Deliverable D112
15 April 1997
Version 1.0
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Summary
This document considers distance learning and best practice. It describes distance learning, its current position in the context of training and education, introduces a theoretical framework and compares distance with face-to-face learning provision. Best practice is introduced. Based on a few actual case studies, a wide range of reported case studies, literature survey related to distance and face to face learning, training, education and communication technology, the pointers to best practice are presented in the form of heuristics integrated into a systematic description of distance learning. This comprises the background analysis to the distance learning requirement, the design and development of the distance learning programme, interactions and delivery methods available to distance learning, the learning environment and evaluation.
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Introduction 4
1. Distance Learning 4
1.1
Learning 4
1.2 Training and Education 5
1.3 Theories of Distance Education 5
1.4 Distance and Face to Face Learning 6
2. Best Practice 6
3. Systematic Description of Distance Learning 7
3.1 Background 7
3.1.1 Main Stakeholders 7
3.1.2 Organisational Analysis 7
3.1.3 Training Analysis 8
3.2 Design and Development 9
3.2.1 Design 10
3.2.2 Development 10
3.3 Types of Interaction and Methods of Delivery 11
3.3.1 Types of Interaction 11
3.3.2 Methods of Interaction and Examples of Communication Technologies 12
3.3.3 The Learning Programme 13
3.3.4 End-user Support 14
4.
The learning environment 15
4.1 Location 15
4.2 Immediate Physical Environment 16
4.3 The Interface 16
4.4 Social, Work and Organisational Environments 16
4.5 The Group Learning Environment 17
4.6 Cultural environment 17
5. Evaluation 17
6. Summary 18
References: 19
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In the face of current technological developments, employees' roles and responsibilities are changing in the workplace. Organisations meet these changing needs by a combination of providing opportunities for employees to learn required skills, recruiting staff with the appropriate skills and by changing the job or the working environment. The concern of
SafetyNet is the learning aspect related to the training of civil air crews, commercial maritime crews and air traffic controllers in the domain of the principles and practices of human factors related to crew resource management. This relates to training for crew and inter-crew integration, communication, decision-making skills and understanding and awareness psychological and physiological factors which affect both an individual and the crew. Such training is likely to become mandatory in the near future, for example, with the introduction, for flight crew, of the Joint Airworthiness Authority Flight Crew Licence (JAA-FCL) in 1999, which will apply to most countries in Europe as they are members of JAA.
As employees' time is valuable and training which takes personnel away from the workplace comes at a high cost, there is the need of providing increased learning opportunities in a more time and cost efficient way. Many industrial, professional, educational and training organisations are meeting this by developing and using distance learning programmes.
Distance learning aims to provide effective learning for specific and desired knowledge in a flexible manner. The learner, whether an individual or a group, is separated, by place and/or time, from the originator of the teaching material. Interaction between individuals and with the teaching material is by the use of various media and communication technologies.
The terms learning, training and education are briefly described below. The terms distance learning, education and training tend to be used interchangeably in much of the current commercial, technical and some academic literature.
1.1
Learning is any reasonably permanent change in behaviour as a result of past experience.
Behaviour is also affected by maturation, physical damage and disease.
Learning of cognitive, manual and complex skills can be considered to develop in three, broad phases.
 the 'knowledge' stage , in which the learner is inducted in, absorbs and understands the basic facts, principles and practices of a particular domain so that these become unconscious and automatic. That is, the learner acquires declarative knowledge.
 the 'rule' stage , in which the learner develops the ability to apply, mainly consciously, the acquired declarative knowledge to a wide range of different situations. That is, the learner develops a set of operational rules and procedures or personal heuristics.
 the 'skill' stage , in which the objective is to have the trainees achieve fluid and automatic performance. Trainees learn to accomplish the know-how gained during former levels. To achieve skills, practical and realistic “hands on” experience is needed (e.g. through simulator training).
Formal learning is achieved through training and education.

