Perhaps you’re a classroom teacher who is looking for alternative ways to use your professional talents. Perhaps you’ve been an online instructor for a class that you feel could be improved upon. Maybe you are looking for a new challenge to extend your experiences, or you are hoping to pursue online teaching/course development activities that will lend itself to a more flexible working schedule. Whatever your reasons, online course development raises many questions, such as:

o What will my students use as a textbook?

o What other resources will I use to supplement the textbook?

o How will the student obtain information on starting the course?

o How can I make the online experience “student friendly”?

o Where in the Learning Management System will the student have access to obtaining and submitting assignments?

o How will the student be graded?

o How will the student access his/her grades?

o Will the student be able to view his/her overall progress?

o How will the student communicate with the instructor?

o How will the students communicate with each other?

o What deadlines does the student need to be aware of?

As a course developer, online instructor, and former student who obtained my masters degree online, I have several practical suggestions and tips for successful online course development.

o Remember the three most important parts of teaching in both face-to-face and virtual environments are:

1. communicate

2. communicate

3. communicate

o Therefore you want to establish methods for student-friendly correspondence. A Discussion Board that allows you to post ongoing tips and deadlines will be helpful for both you and the student.

o Include a “Getting Started” navigation button where the students can find all of the information needed to proceed with the course.

o If the course has regular deadlines, provide a timeline for those deadlines, one that the students can print out.

o If a course does not have regular deadlines but rather only has a course completion deadline, provide a timeline so that the student can stay up-to-date with the course. » Read more: Online Course Development-Tips and Strategies

What is distance learning? Is it an educational revolution as some people proclaim, or is it overblown hype of another learning method? Perhaps a good place to answer this question is with a dictionary definition. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines distance learning as “Education in which students take academic courses by accessing information and communicating with the instructor asynchronously over a computer network. Also called distance education.”

O.K. that’s a good start, but what exactly does it mean? How does “communicating with the instructor asynchronously” have anything to do with an educational revolution? To answer that, let’s examine the phrase a little more closely.

Asynchronous is a word that means “out of sync” or “something that does not occur at regular or predetermined intervals.” Applied to education, it simply means that teaching and learning do not happen at the same time. Therefore communicating “asynchronously” over a computer network does not require the simultaneous participation of instructors and students. With distance learning, teacher and students are separated by time and space-literally, “at a distance.”

This is certainly a revolutionary departure from traditional education. Since students do not need to meet together with the instructor in the same location at the same time, they are not bound by the constraints of rigid class times and meeting places. Asynchronous e-learning communication gives students greater flexibility to study at a time and place that best fits into their schedules.

Although the term distance learning is often used interchangeably with distance education, there is a subtle but distinct difference between the two. It could be said that they are really opposite sides of the same coin. The difference between the two is emphasis. Distance learning is student-centered instruction, with emphasis placed on the learner and the learning process. Distance education on the other hand, is teacher-centered instruction, with emphasis placed more on the teacher and instructional process.

The massive increase in popularity of distance e-learning is due at least in part to the unparalleled flexibility and convenience it affords students. With this learning platform, a student no longer needs to be held back from educational goals by job, family responsibilities, or any number of other obstacles that may have prevented continuing education in the past.

Distance learning courses can supplement or even replace traditional education programs. For example, if a desired course is not offered locally, it’s likely the student can enroll in the course online, even if the course is offered by a school far removed from where the student lives. For people who live in remote locations, are incarcerated, or have physical disabilities or other limitations that prevent attendance at a traditional school campus, distance learning may be the only viable option for continuing education.

While differences in delivery methods, timing, and location of instruction may be revolutionary, there is little or no difference between the curriculum in distance learning and traditional education. Distance learning outcomes generally equal that of traditional campus-based education. Although instruction is asynchronous, the overall time frame for instruction closely mirrors that of the traditional classroom setting. E-learning students often use the same textbooks and other materials as the traditional classroom. Upon graduation there is no distinction made on college transcripts as to whether the course is traditional or online. » Read more: Distance Learning – Educational Revolution Or Hype?