Your readings in this lesson focus on the student in a distance learning environment. Your chapter discusses an overall view of the learner with an emphasis on learner traits, factors influencing learner success, learner responsibilities, as well as the various generations of learners that might all be present in a distance learning course. In addition to reading chapter 7, we will focus in on the learner from two perspectives: 1) What you should know about your learners' learning styles and 2) What you can do in the design phase of instruction to enhance motivation and increase self-regulation. At times it may seem that when distance learners are discussed, they are described as a particular “type.” Assumptions can be made that because they are distance learners that they are already “self-starters” and “appear to be highly motivated” (Smaldino, et al., 2013, p. 221). Were that the rule on distance learner characteristics, then all discussions about distance learners would be positive and all institutions would scramble to provide distance learning because the learners “start” and “motivate” themselves. Of course this is not the case. Some learners find themselves taking distance courses because their work requires it or there is no other way to take a particular course they need or want or maybe their work and family schedule prevents a traditional approach, or maybe they simply have no other options. Distance learners come from varied age groups, cultural and academic backgrounds. A better strategy than simple assumptions when it comes to analyzing your learners is to try to understand more how learners learn. Then, no matter what the circumstances are that lead learners to distance learning courses, the chances of their needs being met or becoming better learners is far greater.

Chapter 7 states “When the individual is considered, characteristics such as attitude or interest, prior experiences, cognitive abilities, and learning styles will all have an impact” (Smaldino, et al., 2012, p. 219-220).

As you design your instruction, you will perform a learner analysis. No matter what instructional design model you have chosen, a leaner analysis should be part of the process. It is good to be aware of the variables that affect learning the most and how we, as instructional designers (or as part of the design team) might use that information to improve individual learning experiences. Dick, Carey, and Carey (2008) identify several characteristics of the learner that should be considered.

• Knowledge, Skill, and Ability - What is the learner's prior knowledge and skill level? What are the general ability levels of the learners? For an online course, module or lesson, what are the learner's technology skills?
• Attitudes Toward Content and Potential Delivery System - What are the learners' attitudes about the topic and how it might be delivered? Does the learner have any preconceived notions? (For example, online education is lower quality; people in general do not do well in research and statistics)
• Attitudes Toward Training Organization - How do the learners feel about the organization providing the training? Do they have a positive view of management and peers, or are they cynical about leadership?
• Motivation - How motivated are learners to learn? What is there level of interest? And how much is it likely to interest them? How relevant is the instructional goal to the learner?
• General Learning Preferences - What types of learning approaches do the learners prefer? Do they prefer lecture, discussion, individual, case study, small-group?

In the web-based environment, it is especially important to consider learner's technological skills and in design aim to serve the lowest common denominator. It is also important to consider the learners' knowledge and skills to navigate the delivery platforms and technologies integrated into the course, for tutorials and technological support may need to be planned.

This may seem like a lot of information to collect about your learners, but it can aid you immensely in providing more meaningful learning experiences for them. You may already know some of the information, but much of it should be culled by talking directly with learners, instructors, and managers and by visiting classrooms, training facilities, and the learners' actual workplace. Other helpful methods include surveys, questionnaires, and pretests. The list of learner characteristics you end up with will be used throughout the remainder of the design process to make decisions regarding the various steps. It will help you determine the objectives (next step), as well as play a major role in the instructional strategies you employ later on.

In addition to your chapter reading, we will discuss in more depth: learning styles, self-regulated learning and student motivation.

Terry Kidd (Kidd, 2010, p. 29-30) discusses in her book, Online education and adult learning: New frontiers for teaching practices, an evolution she is noticing in her higher Ed adult learners:

"Students' post class reflections revealed thoughts that were similar to those with previous on-line experience but also revealed some serious analysis of the experience and their learning. One reflected, "I was more focused in a self-led learning environment. The lack of dependence on face-to-face communication allowed me to think in abstract ways and make me push myself to work hard and innovate in order to understand the information the professor provided." Another noted that "the extent of learning was totally reliant on my self- discipline and initiative and that in itself can be a great development experience for individuals!" Another student indicated that she had started the course on campus but "felt that the course needed more time to respond to questions in a more thoughtful manner and I am the type of learner that needs more time to think about questions and be able to respond to them in a way that I may see my responses". Other students using Blackboard's discussion board for threaded discussions often made similar comments. Sometimes students for whom English is a second language commented that this methodology gave them the added time to translate a posting, reflect on it, structure a response and check for proper English. It gave them the opportunity to be more confident in their posting. Yet another comment addressed the personal relationships that can be difficult to mitigate on line. "Given the really challenging group dynamics that surfaced (without the possible feeling of accountability that may be a product of face-to face) I much prefer a classroom based course."

