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10 Ways to Ensure Distance Learning Success. Distance learning students must take a far more active role in learning and accessing information than traditional students in face-to-face classrooms. Written messages or posts from the professor and classmates replace other means of direct communication, and course materials are posted online. Rather than simply sitting through a class and jotting notes, you must take the initiative to download and read lectures and course materials. As a distance learning student, you will find that being pro-active and engaged in your personal learning experience will pay off in good grades and depth of learning. 1.

Read the Syllabus and Use it as a Roadmap The syllabus is your course guide. It contains not only information about the professor, grading requirements, and class and assignment schedules, but also instructions on how to access online forums and e-texts. You should download and save the syllabus as soon as you have access to it.

A good syllabus provides a kind of "roadmap" to success. 2. Predictors of Success for Adult Online Learners: A Review of the Literature. As an adjunct professor for an online-only graduate school course, I have found myself contemplating the retention rate of adult e-learners. What are the predictors of adult students' success in online learning environments? Is there a difference in undergraduate versus graduate online learners and their motivations? Does age play a factor? Do the course's characteristics have an impact on performance and learner satisfaction? What are the implications of these findings for online instructors, and how could that affect their practices and approaches to retaining students in the future?

Here, I examine what the literature says about these questions. Predictors of Adult Students' Success in E-learning Environments E-learning has become an expected part of higher education in recent years (Larreamendy-Joerns & Leinhardt, 2006; Tallent-Runnels et al., 2006; Zandberg & Lewis, 2008). A motivated student may be defined as one who seizes the opportunity to learn—the opposite of a procrastinator. The basics of e-learning. Introduction Distance education can provide a richer and more engaging educational experience than is possible within the confines of the classroom. It requires creativity and innovation in the design and development of Internet-delivered materials, especially since materials may have to stand alone, and in the use of delivery technologies. The same issues of quality and effectiveness that exist in the classroom occur in distance education, often compounded by the delivery mechanism and lack of contact between students and teachers and between peers.

Distance education existed long before the Internet, but it has become more prevalent and has changed significantly through technological advances. This chapter defines distance education and delves into many facets of the use of the Internet for distance education; discusses why distance education has become so popular; and describes how to plan, design, deliver, and evaluate a distance education course or program.

Five Expectations Students Should Have of an Online Instructor. In recent years, online degree programs have become a widely accepted modality for many learners who seek a college degree. Most often, students who choose the flexibility of online college courses have family or work obligations that inhibit their ability to be placed in a traditional classroom. Online learning is a great choice for a student who is a self-motivated, and who is an independent learner. As a higher education instructor, you should recognize the temperament of the learning environment in which you teach as well as what students expect from you.

For instance, if you're preparing for a traditional setting, you will get to know your students and their goals for the semester through dialogue and face-to-face interaction. However, in a virtual setting, you may be unsure of what is expected, especially if you have never taught an online course before. It is important to take the time to set realistic expectations for your online learning environment. Availability Professionalism. Learning through asynchronous discussions. In recent years, Web-based electronic discussion tools have become widely available, indeed almost commonplace—in educational and organizational contexts—both in schools and universities. These tools enable the support of activities such as brainstorming, idea organization, voting, group authoring, and matrix analysis. While these tools can be deployed in both face-to-face and online contexts, much of the literature describes applications in face-to-face settings involving synchronous (i.e. same time) communications.

In large classes, however, such a set-up is impractical; seldom are 100 or more PCs available in a single room. Nevertheless, as we demonstrate in this article, the technology can enable significant learning when applied in an asynchronous, distributed setting, i.e. when participants access the tools at a time and place of their choosing. Context Suggestions for Practice Planning & Organization Phase Initiation Phase Usage Phase Conclusion Phase Implications References 1. 2. 3. 4. Do it yourself. When I started teaching online, I was a heavy user of synchronous technologies because I liked that they offered real-time interaction with my students. Starting with the beta version of Microsoft NetMeeting and using, at various points, Centra, WebEx, PlaceWare, and most of their competitors, I have found myself fairly ambidextrous in the sense that I can use any tool and take advantage of its features—or compensate for its shortcomings. Centra has always provided one of the best feature sets, and I was delighted to have a chance to check out how their users are deploying it at Centra's 4th annual user conference.

The conference, which took place May 13-15 in Boston, brought together 550 Centra users. I went to the conference to give a talk on Best Practices in Leading a Web Seminar and to look for innovations—not just in e-learning technology, but in what people are doing with the technology. Not Another Icebreaker! I was recently privy to a conversation about icebreakers—folks were exploring whether icebreakers are successful or not. I learned a lot about why some people love them and a lot of people hate them. On Thin Ice Lots of people hear the word "icebreaker" and cringe.

Icebreakers are perceived as touchy-feely, frivolous, and a big waste of time. Some critics argue learners from different cultures and countries may be even more averse to icebreaker activities than skeptics in the U.S. Others suggest the dislike of icebreakers may not be so much a reflection of the culture but of the individuals themselves. Are they learners introverts or extroverts? Still, despite their bad reputation, icebreakers remain a highly valued component of many learning sessions, no matter the age, level, or geographic location of the learners.

The first suggestion to improve the effectiveness of icebreaker activities involves changing the name. What to Call Them? Why Bother? The Right Way Tell them everything.