Best Practices Guide for Converting to Distance Learning

Introduction:

The purpose of this guide is to outline the best way to convert a face-to-face learning program to a distance learning program. This best practices guide will include helpful information for a trainer to use when converting learning environments. It is a great help to have a document to assist in the planning of this process and it will help trainers to lead their learners with confidence.

Planning:

The planning for the stage of this kind of an undertaking is extremely important. There is much to consider when converting a face-to-face learning program to a distance learning program. Each element must be fully and thoughtfully studied to ensure the success of this objective. Use the below checklist to guide you through the planning process:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planning Checklist:

Step	Description	Check
Assess need to identify goal(s):	Take a look at what is required to complete the major goal of the project. List the requirements. You should try to envision and take note of what it is you want and what it is you currently have in place. Asses what is missing to make your vision complete. Write down your goals.
Conduct instructional analysis And Analyze learners and contexts	It is important to decide or rediscover what it is you want to teach, what is your course topic? You should consider this with the learner in mind. Identify the “type” of individuals that will be attending the class. Use the learner profile to develop your plan.
Write performance objectives	Write a well presented performance objective which includes any major and minor goals, who your audience will be and the time frame in which you plan to deliver the class. Add any pertinent information to this document and present it to any stakeholders.
Revise instruction And Develop assessment instrument	Restructure the original instructional plan to accommodate any new requirements that you have discovered. These new requirements can be technical, instructional or any other elements that are not currently a part of your instructional plan.
Develop instructional strategy	Develop a plan of attack. Decide how you will implement the plan. What issues could come up and how will you manage these challenges.
Develop and select instructional materials	Develop a collection of articles, textbooks and/or web resources to assist the students in their learning. Be sure to consider the value these resources will have to the learner and remove any inadequate resources from your resource list.
Design and conduct formative evaluation of instruction And Design and conduct summative evaluation	Develop an evaluation document that consists of evaluation information. Include a basic (formative) evaluation and an overall (summative) evaluation. Include information about what was successful about the project and what was not successful. Offer further solution for unsuccessful elements.

 

Other Considerations:

Converting a face-to-face learning program to a distance learning program comes with several challenges. But keep in mind that there are aspects of this change that will be enhanced the learners’ experience. One objective is to enhance communication. You should consider this when developing your plan as well as throughout the development of this instructional program. Having a more distance based learning can also improve learner morale, as they may have the opportunity for a more asynchronous and/or self-paced learning experience. Having learners take more responsibility and control over their learning will improve their dedication to learning the topics introduced.

You may also find that your role as a trainer may change when you convert a face-to- face learning program to a distance learning program. You should encourage learners to be more self-motivated and allow them to take center stage in their learning experience. Your role as a trainer may change from a lecturer to more of a class monitor, in where you allow the student to develop on their own. This does not mean that you will not be attentive. In fact you should be more attentive but do more listening than talking. You should present the students with course material but also help them to develop their knowledge and address any issues in a timely manner.

Communication:

Improved communication is the major objective that you wish to meet through the implementation of this project, so it is imperative that you choose the best communication tools for this program. Below are several good options for improving communication between classmates and from learner to instructor.

One on One Communication	Group Communication
Email	Email
Skype	Skype
Instant Messaging	Previously Recorded Video
Texting	Live Streaming Video
Individual Phone Calls	Texting
Office Hours/Face-to-Face Meetings	Conference Calls
WebEx	WebEx
Mailing	Mailing
Twitter	Twitter

Resources Used:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance – Foundations of Distance Education (Fifth ed., pp. 154-194). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Resources for Success

1.    McVay Lynch, M. (2001, December). Effective Student Preparation for Online Learning. In The Technology Source Archives at the University of North Carolina. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from 1. http://technologysource.org/article/effective_student_preparation_for_online_learning/

The above website will lead you to a web document entitled “Effective Student Preparation for Online Learning” by Maggie McVay Lynch. This article is about the author’s understanding on how effective development and implementation of distance learning can lead to successful student learning and future re-enrollment in distance learning courses by previous distance learners.

2.    Payne, S. (2010, February 28). Adult education: How to prepare for distance learning. In helium.com. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from 1. http://www.helium.com/items/1756738-prepare-for-adult-education-distance-learning

The above website will direct you to an online resource about preparing adult learners for distance education. This article, entitled “Adult education: How to prepare for distance learning” by Silva Payne, seeks to prepare adult learners to manage distance learning. This article takes into account adult learning issues such as, family and work balance.

3.    DISTANCE EDUCATION AT A GLANCE. (n.d.). In University of Idaho. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/eo/dist9.html

This webpage, entitled “DISTANCE EDUCATION AT A GLANCE

GUIDE 9: Distance Education: Research,” provides an overall understanding of distance learning. It includes straight forward answers to frequently asked question about the distance learning experience.

4.    Preparing for Online School and Distance Learning. (2011). In Distance Learning Headquarters Your Long Distance Learning Solutions. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from 1. http://www.distancelearninghq.com/learningresources-articles6.htm

The above webpage offers students a step by step guide for learners to prepare for any upcoming distance learning courses. The webpage, entitled “Preparing for Online School and Distance Learning,” is a great way for distance learners to build the confidence they require to succeed at distance learning.

