Multimedia

Abstract

Interest in and delivery of distributed education has increased rapidly in the past decade. Technology brings the promise of creating superior learning environments relative to the traditional classroom as well as delivering these learning experiences to greater numbers and more diverse audiences. However, successful creation and delivery of distributed courses requires new dimensions in thought and creativity because a direct translation from classroom to computer will not enhance the learning experience. To make distributed education work, instructors have to rethink their role as teacher, and students must take charge of their own learning experience. Many accommodations must be made in distributed course creation to ensure a student-centered environment that overcomes the feeling of isolation. The authors discuss these themes in relation to their experiences in delivering an asynchronous distributed introductory course at the University of Arizona.