone tutoring system. Georgia College has an electronic BBS with on-line resources, electronic conferencing, and a Teacher Clearinghouse for contacting other teachers interested in telecommunications (Barron, Ivers, & Sherry, 1994).
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