5.    Lorenzi, F., MacKeogh, K., & Fox, S. (2004). Preparing Students for Learning in an Online World: an Evaluation of the Student Passport to Elearning (SPEL) Model. In EURODL - European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.eurodl.org/materials/contrib/2004/Lorenzi_MacKeogh_Fox.htm

The above link will lead you to an online article entitled “Preparing Students for Learning in an Online World: an Evaluation of the Student Passport to Elearning (SPEL) Model.” This article outlines the way in which the National Distance Education Centre, in Ireland, has formed their distance learning curriculum and deliver based on their research.

The Impact of Open Source

I had never heard of “open courses” before this week. I was unaware that there were free instructional courses widely available online for anyone to access and use. I have had experience with online courses from websites such as Lynda.com, and other websites that require a paid membership. However, was not aware of the website that offer free educational courses beside the short instructional videos sometimes offered on youtube.com. In this week’s resources we were offered a great amount of guidance on how to identify properly planned and implemented courses. These guidelines will help me to not only prepare my own modules but it will also help me to identify open courses that will truly help educate me.

For this assignment I chose to focus on the open course website oyc.yale.edu. This website offered a number of open course including, Astronomy, English and Music. The course that caught my eye was the Astronomy open course entitled “Frontiers and Controversies in Astronomy” with Charles Bailyn. Luckily I have prior interest in topics of astronomy and this was a pleasant surprise. Upon my investigation of this open course I was struck by how well planned it seemed. The approach was straight forward. The course was to be conducted twice a week and each course would be fifty minutes long. As mentioned in this week’s read from “Teaching and Learning at a Distance – Foundations of Distance Education” the structure of the course serves to provide guidance for the students and allow them to learn in balanced units of education.

Other recommendation offered by or text this week was that the instructor (and course development team) consider a number of things including the course components, learner type, delivery and materials and learning environment. I believe that this open course takes into account all of these elements. For example, this course has preset textbooks that the learners should acquire to promote their learning success. This is a preplanned approach to satisfying the need for course materials to support the learner’s understanding of course topics. And in consideration of the online environment all of these texts are available electronically or for delivery, which is easy on the learners involved.

Although this course is well structured it does lack an interactive element. It does offer student’s video lectures on youtube.com but it does not offer much in terms of group activities (which, in my experience, are not as helpful as they are stated to be anyway). According to our class textbook this, group element, is highly important. So, I would conclude that this course is lacking an interactive side. The guidelines offered this week have truly helped me to prepare for building my own modules and learning from quality learning establishments, online and otherwise.

Assignment Resources:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance – Foundations of Distance Education (Fifth ed., pp. 152-180). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Yale University 2013. (2007). Frontiers and Controversies in Astronomy with Charles Bailyn. In Open Yale Courses. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://oyc.yale.edu/astronomy/astr-160#overview

The Attributes of Successful Distance Learners

Learning can be challenging for anyone. Keeping up with a course curriculum can be difficult especially when taking unconventional courses, such as in the case of distance learning. Fortunately, there are a great number of resources online to help you research the best ways to ensure the success of distance learners.

I think a lot of the success that distance learners have come as a result of being self-motivated. Being a distance learner requires that the learner take much of the responsibility of teaching upon themselves. They must have the motivation and accountability to do the required assignments well and on time.

Procrastination is also an enemy of the distance learner. It is important to complete assignments on time and try to maintain a routine for your course work. This will help you, as a learner, to create a predictable schedule for yourself so that you can more easily fit your class work into your life.

Reading comprehension is also a very important part of distance learning. As most distance learning does not include any face-to-face interaction it is important that you read the course resources available to you. This is one of the factors that will help you to stay connected to your fellow students and instructor.

Staying in the know is also very important to your learning success. There will be occasions when you may miss information or end up lost. During these times you would have to take the initiative and contact fellow students and/or your instructor in order to find the information that you require to succeed. Depending on your learning institution this can be challenging but it is necessary to acclimate to your learning institution’s social culture. Acclimate to your learning institution’s culture will help you to more easily connect with your educational family.

Distraction is also a challenge for a distance learner. There are many distractions that a learner will deal with, especially adult learners. It is important to focus on your work when completing your assignments. It is key for you to set aside a work area or time to work on your school assignments. Your work space is absolutely necessary when doing your school work to limit environmental distractions. This will not only improve the quality of your work but it will improve the quality of your life.

In conclusion, I feel that it is vital to your success to determine what the best way to manage your distance education is. Everyone learns differently and everyone’s life is different so it is necessary to customize your education to your own lifestyle. That is one of the major benefits of a distance education. As long as you are able to promote your own success you will gain a great deal knowledge and self-confidence.

 

Littlefield, J. (n.d.). Is Distance Learning Right for You?. In About.com Distance Learning. Retrieved March 31, 2013, from http://distancelearn.about.com/od/isitforyou/a/considering.htm

 

Characteristics of a Successful Distance Learner (2004, August 19). In Iowa Learning Online. Retrieved March 31, 2013, from http://www.iowalearningonline.org/Documents/distance_learn_success.pdf

 

Shirley, R. (n.d.). 7 Success Strategies for Distance Learners. In World Wide Learn. Retrieved March 31, 2013, from http://www.worldwidelearn.com/education-articles/distance-learning-success.htm