Training is often considered as bringing the performance of a group of people up to a specific level appropriate to achieve a desired performance on a work task. That is, training has a specific objective and aims to minimise the differences between learners' behaviour/performance.
Education , on the other hand, has traditionally been seen to have broader objectives which maximise the differences between learners. Its aim is to instruct and encourage learners to maximise their individual potential and cognitive skills for future life.
This distinction is blurring. People are increasingly required to develop and acquire skills which serve a wider range of applications within organisations and are transferable to different situations. In addition, the responsibility for learning and personal development is changing from being that of the organisation to that of the individual. This can apply to the learning, development and maintenance of core (key), vocational or job specific skills, for example, many professional bodies provide for continuous professional development, for instance the
Royal Aeronautical Society in Great Britain. Aspects of this are being increasingly provided by distance learning programmes. For example, industry may provide opportunities in the workplace for the employee to learn and develop new skills at their own time and pace, e.g.
Digital in Switzerland . Some companies expect employees to keep themselves abreast in their own time at home, for example Bosch in Germany 8 (McCluskey & Peraya (1996)).
It is important to develop a common framework or theory to be able understand and communicate about the nature of distance education and learning, its developments. Various theories of distance education have been proposed, some based on ideological, some on philosophical and some on empirical bases (Rekkedal (1994) and Sherry (1996)). The following theory is summarised to give an idea of the main features of distance education (from which distance learning results). This theory has been selected because it based on a breadth of empirical studies and has evolved over time. This does not mean that SafetyNet is based on this particular or any other particular model theoretical distance learning model.
The theory of transactional distance (proposed by Moore) is based on empirical studies in the field of distance learning and education (Moore and Kearsley (1996)). In it, distance education is considered as a teaching-learning relationship. The learners, teachers and educational organisations have to develop procedures to overcome their separation, which is not only a physical distance but also distance of understandings and perceptions, that is, a transactional distance.
There are two types of behaviour involved - dialogue and structure.
The extent of the dialogue is a result of the educational philosophy behind the design of the course, the personalities of the learners and the teachers, the subject matter and environmental factors, which, for distance learning, the medium and method of communication is important.
The nature of the course structure is also a result of the educational philosophy, the teacher, the nature of the content, the level of the learners and selected the communication method. The structure may be rigid (pre-planned and instructor led) to flexible (flexible and learner directed).
If a course has no dialogue and is very structured e.g. a television broadcast course, it is said to have high transactional distance and, if it has little pre-determined structure and much dialogue e.g. desk-top videoconference course, it has low transactional distance.
It is also postulated that learners have an autonomy, that is they have different capacities for making decisions about their own learning. Programmes vary in their degree of autonomy which learners are expected to use.
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His conclusion is that the success of a distance learning programme is the degree to which the institution and the individual instructor can provide the appropriate structure of learning material, the appropriate quantity and quality of dialogue, taking into account the extent of the learner's autonomy. For some programmes the goal may be to reduce the transactional distance by having high dialogue by, for example, audio-conferencing with structured printed support material; for other programmes it may be may appropriate to be highly structured, for example, computer based training to learn the basic facts, with low dialogue.
This theory has been elaborated by other theorists who have emphasised the role of technology, the significance of whether the control lies with the learner or the teacher, the system dynamics involved in transactional distance, the influence of group and co-operative work.
There are many comparisons of learners' achievement in both distance and face to face conventional situations (Russell (1996)) A large majority of the findings, often based on the comparison of identical content and hours of instruction, show that there is no significant difference between the different types of courses on the learners' achievement, as measured by, for instance, grades, test scores or performance in the workplace (Verduin and Clark (1991)).
The conclusions from these studies are that:
 lack of direct face-to- face contact does not necessarily affect the quality of the learning process,
 there is no evidence that face to face instruction is the best method of giving instruction,
 learning at a distance can be as effective as learning in a face to face situation,
 a learning in any situation is successful when: the course is well designed and delivered, the content, method and technologies are appropriate for the learning task, there is learner to learner interaction, timely instructor to student interaction and feedback,
( Verduin and Clarke (1991), Moore and Kearsley (1996)).
Distance learning in the academic field has developed rapidly since the 1970's. Its use in industry, as one of the tools for training employees, has developed more recently.
Distance learning literature is rich with descriptions and prescriptions, particularly of technologies and media used in different situations. The quality of the information available from such studies depends on whom is reporting and the nature of the information provided.
Many such reports yield anecdotal evidence which indicate certain trends in what is best practice and can be considered as heuristics. A lot of the research information that exists contributes to these heuristics and is also descriptive. Much is not based any particular pedagogical theory or explicit qualitative or quantitative methodologies and, as such, has not yet yielded any definitive guidelines.
In order to give information on best practice, the following approach has been adopted. From the survey carried out of distance learning and training literature, as well as related case studies, the heuristics and best practice trends have been extracted and integrated into the following systematic, top down description of distance learning and the factors which should be taken into account for the development, design and delivery of an effective distance learning programme.

