DISTANCE LEARNERS

TYPES OF DISTANCE LEARNING• SYNCHRONOUS; IS TYPICALLY FOUND IN TRADITIONAL CLASSROOMS BUT CAN

BE DONE IN A DISTANCE ENVIRONMENT. IT REQUIRES THAT LEARNERS LOGIN AT THE SAME TIME TO TAKE PART IN THE INSTRUCTION. AN EXAMPLE OF THIS IS THE TRAINING PROGRAM THAT WE ARE NOW ENGAGED IN.• ASYNCHRONOUS; IS A DISTANCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT THAT DOES NOT

REQUIRE STUDENTS TO SIGN IN AT A SPECIFIC TIME. THIS LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IS LEARNER CONTROLLED.

WHO ARE DISTANCE LEARNERSDISTANCE LEARNERS ARE ADULT LEARNERS THAT ARE SEEKING CERTIFICATIONS, DEGREES OR ADVANCED DEGREES IN A SPECIFIC FIELDTHESE LEARNERS COME FROM VARYING CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS AND DEMOGRAPHICS.NEARLY 3.5 MILLION STUDENTS WERE TAKING AT LEAST ONE ONLINE COURSE DURING THE FALL OF 2006 TERM, AS REPORTED BY ALLEN & SEAMAN (2007)

CHARACTERISTICS OF DISTANCE LEARNERS

DISTANCE LEARNERS ARE:• MOTIVATED• FOCUSED• DETERMINED

LEARNING EXPERIENCESDISTANCE LEARNERS ARE TYPICALLY ADULTS THAT ARE SEEKING ADVANCEMENT WITHIN THEIR CURRENT STATUS IN LIFE. ACCORDING TO THEORY OF ANDRAGOGY THE ADULT LEARNER ENGAGES IN THE LEARNING PROCESS IF IT IS BENEFICIAL TO THEM. ADULT LEARNERS THAT ENGAGE IN THE DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM BECAUSE IT IS:

- FLEXIBLE - ACCELERATED- ACCESSIBLE

LEARNER FEEDBACK• LEARNERS ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ABOUT THEIR ONLINE

EXPERIENCES IN VARIOUS WAYS:- EVALUATIONS- SURVEYS- BLOGS- PODCAST

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990 • THIS ACT ENSURES THAT AMERICANS THAT HAVE A DISABILITY ARE ABLE TO

HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION. • INSTITUTIONS ARE REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW TO MAKE MATERIALS

ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE THAT HAS A DISABILITY. EXAMPLES ARE: - SOFTWARE FOR THE VISUAL AND HEARING IMPAIRED

MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO NOT TREAT THE STUDENTS ANY DIFFERENTLY FROM OTHER STUDENTS. THIS WILL CREATE A SPOTLIGHT ON THE STUDENT. TREAT EVERYONE AS EQUAL.

CHALLENGING BEHAVIORSTHE DISTANCE LEARNING POPULATION IS ONE THAT IS DIVERSE. THIS CAN RESULT IN DIFFERENT CHALLENGES WITHIN THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. AS ONLINE INSTRUCTORS YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO HANDLE CHALLENGING SITUATIONS SUCH AS- INAPPROPRIATE POSTS; ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS INFORM STUDENT THE DO’S AND DON’TS WITHIN THE LEARNING

ENVIRONMENT. ADVISE THEM OF THE CONSEQUENCES AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU MONITOR DISCUSSION FORUMS AND LEARNING TEAM FORUMS.

- CYBER-BULLYING; ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS INFORM STUDENTS OF WHAT CYBER- BULLYING IS AND THAT IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. MONITOR THE LEARNING FORUMS.

- PARTICIPATION; SET A PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENT ON THE FIRST DAY. MOST INSTITUTIONS ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE BUT MAKE SURE THAT THE LEARNERS ARE AWARE OF THE REQUIREMENTS

REFERENCES• ALLEN, I., & SEAMAN, J. (2007). ONLINE NATION FIVE YEARS OF GROWTH IN

ONLINE LEARNING.RETRIEVED APRIL 18, 2009, FROM HTTP://WWW.SLOAN-

C.ORG/PUBLICATIONS/SURVEY/PDF/ONLINE_NATION.PDF