Distance learning was initially thought to be an educational solution for the underprivileged and those with a full-time job. The recent rise of the personal computer has changed the face of distance learning considerably. Unfortunately the necessity of owning a personal computer may have excluded the underprivileged but it has simultaneously expanded opportunity for the other group. Colleges across the world are offering numerous courses taught entirely over the World Wide Web (WWW). This has led to the idea of the non-standard student. The non-standard student can still be an adult with a full-time job but can also be a mother with children at home, and even a traditional student seeking to supplement his or her current academic program. This webpage will serve as an examination of the issues involved in the creation of online courses as they relate to considerations of hardware, software, and web design.

According to Herb Bethoney's, A Primer on E-courses., the first part of creating a web-based course is a needs analysis. This would please Dr. Jakob Nielsen, leading critic and supporter of web usability. One of Neilsen's most common criticisms is that web designers do not do user research when they develop pages. According to Bethoney, when creating an online course, research can lead to a more effective design and save money by predicting what programs will be necessary for the scope of the course, which will in turn reduce the need to for costly upgrades.

Deciding on what hardware and software to use and how to implement it is the first obstacle. Some of the problems as cited in Ingrid J. Boutsen's Hyperlab: A Universal Provider System and an Interactive Test Bench for Distance Learning. The need for high speed links and the ability to run unrealistic hardware and software is a problem. All students can't be expected to own powerful computers that are fully updated with the latest software, which also run the specific software needed for the course. Distribution of this software would be too expensive because each student would require a licensed copy. The article discusses how in the creation of a web-based engineering lab, these problems were overcome. The creators opted to put all the necessary software on the server. Students would then be provided with a username and password to access the server. When doing so they in a sense "take-over" the server's screen on which the application is running and they have a direct connection to a learning institution that may be three thousand miles away.

The next thing that needs to be developed is the actual web design and layout for the course. This also includes elements such as chat rooms, instant messaging, and threaded responses. They provide interactivity, a key part of any distance learning course. In a sense, interactivity, is a replacement for in-class discussion, yet has so much more potential. Many distance learning classes over-compensate for the lack of physical interaction by providing multiple avenues for student and teacher interaction in the electronic envirorment. It seems that this stands to benefit the student by making participation mandatory. In an Abnormal Psychologyclass provided by the SUNY Learning Network, students were obligated to discuss the material for each module on a message board. Their posts and responses were a significant part of their grade. These discussions began rather timidly but soon blossomed into in-depth posts about subject matter where students shared opinions and resouces.

In terms of straight-forward page layout, Nielsen has some more wise advice. "You cannot take something that's written for print and put it on screen. Even thinking of a Web site as a magazine or publications is wrong," he says. In the paper Distance Learning for Criminal Justice Professionals..., specific guildlines are provided for page layout:

Design, Development, and Updating

Text should not be academic or appear converted, it must be developed with the intent of stimulating the reader to draw connections to the other course materials and should be scrutinized approximately every 18 months.

Page and Unit Design

There should be no more than 300 words per standard sized page with small paragraphs and more white space than textbooks.

Stopper

Text boxes should be included to insert relevant materials (i.e. comments, questions) that will stimulate the students.

Sources

Use it or Lose it.

A Primer on E-Courses.

Distance Learning for Criminal Justice Professionals in the United Kingdom: development, quality assurance and pedagogical properties.

Hyperlab: a universal provider system and an interactive test bench for distance learning.

SUNY Learning Network

Abnormal Psychology