One of the most important elements in developing a distance education program is providing support for students, faculty and the technology at the remote sites. Students and participants deserve a high quality experience whether in a traditional classroom or hundreds of miles away in a remote classroom. It takes planning and organization, dedication to students, communication and resourcefulness to provide this support.

At Instructional Communications Systems (ICS) we've found that there are some very important steps to keep in mind in developing support networks at distant locations. First, keep in mind that classrooms should be easily accessible with good parking and other services such as fax machines, VCRs, telephones, and even extra phone lines for modems or other communications hardware available nearby. Although you often may not have control over these factors, it is important to find out what facilities are available for your participants. Never assume there is a VCR in the room to run your tape. Always ask in advance.

Once you have rooms and know what is available in them, identify personnel at each site to assist with technical and administrative functions. There may be distance education support staff at some sites, but more commonly, you will need to develop a relationship with a staff person who takes on this assignment as part of another job. Whatever the case may be, it is imperative to involve site support staff with the details of your program or course from the start. Ongoing communication can eliminate misunderstandings and problems from happening as the program progresses.

Once all personnel are identified at each site, collect all the information you can. You'll need to know phone and fax numbers, email addresses for staff you're working with, shipping and mailing addresses, room size and configuration and information about the technology. Keep that information in an easily accessible place. ICS uses a database to store information about our sites and makes that database available to any of our staff who need to access the information including technicians who operate the programs, schedulers, program coordinators and administrators.

Establish understandable procedures and expectations for the class and the sites involved. Make sure those are communicated with the support staff. Having support staff buy into the goals of the class or program is very important to its success. Be sure to share any changes or updates with the sites and ask for their ideas in planning the program.

Set aside time to train the site support staff in the operation of the technology and in the procedures you'll be using for class delivery. They'll need to know how to administer tests, monitor homework, provide library or resource information and deal with emergencies such as power losses, snow storms and line disconnects. Try to think of every possible scenario in advance. It's guaranteed that something unexpected will come along during the class, but with advance training the site coordinators will be better prepared to think clearly and act calmly in the event of an emergency. It is very helpful to provide training for sites using the technology to be used for the class. The staff gets an opportunity to use the technology and have the experience of being a distance education participant.

Constant communication before your program begins, and for the duration of the course, is vital. ICS uses several methods to keep in contact with more than 200 remote sites. Over 100 ETN sites receive weekly mailings with updates on program changes, schedules and information sheets describing each program. Sites are contacted regularly to update site information. The 72 WisSat satellite downlink sites also receive regular mailings with updates and program information. We have listservs for the compressed video and WisSat sites and email lists for WisView audiographics sites to keep them informed. Everything is also available on the Web for immediate access to the most current information.

Provide easy ways for sites to communicate back to you in the event of emergencies, problems and questions. ICS has a special 800 number for use by students, sites and others. That phone number is published in every piece of information given to students and site support staff and is placed on microphones and other equipment. Encourage sites to have a phone in each distance education classroom for staff and student convenience. If that's not possible, then there should be access to a nearby phone during class time. Always be very clear about who to contact in the event of problems and emergencies and make sure your staff is clear about how to handle trouble calls internally. The ICS 800 number goes directly to the control room technicians, so they can begin correcting any problems immediately.

Keeping in mind these tips and keeping open lines of communication between instructor, administrators and the site coordinators and technicians will help ensure a positive experience for you and your participants.