IT645 Chptr 10 Q2 What is Distance Leaning? What types of support are critical to the success of distance education? Why?

In the beginning Distance Learning was a term that was associated with affording students from rural community the same opportunity as large urban or suburban communities as it relates to receiving instruction for subjects that would otherwise not be available to students. A student wishing to take calculus or Latin could sign up for the class and receive the information via the mail, much like an independent study course. At first, “nontraditional instruction” was receiving subjects via mail. Students would do assignments and return the packages to a teacher to be graded. The postal system is slow at best and does not allow for communication between student and teachers. Individual instruction was lost without the exchanged between teacher and student.
The idea of Distance Learning would evolve to include more and better technology that helped to develop the ideas about learning in a more non-traditional way. New technology in the telephone arena has developed teleconferencing. Satellite technology has enabled video conferencing. Computers have added the ability to have chat rooms and email. The internet can have complete syllabus available to everyone without waiting days for the postal services to get a package from point A to point B.
The most importance component for success in this scenario of learning is timely and accurate exchange of communications between teacher and student. More and more school districts are allowing this way to teaching to become available to students. Students may be home bound due to illness, or like many child-stars not available during traditional hours as students without a work obligation. Student athletics who have rigorous practice schedules can now take an Distance Learning class and not loose any credits toward graduation.
Timely communication between student and teacher is critical. If a teacher can respond to a student via email, or chat room then learning is not put on the side while awaiting a response through the postal system. Satellite vide conferencing allows student to see a teacher interacting in present time with students. A student can see a teacher lecturing and posing scenarios on a white-board. Even the use of the telephone to call parents on the phone to discuss a student’s progress is a plus in communication.
These forms of feedback are crucial to a student understanding the subject information and also having an instructor to learn how to alter instruction for each individual student. The key to this success is built around planning and a great deal of problem solving before the situation occurs. A master flow chart need to be designed that has a solution for every possible problem that a student and/or teacher could experience. Therefore, Distance Learning is still a work in progress.