A distance learning programme is moulded by the interplay of the following main elements:

 the background;
 the design and development; types of interaction and delivery methods;
 the learning environment ;
 evaluations.
3.1
The background to a distance learning programme includes; identification the main stakeholders; organisational analysis; training analyses.
3.1.1
Main Stakeholders
The stakeholders are those individuals, organisations and bodies who have an interest, at any level and at any stage of the evolution and execution of a project or task.
In order for a distance learning programme to be successful, it is necessary for it meet the requirements of and to be accepted by of the main stakeholders. The introduction of distance learning is often novel to many organisations and, to be accepted, requires people to change the way they think about training, learning and teaching.
The main stakeholders can be considered as four main groups:

Regulators and associated bodies, for example Joint Airworthiness Authority,
Civil Aviation Authority, Standards and Accreditation Bodies, Unions.

Purchasers of Training, for example, airlines, shipping lines, air traffic control bodies.

Suppliers, creators and providers of training and training programmes, for example, this includes the relevant departments of all organisations involved in the development, design and delivery of the programme. This includes, amongst others, content providers; learning theory and pedagogic experts; designers; media providers; producers; human factors specialists; administrative and support providers; human resources; technical and technological providers services; site co-ordinators.

At the end-user level: this comprises two groups, those who provide the teaching material and those who are learning. The provision of teaching material may come from instructors, group tutors or facilitators, other learners, subject matter experts or other organisations specially brought in, as well as from prepared course material.
The learners are those for whom the programme has been created taking their characteristics.
3.1.2
Organisational Analysis
An organisational analysis provides the frame of reference for the development of the distance learning programme.
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It should identify:
 the organisation's mission and their goals to achieve this mission;
 the cultural, social and 'ethical' characteristics within the organisation;
 the organisation's perceived need for training from the corporate, regulatory and employee perspectives;
 the organisational structure in which training will be used;
 the context in which the training will be used;
 the technical and technological limitations within the organisation;
 the degree of implementation of technology;
 the prevalent culture and attitude to technology to assess how the benefits of technology based training will be perceived and how compatible its introduction;
 the setting in which distance learning will or does function, for example its location, whether distributed, participative etc.
3.1.3
Training Analysis
The training analysis should identify the needs of an organisation which can be met by training and the needs of the employees, as well as provide information on the current and planned training in the organisation(s). This provides the context into which the proposed distance learning programme is to be integrated.
It should:
 identify the mission of training for the specified domain.
In the case of SafetyNet the mission is to develop and assess a variety of tools for the training of professional crews.
The domain of SafetyNet is 'The Training of Crews in Human Factors Principles and Practices of Crew Resource Management';
 the mission of training for the particular organisation;
 the goals which have to be met to fulfil the mission at both the general and the organisational level;
 define desired performance;
 assess current performance;
 identify the gaps between these, for each stakeholder, that exists in: knowledge, skills, attitudes, confidence, appropriate technology and incentives.
For example, potential learners may not have keyboard skills which would be required of a course was computer based; the workload on administrative staff may increase with the introduction in distance learning and they may require financial incentives to ensure its smooth running;
 identify training provision which already exists, is being developed and is planned within the organisation - by and for whom, for what and why as well as how and when it is given;
 identify current policy related to training and technology within the organisation;
 the management related to training and technology;
 funding available, allocated and planned;
 time-tabling;
 capacity and range of courses;
 assess the current provision of training technology;
 use of different training technologies currently used and planned in the near future;
 capacity of available technology;
 its frequency of use;
 its accessibility to learners;
 the current media selection and usage;
 current learning environments, for example, instructor led, individual or group based, collaborative, etc.,
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 availability of staff - instructors, tutors, course facilitators, technical co-ordinators, technical, technological, administrative and associated learner-support staff. If the programme is to be developed or modified in-house, the appropriate staff are also required.
 current workload on these staff;
 level and provision of training of these staff;
 how comfortable the staff and trainees are with the technology;
 staff and trainee support systems available;
 identify current evaluation procedures for: course development; course content, design, structure and delivery; trainees; effectiveness in the workplace;

