Distance education schools have been around for some time, in one form or another, but is still a relatively new concept for some students. People are far better acquainted with the traditional class form, where students meet on campus at set times each week and participate in face-to-face interaction with their classmates and instructors. Distance learning schools offer a very different experience, but that doesn’t mean that students are completely isolated or alone in their studies. There are a variety of ways that they will interact with both other students and their professors.

Distance learning is a somewhat less straightforward educational path. Students might be transferring credits from courses they have taken at other institutions, gaining credits through CLEP or DSSTs, taking time off, and generally devising their own schedules. It is crucial, therefore, that students work closely with an advisor to be sure they are on track for their degree.

Despite the fact that distance learning students and their instructors are in different locations, the instructor still plays a vital role in the student’s educational experience. The most common form of communication between teacher and student will be email. Students need to become proficient at using an email program, as it might be the most frequently utilized program in the student’s suite of necessary tools.

There are many benefits to communicating with professors via email. For one, students are able to pose questions at any hour of the day. They don’t have to wait after class or show up early to gain a few minutes of the teacher’s time. They also don’t have to be available during the teacher’s limited office hours. Because the communication is written as opposed to verbal, students can spend more time phrasing their questions, and will likely receive better information in response. While sending an email is immediate, response times might not be. Teachers have busy schedules just as students do, and they should be allowed a reasonable amount of time in which to reply. Teachers will often include a note in their syllabus about how quickly students can expect responses.

Email will also be used to communicate with fellow students. Students attending distance learning schools may be required to work on group projects, despite being located all over the world. Telephone communication is possible, but is not as easy as email due to costs, scheduling conflicts, and time-zone issues. Students might be required to write a paper together, create a multimedia presentation, or even conduct one of the lectures. It is not as tricky a proposition as it sounds. For example, two students could work together, jointly moderating and leading a chat-room discussion on a topic relevant to the class. They might have emailed their notes to each other and planned in advance which themes and questions they’d like to bring up during the chat. Another group might be working on a multimedia lecture together. With the right equipment, they could each record a segment of the lesson and embed the videos in the presentation. One student might work on the graphic design while another writes up the text that will appear as another part of the lesson. Because students do not have to find a time when they can all meet in person, working in a group in a distance learning class can often be easier than a traditional class structure.

A distance learning course might require students to be online at the same time to participate in a live colloquium or chat. In this case, the instructor or a fellow student could lead a guided discussion about a particular topic. It is not enough to simply log in to the chat and read it as it goes by. As in a classroom roundtable discussion, all students are expected to be engaged in the discussion and offer feedback. Instead of a real-time chat, students might participate in blackboard or forum discussions. Teachers can pose questions, hand out assignments, and engage in all manner of discussion points and topics. Students will then reply, offering answers, posing more questions, or maybe posting essays or research they’ve done. All of these posts appear in a central, online location that can be accessed at any time. Students can read and post as it suits their schedules.

Because there is often a lack of lecture time in distance learning schools, students can expect to be doing a lot of reading on their own. They might still be required to buy textbooks, and at the very least, the teacher will provide the students with study guides, reading material, and perhaps a reading list. Independent reading forms a large part of the distance learning method.