Having taught distance education, specifically online,  for many semesters now, I've run into several areas that some students seem to have problems with each semester.  Therefore, I thought I'd put together a list of these and refer you all to them up front to maybe save some headaches later.

New to distance education?

Distance education gives us lots of freedom and flexibility too!  But if you are new to distance education and wondering if it is for you, or want some ideas of the particular challenges you may face, check out the following:

- The 'Frequently Asked Questions' page from the WSU-Distance Degree Programs website (http://www.distance.wsu.edu/prospective/faq.asp)

- A survey that Wenatchee Valley College put together for folks considering distance education there (some of the specific questions won't apply if you aren't at WVC, but the general ideas will) available at: http://www.distance.wsu.edu/prospective/faq.asp. Don't let your results discourage you if you find it suggested that you may not be a good candidate.  Every semeter I have taught, I've had folks who are new to distance ed and intimidated by it, yet by the end of the term are feeling they've had a good (if difficult) experience.  Having said that, do evaluate the areas that you scored poorly in and whether you think you can overcome these obstacles.

Use antivirus software (such as Norton Antivirus, McAfee, etc.) and keep it up-to-date!!  (Recommendations we get here are to update the software weekly, if not daily!)

Any time you need to send a document to someone else - whether using email or submitting it through a website, it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you first save your document in 'rich text' format (which has a '.rtf' file extension, if your computer is set up to allow you to see file extensions).  Rich text is a format that is very transferable across different types of computers and software, and therefore most likely to be readible by the person on the other end.

To do this in MS Word, the general procedure is (may vary depending on version, or if you are using other software):
-Choose 'File' then 'Save As'
-Select 'Rich Text (.rtf)' from the box below the one where you type in the file name
-Then save the file, and you should have it in the desired format.

You can type directly into the large, blank 'text box' below the discussion that you are responding to.

OR

You can copy and paste text that you have typed elsewhere (for example, in MS WORD or other word processor) into the text box.  This is recommended if you have more than a paragraph or two, and/or if you have limited time to be connected online and want to do a lot of your work offline.

To do this in Windows,  highlight the text you want to copy and then you can either click the right button on your mouse or use the keyboard combination of 'Ctrl' and 'c' simultaneously to copy, 'Ctrl' and 'v' together are used to paste. Similar keyboard shortcuts exist for the Mac too.

There are a couple of reasons for using the cut & paste approach. First, if your connection to the internet gets cut off (for example, the connection times out) you have a backup copy on your computer that you can simply recopy from (rather than redoing the whole assignment). Second, you can do your work offline. Also, word processors typically allow you to spell check, etc., which you can't do in most online text boxes.

If you do use the cut & paste approach, don't include any fancy formatting. If you want formatting, you will need to use HTML code (the code used for formatting web pages). Not tough to do, and may be fun for some of you - but not at all necessary.

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For more information about distance degree courses at WSU contact the Distance Degree Program at: http://distance.wsu.edu

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