Towards that end, we have developed this handbook to assist those designing and presenting distance learning courses at Montana State University. Congratulations, by participating in a distance learning course, you are helping to shape the future of higher education. We appreciate your interest in distance learning and are committed to supporting your efforts. Although some aspects of the design and pedagogy of distance learning courses are similar to those found in traditional classrooms,many are subtly different. The following paragraphs highlight the most significant differences and present some suggestions for those developing NTEN courses.
Every good teacher takes time to find out something about their students.
However, knowing your audience takes on an additional importance when planning an NTEN distance learning course. All of the students participating in the classes on NTEN are in-service high school teachers. The more that you know about their backgrounds, expectations and constraints, the better you will be able to structure your course. The ideal NTEN telecourse student will already know much about the subject matter being presented, be highly motivated, skilled at questioning, communicating, a seasoned educator and have ample amounts of time to devote to the course. Of course, they will also be comfortable working with computers and technology and be able to learn new software packages with ease.