identify the target learning population.
For SafetyNet the learning populations are cockpit and cabin civilian air crew,
maritime bridge crew and air traffic control crew;
 the predicted numbers in learning groups;
 their characteristics. The characteristics of the learning population determine to a large extent the design, structure, presentation and delivery of the distance learning programme.
Information should be sought on the range and type of the learners' style, background - age, gender, culture, education and training; aptitudes, learning
position in the organisation, degree of familiarity with any technology to
be used in the programme; affective aspects - attitude and expectations; motivation for taking the course
(which may be intrinsic or extrinsic, for instance it is required by the employers); empathy; confidence and self esteem; personality type; social aspects - work, peer group and family relationships and demands; environmental aspects: where and in what kind of physical and social environment learning will take place and what constraints exist and in what kind of environment will the learning have to be applied.
For example, in SafetyNet , the population in each of the target groups can be identified as homogeneous, in that they are from particular professional domains, are employees who are required to complete the training. Each group has particular characteristics, for example, the air crew are dispersed and highly mobile, the maritime crew are confined but mobile and the air traffic crew work at a fixed location and live at home.
3.2
It is obvious that setting up new distance learning programmes requires greater resources for design, development and preparation than using existing, traditional (face to face, classroom based) learning situations.
Two of the most common observations made are that:
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the amount of time and the costs required for the design, development and preparation of a course are far greater than anticipated; there is a direct relationship between the acceptance and effectiveness of a distance learning programme and the fact that adequate time and money spent on its creation.
It is important that this is understood and accepted by all the main stakeholders.
The design and development of instructional material is an ongoing cycle of design, development, evaluation and revision.
3.2.1
Design
The background analysis above determines:
 the need for instruction - the content to be taught, the skills to be acquired (for example, motor, comprehension, analytical, pragmatic, problem solving, social, communicative etc.);
 the characteristics of the end-users, i.e. the learners (individuals and groups), the programme instructors and tutors and all support staff, as well as the other main stakeholders;
 the goals of the instruction, i.e. the broad stated aims of the instruction.
These factors, together with the choice of learning theory, contribute to the development of the programme. There are many theories of how people learn and the choice of the appropriate learning, can have a marked effect on the development of the structure and presentation of the content, the choice of method and technology of teaching.
To give an indication, very general, thumbnail sketches of three of the main theories applicable to adult learning are given:
Behaviourism: This ignores the role of self will and learning takes place through the reward and punishment of trial and error behaviour. It is often associated with the development of teaching machines, computer based learning, rote learning and the learning of motor skills.
Cognitive theories: These emphasise the learning of conscious intellectual strategies, inference of principles and rules and their testing to investigate and learn a particular topic or domain. It is often associated with situations and technologies which can provide the direct or the equivalent of direct physical experience with feedback and criticism.
Humanistic psychology and Constructivism: This proposes that the person is the centre of his/her own (conscious) world which gives continually changing experiences, allows freedom of choice for actions, which are tested out and with respect to personal past experience and feedback from and social contact with other people. It is often associated with 'learning by doing' and group learning situations
3.2.2
Development
The design team, based on this information, domain expert advice and a review of any courses in the domain, creates a course content outline, which includes:
 an introduction, summary and conclusion directly related to the context of the distance learner;
 a clear statement of the course goals and the specific objectives;

 details of the course programme, time-tabling, deadlines;
 explanation of any course requirements and the marking scheme; clear details relevant to each specific course objective:
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 explanation of objective;

 what has to be completed to achieve that objective;
 any associated material required e.g. tape recordings, videos, books etc.; suggestions for completion e.g. communication or meetings with other learners; suggested sources of further information etc.
During the organisation and development of the design, the following are important to take into account are:
 an clear and understandable structure;
 clear objectives;
 small units of learning and practice material;
 adequate breaks to avoid 'tele-fatigue' and thus loss of attention, which is recognised to occur in, for example, video-conferencing or broadcasts;
 creation of appropriate, learner relevant examples which relate the content being taught to a context and style of language understood by that particular group of learners;
 planned participation;
 use of open-ended assignments;
 timely feedback;
 continuous evaluation;
 material which of an appropriate level, varied, attention holding, repetitious and complete;
 the provision of a definitive, printed course directory will full course details, all peer, course provider and support contact details.
3.3
The development of the materials for distance learning and the selection of delivery methods go hand in hand. The selection depends on the factors identified during the Background and the
Design and Development stages. One of the most common heuristics is that a training programme must not be design around a particular technology, rather the technologies must be selected and matched according to the particular needs and constraints identified from the above two stages.
The selection and integration of delivery components must meet:

