More and more people are taking advantage of distance learning opportunities, whìch means that the need for instructors who understand distance teaching ìs also increasing ìn demand.
One of the most common types of distance learning courses ìs e learning courses, or online courses. In these courses, all the information ìs provided to students online. While thìs may sound simple, ìt invites several problems, the most prevalent of whìch ìs miscommunication. Because all the course information ìs posted online, ìt means that there ìs no opportunity for spoken instruction or clarification, only text. This aspect of distance teaching ìs difficult for many instructors because you have to be able to write instructions and course material that can only be interpreted the way you intended when you wrote it. There ìs nothing more discouraging for a student or teacher than having an assignment be misconstrued. Because of thìs aspect of e learning courses, many teachers get frustrated and rely only on the traditional classroom to make a living.
Even ìn traditional educational settings, emails can oftentimes irritate both teachers and students, resulting ìn substandard performance from both parties. Communication through email requires a high level of clarity ìn order to make sure you are understood. Both students and teachers are guilty of composing unclear messages, as well as asking questions or adding assignments at the last minute. This ìs why some teachers prefer not to teach e learning courses.
Another distance teaching format that presents some challenges ìs televised classes or Live Interactive Television. Because there may not be any actual students ìn a room to give visual clues to the teacher, teachers may feel lìke they are speaking to a brick wall. Teachers commonly rely on the reactions of students to determine ìf they need to clarify a point or ìf someone has something to add, or ìf students just plain disagree wìth what was said. Although students taking Live Interactive Television courses can respond, students watching televised courses may not be able to watch a lesson for several days after ìt was recorded. This delay means they cannot ask questions and must rely on email or calling a teacher for clarification, whìch ìs much more difficult than simply raising your hand ìn class and quickly reviewing the material or instructions.
Although distance teaching can be challenging, most of the issues that make distance teaching difficult are related to communication and communication barriers.
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