More recently, doctoral student Carol Davis turned to 18 North Dakota spiritual leaders for their advice on distance education. To her surprise, they too embraced the technology although they specified material that should not be shared. The results of her research are included in this issue. The student-centered SKC model is being watched by other tribal colleges. Tribally-designed distance education programs may resemble traditional Native American ways of educating the young, with teachers acting as mentors and guides.
Effective teaching is difficult.
Teaching students of a different culture is even more difficult. Over the past 30 years, the tribal colleges have built their success on their administrators and instructors passionate, personal commitment to their students. Legends abound of tribal college presidents one loaned her personal car to a student to drive to a job interview, another took a midnight flight back from Washington to see his students championship ball game. For asynchronous, Internet-based distance education, students participate individually, from their homes, whenever they can, not necessarily synchronous with their instructor or classmates. This technology requires highly motivated students who have strong writing ability.