Chapter 7: Teaching at a Distance
INSTRUCTOR NOTES
This chapter addresses ISTE Standards for Teachers 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Chapter Goal
Understand design characteristics and teaching strategies that facilitate student learning in a
distance learning setting.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the chapter, your students should be able to do the following:
1. Identify elements that are important to the design for teaching at a distance.
3. List advantages to using distance education.
5. Identify distance resources that can be integrated into learning.
6. Identify network resources that are used in distance education.
Chapter Overview
Improvements in technology have had a likewise effect on distance learning possibilities. Over
the years, instruction at a distance has evolved from correspondence, to teleconferences, to two–
way digital video images, video streaming, and online learning. Such improvements in
technology have made two-way video more accessible to PK-12 schools. School reform
measures, such as standards-based learning, teacher qualification expectations, and demands for
greater cost-efficiency have begun to force schools to take a close look at how distance learning
technologies might help them.
Chapter 7 opens with a description of distance education and then examines the options for
distance learning within educational settings. The chapter compares the major distance
education technologies and examines the teacher’s role as a distance educator. The applications
of the technologies are presented as three types of resources- one-way video, two-way video, and
text-based. There is an emphasis for educators to be aware of the many technologies available
for distance learning.
The section entitled, “Teaching at a Distance” emphasizes that the teacher can be directly
involved in the decisions about the delivery of the lesson and controlling how learners interact
with the information through specific strategies and approaches best suited for the learners and
lesson. In addition, there is a section on “Critical Issues” emphasizing the importance of the
teacher’s role in student security, supervision, and teaching netiquette. The chapter also includes
suggestions for integrating distance resources into the classroom learning environment, as well
as explanations for various types of networks.
Using This Chapter
In this chapter, there are three opportunities to bring real-world stories of quality distance
education integration to your students. Your first resource is the Chapter 7 ASSURE Case Study
Video: Connecting Learners at a Distance. This is a video clip of Jimmy Chun’s social studies
classroom. Mr. Chun’s high school students from Hawaii use two-way audio/video distance
education and Blackboard course management software to interact with students from New
Hampshire. Throughout the chapter, you will find reflection questions to relate the chapter
feature a University professor engages his elementary education majors in a distance learning
activity with a local urban elementary school. The second “Taking a Look at Technology
Integration” feature describes the GLOBE program—a program that uses technology to promote
scientific inquiry and environmentalism.
Chapter 7 provides you with two “Copyright Concerns” features, one for distance learning and
the second for online learning. Given the increasing probability that your students will
participate as teachers in some form of distance education, it will be important for your students
to understand the TEACH Act in relation to educators’ rights and responsibilities for using
copyrighted materials.
The Shared Writing prompt in REVEL interactive will allow your learners to reflect on what it
means to be a good digital citizen and how those skills can be taught to their students.
Professional Vocabulary
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICIES (AUPS)- An agreement among students, parents/guardians, and
school administrators regarding appropriate use of the Internet.
ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING– Learning that takes place when participants are not working on
activities at the same time.
AUDIO TELECONFERENCE– A live, interactive conversation using telephone lines, satellite, or the
internet to connect people via audio.
COMPUTER PLATFORM– Different types of computer operating systems, such a Mac OS, Unix, or
Windows.
DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP– Informal rules for appropriate behavior on the Internet.
DISTANCE LEARNING– An instructional situation in which students learn via telecommunications.
FILE SERVER– In local area networks, a centralized computer that serves to provide file and mass
data storage services to the other stations on the network.
FIREWALL– Intranet software that prevents external users from accessing a proprietary network,
while allowing internal users access to external networks.
GATEWAY– A computer that interconnects and makes translations between two different types of
networks. Also called a portal.
INTRANET– A proprietary or closed internal network that connects multiple sites across the state,
information.
ONLINE LEARNING– Students are always at a distance even if you have scheduled live meetings.
PORTAL– See Gateway.
PLACE SHIFT– Experiencing instruction at some place away from the live teacher.
SEARCH ENGINE– A program that identifies websites containing user-entered keywords or
containing the protocol type, the domain, the directory, and the name of the site or page.
VIDEO CONFERENCING– Distance teaching using the computer and classroom cameras to both see
and hear your students at a distance.
VIRTUAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS– State-level initiatives that use the Internet for delivery of instruction
and that offer courses or whole programs of study that students can access, including courses that
WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN)- A communications network that covers a large geographic area,
such as a state or country.
WIRELESS NETWORK– Computers connected by radio frequency, microwave, or infrared
technology instead of wires.
WORLD WIDE WEB (THE WEB)- A network of computer networks that allows you to access,
view, and maintain documents that can include text, data, sound, graphics, and video.
INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
Suggested Materials
2. Interview questions
4. Student device and internet
Introduction
Many of today’s learners have experience with distance education and online learning because
they have used the Internet at school and/or at home. Furthermore, they may also have used a
learning management system as part of their higher education experience. Students now need to
take on the role of instructor to think about the issues that they will confront when preparing to
Designing Learning at a Distance
Just as in a traditional classroom, the emphasis in distance learning is student learning. A
distance learning literate teacher designs and facilitates learning, models and promotes
responsible learning, and engages in lifelong learning. In order to facilitate distance learning, the
teacher should be aware of students’ access to technologies and resources.
Suggested activity. In a whole group discussion, have learners share the logistics of their distance
learning experiences. Focus in on the specific learning environments. Example questions may
be: Was a Learning Management System utilized? Was any part of the course synchronous or
blended? Can you see where any of the ISTE standards may have been utilized?
Teaching at a Distance
Suggested activities.
1. Interview teachers and/or PK-12 students to find out what technologies are available to
the students in and outside of the school setting. You may wish to have your students
2. Utilize the list of Web 2.0 tools that were gathered in Chapter 6. Discuss how those tools
could be used in a distance setting. Would they need to be modified?
Advantages of Distance Learning
Suggested Activity. You may wish to have students look at the bulleted list of advantages
included in chapter 7 and “rank” these in order of significant educational impact. This will
encourage discussion and will allow students to better understand the potential benefit of a
distance learning environment.
Limitations of Distance Learning
Suggested Activities.
1. Many of the limitations surrounding distance learning are precipitated by a lack of know-
2. Divide the class into small groups and assign each group one of the limitations listed in
the text. Each group should research and present on how to overcome the limitation.
Integrating Distance Resources into Learning
Suggested Activity. Invite a guest speaker from a local public school to share the types of
technology that are available within the school and within his/her own classroom. Have learners
prepare questions ahead of time for the Q&A portion of the presentation. If possible, also invite
a teacher who works or has worked for a virtual public school. He or she can share experiences
related to student-teacher, student-student, and student-content interactions.
Questions for Thought
Professional development activities for students are included at the end of each chapter. Included
in those activities are opportunities for students to reflect on their learning. You might wish to
expand their reflections by asking questions such as these:
1. What role does each distance education technology play in the learning process?
2. What issues need to be considered by the teacher when developing an educational experience
at a distance? What are the roles of the teacher and the learner when in an online
environment?
3. What types of technologies are appropriate to use with elementary aged children? Middle
school? High school?
4. Why is it important to monitor student use of the Internet/Web with your learners?
5. How will you teach learners about netiquette?
6. How will you stay current on teaching at a distance in an ever-changing field?