 the identifiable end user and other stakeholder needs;
 the content and purpose of learning requirements; technical and technological constraints;
 availability and accessibility of delivery components;
 need for changes as a result of evaluations, modification of content, varying user requirements and future technological developments.
A framework of the main types of interaction and communication technologies currently available for distance learning programmes is given below.
3.3.1
Types of Interaction
In distance learning, communication of information occurs through various types of interaction.
These can affect the design and the selection of delivery methods and technology.
They are interaction between the:
 learner and the content, this is often called one-way communication and may be by different or mixed (multi-) media e.g. print, sound, graphics, video;
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 learner and the provider; who may be e.g. an instructor, a local tutor, a visiting specialist, a panel of experts, on-site demonstrator, learner support staff, administrative staff;
 learner and another learner, which avoids isolation and gives the opportunity to discuss and develop ideas, knowledge and skills, as does the interaction between the learner and the course group, which enables work on group projects and the development of group skills;
 learner group(s) and the provider, which allows for group instruction, communication and work with a provider or, say, a groups of experts.
This interaction can occur:
 synchronously, that is simultaneously e.g. by telephone;
 asynchronously, that is with a time delay between contacts e.g. by fax or e-mail;
 in the same location, that is face to face;
 at a distance with learners in diverse locations; and is applicable to:
 the learning programme;
 the end-user support system.
3.3.2
Methods of Interaction and Examples of Communication Technologies

One way, non computer based communication print, audio-tapes, video-tapes, video on demand, tele text;

One way, non computer based synchronous communication wireless, television;

One way, computer based communication computer based training (CBT), computer aided instruction (CAI) , computer assisted learning (CAL) and others,
which use, for example: interactive video discs (IVDs), CD-ROMs, down-loadable software, World Wide Web sites,
to provide information by, for example: text or multimedia with which the learner may or may not be able to interact, hypermedia, simulations, virtual reality (VR);

Two way, non computer based, asynchronous communication correspondence by post, fax, answer-phone/voice mail;

Two way, computer based, asynchronous communication e-mail, bulletin boards (BBs), news groups, computer mediated conferencing (CMC), networked flow operations;

Two way, non computer based, synchronous communication face to face. telephone, audioconferencing, audiographic conferencing, videoconferencing;
Two way, computer based, synchronous communication desktop video conferencing,
which uses, for example: video for images and text, audio for speech and sounds, writing and drawing (white) board for real time graphic exchanges,
MUD/MOOs for real time text exchange and more as it develops
Internet relay chat (IRC) for simultaneous display of text.
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The development of these and other new technologies together with the increased research and understanding of: the appropriate instructional design for, for example, just-in-time, place independent or on-demand learning; the impact evolving and new pedagogical strategies to present knowledge for effective distance learning, for example, computer supported collaborative work
(CSCW) and computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL); the development of new, different technologically related skills by users; the effect of synchronous, co-operative, group-centred forms of distance learning
(distributed learning) especially those of computer supported collaborative learning; the effects of virtual communities on instructional effectiveness for different learners; the usefulness, psychological effects to users of synthetic environments and
'learning by doing' all have to be taken into account in the development of distance learning programmes, particularly those which are being currently developed as generic programmes to be adapted to different specified needs.
However, as communication technology is developing so fast, as learners acquire new skills and expectations of interaction, combined with the major changes in public and commercial policies to training, it is not always possible await the outcome of such research. Within the next few years high performance computing and communications will make many of these new tools readily available in many parts of the world.
3.3.3
The Learning Programme
A main heuristic related to learning programme is that it is the appropriate combination of the technologically mediated interaction, face-to-face interaction and immediate 'hand on' interaction with real settings, appropriate to the identified needs, that should guide the design of effective learning situations for a particular skill. Technology mediated communication and experience supplement the learning process but do not replace the experience gained from real world.
This relates directly to the three stages of learning described earlier:
The knowledge based level relates to learners' acquiring declarative knowledge.
If this is on an individual basis, it could be achieved by self study methods, that is by one way communication either computer or non computer based .
If it also is on a collaborative or a group basis, it could be by one way communication as above and, also, asynchronous communication which could be computer or non-computer based. This would allow e.g. learning by studying case studies.
The rule based level relates to learners' developing a set of operational rules and procedures:
If this is on an individual basis, it could be achieved in part by one way communication as above, depending on the degree of interactivity and adaption the technology provided and also by participation in two-way synchronous computer or non-computer based sessions. For example through face to face meetings or by pre-arranged teleconferencing sessions with the provider if the teaching material. If this is also on a collaborative or group basis, this could be achieve by one way communication as above, two way asynchronous communication, as descried and, also, two-way synchronous computer or noncomputer based interaction which can allow all group members to interact with each other and with the provider of the teaching material.
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The skill based level relates to the learner's developing a fluid and automatic response to novel situations:
This requires the learner to enact and practice the acquired knowledge and developed personal heuristics in real world situations. This can only be pertly catered for by technology through virtual and shared synthetic environments. It requires hands-on, physically simulated and real world experience.
The design of SafetyNet can be seen in the context of the above, some example scenarios are given below:

