| Abstract: | One of the hottest topics in higher education today is distance or distributed education (DE)—whether to get into it or not, whether it's as good as traditional in-class education or not, what forms of DE are better than others, whether it's a threat to faculty or not, and more. This paper addresses making sure DE efforts meet the course objectives and the students needs by working through five DE components: defining the students, defining the faculty, defining the curriculum, describing needed support systems, and understanding the environment created (ethical, aesthetic, cultural, and hidden aspects). Careful consideration of these five components will help ensure a successful DE program with positive experiences for faculty and students alike, and assure you readiness to embrace teaching in the 21st century. |
