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Editor's Notes

• #2: Understanding your role – Mark Nichols
• #3: A 2004 article by Hall and Kidman called “Teaching and learning: Mapping the contextual influences” gives a useful overview of the sorts of things distance educators might find themselves involved with. This slide shows an extract from their work. On-campus is included here because in some institutions distance education sits alongside normal on-campus education, in that a lecturer might be looking after two separate groups of students doing the same course. The ‘Understanding’ row lists the sorts of activities and resources the educator will need to be familiar with, and be able to develop, with some assistance. The ‘Rapport’ row likewise includes those things that the educator should be able to prepare as a part of their role.
• #4: Broadly, these are the activities a distance educator is likely to be involved with. This is a very general picture, though. Consider these different examples of distance education course: A classic correspondence course, where students study pre-written course materials either in isolation or with optional online discussion forums. As above, with additional block courses at various stages of the course. Course materials are fully provided, complemented by��online discussion as a major means of learning through the sharing of perspective and experience. Course materials are all online, with self-marking tests constituting the bulk of assessment. Course materials are minimal or skeletal, with the bulk of the course materials consisting of peer-recommended articles complemented by the teacher.
• #5: Clearly, the role of a distance educator will be very different across these examples. In general, your role��as a��distance educator will be determined by six things: the goals and outcomes of the courses you teach;�� the nature of the learning materials and assessment tasks your students receive;�� your need to interact with students, and the means of that interaction (could be by phone, email, discussion forum, workshop, and/or block course); the forms of support students have in addition to the role you perform; the technologies prescribed (and prohibited!) by the institution you work within; and the capacity constraints (including student��numbers and��other duties)��you face. Each of these six elements provides both opportunity and constraint. Some of the six might be seen to limit your effectiveness, though there are always some very real opportunities for your practice to enrich��student learning. Inevitably, a distance educator works as a part of a team in a specially-developed context.
• #6: One key idea distance educators need to appreciate is the difference between teaching, and a teacher. In our recent open Polytechnic Ako, or teaching and learning, strategy, we differentiate between the two terms like this: Our understanding of ‘teaching’ is distinctive because of our specialization in distance education, whereby “academics and specialist general staff together form an integral part of the teaching system” (Evans & Nation 2000, p.3). Teaching is the design and use of intentional activities to bring about active participation by students, to develop understanding, knowledge, skills and attributes. At Open Polytechnic, teaching is an integrated activity that includes curriculum and course development, and student support. A teacher shares knowledge, engages and supports students, designs learning experiences, provides coaching feedback, and encourages students to actively participate in their learning across their programme of study. So, the role of the teacher is a distinctive and important part of the teaching function of distance education at Open Polytechnic. Our student support personnel and instructional designers are also a part of the teaching function.
• #7: Being an effective distance educator begins with an appreciation of your place across the teaching function, or in the overall teaching context. Some of the context you will have some influence over; others will be determined by institutional policy. Once the boundaries of context are understood, the effective distance educator explores ways in which they might add further value to the student experience. Understanding the teaching context is critical for a number of reasons. Firstly, understanding the context is the first step to seeking to improve it! However, as a distance educator you are likely part of a teaching team, responsible for courses that combine into an overall programme of study for the student. The contextual factors that influence your practice are in response to decisions related to curriculum requirements; programme consistency; cost models; user and student support; and the responsibilities of your colleagues. It could be that your course materials are pre-determined, and difficult or even impossible to change. Even where course materials have been pre-prepared, and online discussion forums are already seeded with starters for conversations, it is still possible to add value to the student experience. For example, you may put together a regular newsletter for students outlining the latest developments in the field, or current events. You could send a regular email or make a regular online post highlighting different aspects of the course, and encouraging students to keep on track. You could check on student access to the learning management system, and proactively contact any who have been absent for a while. You could follow-up with those students who did not excel in the previous assessment. Of course, there are always student queries to respond to as well. A useful question for effective distance educators is, given the teaching context I am in, how can I best add value to the student experience? Considering this question will help you to express yourself as a distance educator, and complement the teaching context you find yourself in.