The domain of learning is the 'The Training of Crews in Human Factors Principles and Practices related to Crew Resource Management'.

The characteristics and needs of end-users and other main stakeholders are identifiable, the content requirements are known.

The programme will involve the individuals of the crews attaining the necessary level of declarative knowledge for each topic in the domain, which can be done both on an individual and collaborative basis. This could be computer based, using highly interactive, flexible, self-paced units which involving stage wise learning with appropriate case-studies interspersed at each stage, with in-built assessment and feedback, together with the adequate support material and services.

The appropriate set of operational rules and procedures can be achieved partly by individual practice but also by collaborative and group communication either synchronously or asynchronously depending on the specific task requirements and the learning environment. This could use the same as the previous stage supplemented with asynchronous computer conferencing facilities, synchronous desktop or video-conferencing facilities or audio-conferencing depending on the content requirements and the users' needs. There will probably be a need for a mediator /co-ordinator to enhance communication between all participants.

The development of the skilled automatic and fluid responses in this domain will be acquired by the enactment of the acquired knowledge and procedures and can be achieved mostly through training on physical simulators and in the real world rather than distance learning.
3.3.4
End-user Support
A main, broad heuristic related to end-user support is that, for effective completion of the learning programme, support must be easily available and fully accessible through various technologies and modes of delivery. The end-users are not only the learners but also the course providers and the support staff themselves.
The following are some of the areas identified which should support the end-users (the learners and the providers). They are support in the:
 required administrative processes such as registering, completion dates, record keeping, sending and receiving of course support material,;
 provide full contact details of all tutors, support staff and learners;
 clear information on all course requirements, goals, objectives, assessment methods, feedback timing, evaluation criteria, time-tabling;
 provision of library, database, software and information services;
 provision of advisory, problem solving and counselling services;
 necessary training and assistance to ensure required level of skill to interact with the technology and software used in the programme;
 required individual technical and technological support and problem solving from the outset and during the programme;
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 easy access to and adequate availability of the required materials and technologies for the completion of the course to suit individual presentation and learning styles;
 site facilitation for both the provider(s) of the course and at the learners' receiving sites to ensure the smooth operation of the technology and the organisation of the distant groups.
4.
The learning environment is a very important factor in the success of distance learning because it affects the quality of interaction of the learner with the presented material. The designer and the provider of the course must take into account of any constraints which apply in different environments
The learning environment comprises:
 the location;
 immediate physical environment;
 the interfaces used;
 the social, organisational and work environments;
 the group learning environment,
 the cultural environment.
Distance learners work in a wide variety of locations. This is partly determined by the provision of training and the requirements of their organisation and partly by the nature of the technology they need to use for a particular aspect of a course. For example audio-tapes, printed material or a laptop computer may be used almost anywhere. If the learner does not own a computer, has to take part in a video-conference or needs to watch a video, it has to be in a specific location .
Many distance learning programmes use a combination of different methods and technologies for presentation of the learning material appropriate to the learners' and providers' needs and the content requirements.
Learning may take place, for example, in:
 the home;
 the workplace: at the work point, at a dedicated location in the workspace, in a special on-site centre;
 at a local learning centre: at a local college,
 at a local videoconferencing centre, at a local dedicated centre; in a co-operating institution.
There are various reported learner problems associated with all these environments. These include distractions, interruptions, lack of local support, lack of motivation, lack of self discipline, distance of facilities from work/home, communication problems. These can cause lack of concentration and learning, especially when combined with course units which are too long and with too few summaries and overviews.
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The ergonomic aspects of the workplace, equipment, its interface and the user have to be taken into consideration. These will not be described in detail here as there is rich supporting literature in this area, relating both to workplace design and to specific communication technologies, for example, RACE for Videoconferencing, Multimedia and Telecommunications
(1995).