We see here several examples of how distance education meets the needs of some and not others. It is important to know that some students “evolve” and some do not. But I believe it is fair to say that many are not born distance learners. We need to consider this when designing for distance learning and understand the motivation behind the learners we analyze and design for. As designers we should know that it is not the distance that we will use to motivate the learner and not the technology that delivers the content itself. There is more to our learners than that. We should seek to understand how people learn and design towards that.

According to Glasser (1988), students who are interested in what they are learning are motivated to pursue learning experiences of ever-increasing complexity and difficulty. There is also a significant correlation between students' interest in the learning content and their willingness to persevere in learning tasks that are momentarily not interesting.

Your readings include chapter 7, 1 paper on self-regulated learning and how it can be taught, 1 paper on how to design for motivation and two links that include very helpful information about Gagne's 9 Levels of Learning and a discussion of Felder and Soloman's Index of Learning Styles.

Chapter 7 - Teaching and Learning at a Distance, “The Student and Distance Education”
READ: Paper 1 - Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview
READ: Paper 2 - Integrating Instructional and Motivational Design
READ: Gagne’s Nine Levels of Learning
READ: Learning Styles
Optional Reading: Motivational Design for Learning and Performance - This is a wonderful resource you can download from the VT library. Keller’s ARCS motivational model is discussed in paper 2. This book, by Keller, gives detailed explanations and descriptions that will prove to be helpful in this and future instructional design study whether it is distance learning or not. Even if you do not want to read it now, you may want to download it to have for future reference.

After reviewing the website link on Learning Styles and watching the short video on the site, take a moment to take the Learning Styles test. Take a screen shot of your results and include the shot image and the following in your response:

Screen shot example:

1) What did you find interesting about your results?

2) What might you do personally to help balance your own learning style to enhance your own learning?

3) How can you apply this knowledge to your own lesson design? (What might you include in your content or instructional plan to include the several possible learning styles your learners will bring to your lesson?)

(This response should be in MS Word (or similar) and should be submitted together with Assignments 8.2 & 8.3.)

1) How does Gagne’s 9 Levels relate to what you read in Paper 2?

2) How does what you read in paper 1 inspire you in your current lesson design?

(This response should be in MS Word (or similar) and should be submitted at the same time as Assignments 8.1 & 8.3.)

Assignment 8.3 is as follows:

In Assignment 6.3 & 7.3 you were asked to consider many of the various elements that form the development a distance education program. In this part of assignment 8.3 you will still be compiling the information in the chart below for your final project report.

For this assignment 8.3, please submit a rough-draft of the highlighted sections of your Needs Assessment & Process Planning as they relate to your final project planning. Your rough draft should be thorough enough to invite adequate feedback (should include 2-3 ideas for each topic that relate directly to your final project) but it may remain in a rough draft form. Please use each topic as a separate heading in the document you turn in.

18 Points Possible

6 – Submission includes notes on the following aspects of the over-all distance learning course design: Planning Stages, Assessment.
6 – Notes are thorough enough (should include 2-3 ideas for each topic that relate directly to the final project) to invite adequate feedback on the final paper.
6 – Notes include references from the text as well as outside sources that are cited at the end of the document.

When you have completed all three assignments (8.1, 8.2 &8.3) please submit them all at the same time in a single document. At the top of your document you should have the lesson name, and underneath that should be your name, email address, and the date. Your paper should be double spaced using a standard font such as Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman. Most formatting questions can be resolved by using the APA Publication Manual guidelines. Make sure you have saved your file with the name “Assignment8”. After you have saved you file, go to the student interface and submit your assignment for grading. Click here if you need additional information regarding submission of your assignment.