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Components that Contribute to Quality in Distance Learning

“With the increasing pace of change, most adults need to continue to acquire university-level understanding and knowledge throughout their working lives.” (Frydenberg, 2002)

Distance learning programs continue to grow in popularity. As with any educational course or program, it’s hard to know the quality of the course until you try the experience for yourself.

In selecting a distance-learning course, look for one that includes some or all of the following components:
Resource Structures
Instructor/Student Participation
Community Essence
Interactive Communication

Resource Structures

Resource structures are elements that need to be available through online access such as registration, library resources, virtual classrooms, and interactive media. A constructive learning environment in a virtual setting should provide students with access to the following virtual classroom spaces:
Online lectures and interactive multimedia textbooks (Web pages)
One-to-one and one-to-many communications (email)
Asynchronous group communications (listserv)
Synchronous group discussions (MOO*)
Forms on a Web page to submit papers and grade responses online.

Instructor/Student Participation

To ensure the quality of the overall distance learning experience, the instructor and student must bring their own individual levels of participation through their social presence, “the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally in a community of inquiry.” (Garrison et al., 2001)

The instructor must establish a secure, interactive environment through communicative behaviors while establishing online teaching presence. The student, often juggling the demands of home and family, must bring motivation and initiative to achieve online learning success.

Community Essence

In addition to being “an efficient method or tool for confronting or improving an existing educational situation, the Internet also brings together learning communities.” (Duin, 1998) The resulting community essence helps to heighten the quality in distance learning.

“Distance learning environments should be designed to include virtual spaces that promote interaction and modes of communication that allow students to develop their identity within the community” (Duin, 1998). For example, group work and interaction provides the opportunity to get to know other students and facilitates a feeling of belonging to a community. In developing peer-to-peer interaction within the community, where participants get to know each other better, people begin to feel securer in giving out their own ideas.

Interactive Communication

Student interaction with instructors and other students is an essential characteristic of distance learning and is facilitated through a variety of technologies that deliver the resource structure of the course, including voice mail, email, and synchronous and asynchronous communication.

Distance learning requires the instructor and student to bring quality in their own delivery and participation to make the course a success. The instructor must strive to encourage participation by serving as facilitator in an open forum for constructive exchange, while the student must bring motivation and an inclination to heighten the level of exchange. Working together, the instructor and student can formulate a sense of community within the virtual grouping.

Summary

Without all of these components being present, the distance-learning course may still be successful but the quality of the experience may be lacking. However, keeping these components in mind, students will have some idea of what to look for as they evaluate available distance learning offerings.

* MOO: MUD (Multi-User Dungeon/Domain/Dimension) Object Oriented system, or less commonly, Multi-User Object Oriented system. MOOs are text-based, virtual realities housed on computers connected to the Internet.

References

Duin, Ann Hill. “The Culture of Distance Education: Implementing an Online Graduate Level Course in Audience Analysis.” Technical Communication Quarterly 7.4: 365–388, Fall 1998.

Frydenberg, Jia. “Quality Standards in eLearning: A Matrix of Analysis.” International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 2002.

Garrison, D. Randy, Terry Anderson, Walter Archer, and Liam Rourke. “Assessing Social Presence in Asynchronous Text-based Computer Conferencing.” Journal of Distance Education, 2001.

About the Author: Jeff Staples, STC Senior Member of the Houston Chapter, is an Information Developer in Houston, where he creates online and print documentation.

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	Components that Contribute to Quality in Distance Learning

	“With the increasing pace of change, most adults need to continue to acquire university-level understanding and knowledge throughout their working lives.” (Frydenberg, 2002) Distance learning programs continue to grow in popularity. As with any educational course or program, it’s hard to know the quality of the course until you try the experience for yourself. In selecting a distance-learning course, look for one that includes some or all of the following components: Resource Structures Instructor/Student Participation Community Essence Interactive Communication
Resource Structures	Resource structures are elements that need to be available through online access such as registration, library resources, virtual classrooms, and interactive media. A constructive learning environment in a virtual setting should provide students with access to the following virtual classroom spaces: Online lectures and interactive multimedia textbooks (Web pages) One-to-one and one-to-many communications (email) Asynchronous group communications (listserv) Synchronous group discussions (MOO*) Forms on a Web page to submit papers and grade responses online.
Instructor/Student Participation	To ensure the quality of the overall distance learning experience, the instructor and student must bring their own individual levels of participation through their social presence, “the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally in a community of inquiry.” (Garrison et al., 2001) The instructor must establish a secure, interactive environment through communicative behaviors while establishing online teaching presence. The student, often juggling the demands of home and family, must bring motivation and initiative to achieve online learning success.
Community Essence	In addition to being “an efficient method or tool for confronting or improving an existing educational situation, the Internet also brings together learning communities.” (Duin, 1998) The resulting community essence helps to heighten the quality in distance learning. “Distance learning environments should be designed to include virtual spaces that promote interaction and modes of communication that allow students to develop their identity within the community” (Duin, 1998). For example, group work and interaction provides the opportunity to get to know other students and facilitates a feeling of belonging to a community. In developing peer-to-peer interaction within the community, where participants get to know each other better, people begin to feel securer in giving out their own ideas.
Interactive Communication	Student interaction with instructors and other students is an essential characteristic of distance learning and is facilitated through a variety of technologies that deliver the resource structure of the course, including voice mail, email, and synchronous and asynchronous communication. Distance learning requires the instructor and student to bring quality in their own delivery and participation to make the course a success. The instructor must strive to encourage participation by serving as facilitator in an open forum for constructive exchange, while the student must bring motivation and an inclination to heighten the level of exchange. Working together, the instructor and student can formulate a sense of community within the virtual grouping.
Summary	Without all of these components being present, the distance-learning course may still be successful but the quality of the experience may be lacking. However, keeping these components in mind, students will have some idea of what to look for as they evaluate available distance learning offerings. * MOO: MUD (Multi-User Dungeon/Domain/Dimension) Object Oriented system, or less commonly, Multi-User Object Oriented system. MOOs are text-based, virtual realities housed on computers connected to the Internet.
References	Duin, Ann Hill. “The Culture of Distance Education: Implementing an Online Graduate Level Course in Audience Analysis.” Technical Communication Quarterly 7.4: 365–388, Fall 1998. Frydenberg, Jia. “Quality Standards in eLearning: A Matrix of Analysis.” International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 2002. Garrison, D. Randy, Terry Anderson, Walter Archer, and Liam Rourke. “Assessing Social Presence in Asynchronous Text-based Computer Conferencing.” Journal of Distance Education, 2001.
	About the Author: Jeff Staples, STC Senior Member of the Houston Chapter, is an Information Developer in Houston, where he creates online and print documentation. Back to top