However, it is important in the design of the instructional material to ensure that there are no special conditions or requirements relating to:
 physical space - for example, for videoconferenced group work, it is recommended that group sizes should be between 8 - 15 learners and not seated in fixed rows to enhance group communication;
 arrangement of components - for example, for audioconferencing, microphones should be within easy reach of each learner and have an obvious on/off switch;
 illumination;
 noise - for example, if a dedicated work location is in a noisy environment, this could cause distraction and unnecessary fatigue, as well as cause problems for receiving or transmitting audio material;
 atmospheric conditions;
 motion.
The guidelines and heuristics relating to the human-computer, other telecommunicated (audio, audio-visual and visual) and printed interfaces need to be integrated into and evaluated as part of the distance learning programme and as effective and appropriate to the learning environment.
It is repeatedly emphasised that effective learning material depends largely on making an appropriate selection of the correct media, presentations and delivery methods and technology to meet the content requirements and the users' needs, which includes the constraints of the environment in which they are learning.
There are some well established heuristics and guidelines (see RACE guidelines) and much information advice readily available in the literature. For this reason and because they tend to be specific to a particular programme, these are not discussed in detail here.
The profile of these environments for the target learner population should be apparent from the organisational and training analysis, which also includes the identification of the characteristics of the learners. For example, the attitudes and expectations of learner, the learner group, family, friends, peers, work-mates, managers, course providers and support staff, employing organisation, professional and regulatory bodies can all influence the effectiveness of the programme.
The main heuristic that emerges for distance learning case studies and literature is to ensure acceptance and ongoing support of the main stakeholders, especially the top management of the organisation and, if involved, the unions together with the meeting the constraints of the end-users' environments.
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In addition, if learners are learning in a co-operative, collaborative group environment, this environment itself has an influence on the effectiveness of the learning. This is an area which is developing alongside the technological developments. Such an environment is affected by factors relating to the learners and their interaction with each other, either individually or with a group, or between groups, who all interact with the course content and the provider/instructor/mediator in the chosen system environment, which has its own characteristic constraints. For example by asynchronous computer mediated conferencing or synchronous audio or video conferencing.
There are, as yet few well developed heuristics or guidelines in this area. The principle again applies that for this to be as effective as possible all the different variables relating to the different factors have to be taken into account when choosing, designing, selecting and presenting this aspect of a distance learning course. The RACE guidelines of videoconferencing and a report on computer mediated communication (Paulsen (1995)) provide supportive information.
This area is receiving increasing attention in distance learning.
Learning relates to a reasonably permanent change in a person's behaviour. For this to occur, there have to be changes in, for example, the concepts, attitudes and expectations of the learner.
For the learning to be successful the course provider must understand the existing culture, not only related to the content of the course but also to the social, organisational and national culture of the learners.
This can relate to many features, for instance style of learning and teaching , attitude to distance learning courses, attitude to technology, style of use of language, attitude to taking part in public group discussions.
In addition to such cultural factors there are the considerations of language as many professional distance learning courses are not necessarily conducted in the native language.
The appropriate use of colloquial, jargon, technical, academic and humorous styles, language, graphics, sounds and case studies is important.
The advice relating to distance learning is that natives of both culture and language of the target learning population should be involved in the design or modification of the design to ensure that there no lack of or misunderstandings are perpetrated by the learning material and that learning is as effective as possible.
Evaluation is important at all stages of the design, development, preparation and implementation of a distance learning programme and its support systems to assess whether the materials, media and delivery methods are effective in achieving what is anticipated and intended during the developmental stage (formative evaluation) and the desired goals and objectives of the required learning when implemented (summative evaluation). There is a rich field of information on evaluation. The following summarises the main pointers which emerge related to distance learning.
The formative evaluation should occur at all stages during the development and can be in the form of focused mini-evaluations which can assist revision and modification of the content
