Manager guidelines for establishing distance education programs

Education

Tips for Managers

If you had to pick just one of these to talk about to a manager who was setting up a distance education program, which one would you choose and why?

In choosing a tip from Michael Moore's Tips for managers setting up a distance education program, perhaps the most relevant tip is "Tip Three: Take Time to Design" (Moore,). While all Moore's tips are extremely valid in the distance education module, taking time to work on the design is a vital element for the overall success of the module. Moore notes "Probably the most common cause of failure is impatience on the part of managers as well as instructors to get into the implementation phase of the program -- to see the students and trainees at work -- before a proper foundation of course materials and strategies have been laid" (Moore,). This is vital information for the manager, because often managers are more concerned with the end results along with speed, so they can get the most courses online and ready for students at the beginning of a semester, fore example. In doing so, they miss vital functions of the course - to actually instruct the student and aid in their learning experience. Often managers and instructors forget the distance learning medium is far different from the classroom experience, and to not test the medium before deployment is just asking for trouble.

It is quite gratifying to design a course, implement it online, and then watch students interact with the course. However, if the underlying course materials are flimsy or not fine-tuned for the distance learning environment, it could ultimately lead to the course's failure. Students may not find the course interesting or compelling enough to continue, and if there are large blocks of online reading or other impediments, it could lead them to try other, more relevant and user-friendly courses. Thus, impatience on the part of the manager might seem like it is cost-effective in the short-term, but in the long-term, it could actually doom the project to failure. The most important aspect of a class is making it user friendly and compelling to the student, and without the foundation of a good development, the course could crumble and fall, leading to the eventual deterioration of the entire distance learning program. As Moore continues, he notes, "Such time spent in designing and producing high-quality materials, planning teaching strategies, training trainers will increase the chances of success. There is a direct relationship between the institutional the effectiveness of a program and the time and money spent in its design" (Moore,). He cannot overstress the importance of this early design and strategy, and without it, the class will never be as strong or as instructional to the student.

How to implement this strong foundation is another element of this tip. Clearly, the designer and the instructor have to be on the same page. The instructor may not be familiar with distance learning on a large scale, and in that case, they should receive training and education on how to effectively develop distance learning course materials. It is a skill, and not one everyone automatically understands, and so expert training should be available. Moore advocates using expert advisors or consultants to bring a new distance education program together, and that is excellent advice for the mangers, as well. Experts understand the need for a good foundation and how to implement that foundation, and in a program just developing its distance education function, it is an absolute necessity for expert help in preparing the program.