November 2004 — Exclusive

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Designing Distance Delivery Courses

By Dr. Arlyn R. Rubash, Bradley University, Illinois

As we create distance delivery courses for the Internet, we must learn new functional capabilities and incorporate them into this emerging methodology. Consequently, courses employing distance delivery at various quality levels abound. As educators and course developers adopt distance delivery, new mind-sets must appear. When technology dramatically changes, well-understood and long-employed methodologies become obsolete. History shows that people persistently apply outdated methodologies after circumstances change; these anachronisms eventually disappear.

The Industrial Revolution was an earlier era of rapid changes where outdated practices persisted throughout the period. The world’s first iron bridge was constructed in Shropshire , England , in 1779 with wooden-bridge technology. It took years before the Industrial Revolution’s advances in iron use were integrated into bridge construction. Even Stonehenge, the mysterious circular formation of large stones, shows builders worked with outdated technology. The stones’ adjacent sides appear to have been tongued and grooved. Stone-building technology later progressed to include mortar joints that bond better.

However, delays in technology adoption are not limited to antiquity. A recent example that proves this is the system for automated bank-service delivery. “The first ATM was located inside a bank and was available only during banking hours. Bankers viewed this technological innovation as an automated teller. [But] real innovation did not occur until ATMs were placed outside banks and in malls, grocery stores and airports, available 24 hours a day” (Twigg 2001).

The newness of distance delivery helps accommodate meager expectations. Russell (1999) noted that studies often seek to prove distance delivery is as good as traditional classes. But we must move beyond that level of just being good, which requires superiority.

Education’s complexity makes studying distance delivery a challenge. Perhaps the most important characteristic needed for adjusting course structure and accommodations is experience. A good summary of the general notion is captured in a question posed by Webb (2001): “Have you successfully delivered this course in the traditional classroom so that standards for measurement are available to you?”

Content

Historically, professors review course topics and select the body of knowledge. Knowledge components are assembled into a logical sequence. Students rely on assigned texts, articles, case studies, video clips, problems and other tasks. All participants work through the content sequentially and concurrently.

Reading . The time-honored approach to learning has been reading. Traditional textbooks can beneficially accompany a distance delivery class. In addition, it is becoming more practicable to read computer displayed text. Although it is not an integral part of distance delivery, hypertext incorporated into electronically delivered material enhances its usefulness. The functional capability of finding greater topical depth on a subject through an Internet connection can enhance reading, but caution is necessary to prevent this practice from becoming a distraction.