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matter, its structure and presentation and technical and delivery issues for the target learner population.
The summative evaluation provides feedback and a database for future course revision and planning for further courses.
The evaluations may be undertaken by domain experts, learners, providers, other main stakeholders as appropriate and apply to, for example:
 course content - its organisation, level, adequacy intelligibility and relevance;
 provider/instructor - co-ordination and leadership, effectiveness, preparation, delivery, organisation, enthusiasm;
 technology and software - familiarity to end-users, problems of availability and accessibility, suitability for learning environment, attitudes, concerns, problems;
 support - from provider, tutor, technology support staff, administrative staff, peers, employers;
 interaction with provider, other students and groups - quality, adequacy, problems, frequency;
 course structure, both for specific tasks and overall - compatibility of target learner skills and skills required to complete the course, design, pacing, timing, frequency, effectiveness, use of group projects, discussions, question and answer sessions;
 group dynamics and participation - frequency of participation, appropriateness for learning, problems associated with turn taking, dominance;
 assignments - usefulness, demand on learning time, difficulty, feedback, relevance;
 assessments - appropriateness, level of difficulty, clarity, frequency, relevance feedback;
 attitudes - of learners, providers, support staff, employers, other stake-holders.
Distance learning should be considered as one of the tools in the armoury of training and educational tools. There is no single formula for the best practice for the most effective distance learning course.
The are many factors which can enter into the equation of distance and any other learning provision which aims to have achieved performance equal to desired performance in a particular situation.
Distance learning provision must be fully supported by the organisation and other main stakeholders who have a commitment to quality and the effectiveness of employees' learning.
Any distance learning programmes should be designed to meet the specific needs and context identified within an organisation, its employees and those of the other main stakeholders.
The design of a distant learning programme must meet the identified needs and context for learning together with the requirements of the content material by the appropriate, flexible use of different materials, methods of instruction and technologies for communication.
Such learning and instruction should be provided and supported by readily available and easily accessible materials, resources, methods of communication and well-trained providers and support staff.
The distance learner should have a clear concept of the goal of a course, the objectives, their relevance, how they are to be achieved, the desired levels of performance and how when these are assessed.
Learning can be considered to proceed through three stages of development, absorbing and understanding the basic facts, creating rules and procedures to use those facts and developing a
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skill to use this acquired knowledge, easily and automatically as required. It is important to provided the appropriate vehicle for learning at each of these stages to meet the learners' needs and the content requirements.
The development of technology, methods of communication and new media enables economic, appropriate and effective learning provision to a widely dispersed work force, using a wider range of tools than previously available. These developments are also affecting the style of both face to face and distance learning material, learning and instructional styles.
Representations of language, images, processes, systems etc. of that which has to be learnt can be presented to and allow learners to interact with in novel and diverse ways. In addition, the communication technology developments allow effective and increasingly easy interaction between learners and providers.
These new developments should complement, enhance and extend existing provision of learning opportunities by their appropriate use by the course designers, as well as acceptance and understanding by trainers, educators and learners in their particular environments.
McCluskey, A & Perraya, D., (1996) Learning technologies and administrations in
Switzerland. http://tecfa.unige.ch/tecfa/tecfa-publications/peraya-papers/ocde/ocde.htm.
Moore, M.G. & Kearsley, G., (1996) Distance Education. Wadsworth Publishing, Belmont
Ca.
Paulsen, M.F., (1995) The Online report on pedagogical techniques for computer-mediated communication. http://www.nki.no/~morten/cmcped.htm.
RACE project 1065:
Human factors guidelines for multimedia (c.1995),
Videoconferencing - Guidelines for user organisations and service providers (c.1995),
Guidelines for telecommunications providers and users (1996).
HUSAT Research Institute , Loughborough, England.
Rekkedal, T., (1994) Research in distance education - past, present and future. http://www.nki.no/ekko/for_alle/fagartikler/intforsk.htm.
Russell, T.L., (1996) The 'No significant difference phenomenon' Parts 1-3 (1945-1995)
Http://tenb.mta.ca/phnom.html
Sherry, L., (1996) Issues in distance learning. International Journal of Distance Education,
1(4),
337-365. http://www.cudenver.edu/public/education/edschool/issues.html.
Verduin, J.R. & Clark, T.A., (1991) Distance Education: The Foundations of Effective
Practice. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, Ca.
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