August 31 is World Distance Learning Day. September 15 is National Online Learning Day. Digital Learning Day usually is recognized in February, but it has been observed in March, too. In addition to distance, online, and digital, other words for technology-delivered education are remote, virtual, or correspondence. So how do we know which word(s) to use and why does it matter? According to regulations from the United States Department of Education, online courses are classified as either distance or correspondence. Distinguishing which online courses qualify as distance education and which ones are correspondence feels a bit like being a panelist on the television game show, To Tell the Truth.
To Tell the Truth, has aired on and off in the United States since the 1950s. In that game show, a panel of celebrities asks questions to try and figure out which contestant is the authentic person and which ones are the imposters. All the contestants claim to be the authentic person, but only one is telling the truth. The authentic person has to answer questions truthfully, but the imposters are coached ahead of time to try and fool the panelists asking the questions. After the question period, each panelist says who they think is the authentic person. Then the host says, “Will the real [fill in the name] please stand up?” The key for panelists to make a proper identification is in the questions they ask and knowing what the right answers should be. The same goes for discerning if an online course is distance education or if it is correspondence.
Why does it matter?
When it comes to online learning, there are authentic distance education courses, but sometimes there are imposters. Because the U.S. Department of Education unequivocally states that correspondence courses are not distance education, it’s important to know the differences between those two types of online learning. On the game show To Tell the Truth, panelists usually get a good laugh when the real person stands up and they realize they’ve been fooled. But when it comes to education, being fooled into thinking that correspondence courses are distance education is no laughing matter because it can have ramifications regarding academic credit and financial aid.
The content of correspondence and distance education courses might be the same, but the quality of online courses is not determined by content alone. Two different online courses could use the same textbook, videos, quizzes, tests, and assignments, but how each course is delivered within the context of instructor activity is a determining factor that helps differentiate distance education from correspondence courses.
How can you tell the difference?
The U.S. Department of Education has provided definitions and guidelines for distinguishing distance education from correspondence courses. Assuming that an online course’s content is at the appropriate level for higher education and the school offering that content meets the requirements to be a higher education institution, we still need to investigate the role of an instructor in the course to determine if it is distance or correspondence. Below are three questions to help get us started.
Is there an active instructor?
Sometimes instructors are listed in online courses because they created the course material. But simply being the author of the material or the person in the recorded videos does not make them the active instructor. An active instructor is someone who teaches the content regardless if they created it or not. Teaching involves having direct contact with students taking the course. If there is no active instructor, then it is a correspondence course. But if there is an active instructor who is interacting with students and facilitatively teaching the material, then it’s possible it could be distance education, and we should proceed to the next question.
Is the active instructor qualified to teach the course?
A qualified instructor is someone who meets the requirements of an institution’s accrediting agency. The Higher Learning Commission details what those requirements are and stipulates that the
qualified instructor must be directly involved in teaching the course. However, sometimes online courses list a qualified instructor, but someone else is actually interacting with students and facilitatively teaching the material who does not meet the requirements of a qualified instructor. If we establish that an online course has a qualified instructor who is active in the course, we should proceed to the next question.
Is the active, qualified instructor substantively and regularly interacting with, monitoring, and assessing students?
To be considered appropriately active, a qualified instructor has to initiate interaction with students along with monitoring and evaluating their progress throughout the online course. If there are no opportunities for students to interact with instructors or interaction is mostly initiated by students, then it is a correspondence course. If communication from instructors is only through one-way methods, such as posting announcements or discussion prompts, then it is a correspondence course. If instructors do not monitor student progress and evaluate student work, then it is a correspondence course. To qualify as distance education, there must be regular and substantive interaction with a qualified instructor.
Not all online courses are the same. Some are distance education and some are correspondence. Students and teachers need to know the difference so they aren’t surprised when the real distance education stands up.