Distance Learning Workshop

Howdy folks!

I am going to be doing a workshop on distance learning at an upcoming convention. It'll be a 50 minute long session. I've been putting together materials for it, and I wanted to ask you for some assistance.

My target audience is going to be split into two groups: 1) middle-aged to retired business folks and 2) traditional brick and mortar college students.

While I do have a decent amount of experiences with distance learning, I'd love to hear from you about what you wish you had known BEFORE you started a DL program.

Also, if you have any suggestions as to things I should include in the workshop, please feel free to share!

Thanks,
Matt

 

Comparison of Formats and Accreditation

Potential students should know about the various formats, such as paper and web correspondence, interactive programs like eCollege and Blackboard, and testing for credit like Clep, Dantes, and institutional exams like Ohio University, TESC or Excelsior Offer. I might also include something on degree and university selection, including professional versus liberal arts, proprietary versus non-profit and national versus regional accreditation, along with professional accreditors for certain fields like engineering. I'd mention the variety of pricing schemes, and how you might pay 5k or 50k for the same credential. Finally, I'd talk about course selection and preparing for graduate school, including topics like meeting grad-school prerequisites and obtaining letters of recommendation from professors you’ve never met in person.