3 Tips - Mike Andrews

1) In response, before the course begins, students should be required to submit a written statement to the institution delivered electronically. As little as a paragraph or two explaining the student’s aims, the statement would be designed to demonstrate: (1) that the student possesses the proper equipment and knows how to make it work; (2) that the student has the skills needed to perform effectively in a writing-based medium; and (3) that the student has motivation and realistic expectations.

This is a good idea, simple to just learn more about the students, and they feel like the institution cares about them.

2) The faculty at each institution should assume responsibility for carefully considering how much coursework is appropriate to be obtained through distance education. Deliberation should take place at the campus, department and inter-department levels, allowing for differences among disciplines and an appropriate amount of experimentation. Based on the survey findings, we believe faculty, as a general rule, should consider permitting up to 50 percent of a full undergraduate course of study to be offered at a distance.

This is important particularly since I think a lot classes really are not suited for distance learning and would do the learner a dis-service if they were to take it online and came out of it, not knowing as much as the on campus version.

3) Every student had a copy of a seating plan for both sites so they could recognize each other; (2) Frequent student presentations to increase participation and improve attention; (3) Visits between sites including a pot-luck final exam and dinner.

I like the idea of an online seating plan, though I'm not quite sure how the used one. Having avatars might be cool as well in some sort of 3d space to interact.