If you look at Webster's definitions of support, you'll find among them the two noted above. Another definition of support is "to endure bravely" - something that support staff do day in and day out in the wake of emerging technologies and constantly changing situations.

Those of us who have been involved in distance education know that every area of support needs to be an integral part of every educational session. It needs to be integrated into the distance education plan from the beginning and it needs to be covered in the budget. Without support, effective programming just isn't possible. In the first article in the Support Series, we looked at the many areas of support in distance learning: scheduling, technical, instructional design, site, faculty, student, resources and special needs support. In the following articles, we focused specifically on the areas of Faculty and Student Support, Site Support and Library Resources. This month, Bob Oehlkers describes another type of support that, perhaps, you hadn't thought of - Informal Support.

Next month, to complete the series, we'll be compiling your Support Solutions, Ideas and Tips for the FOCUS article. So...

*What solutions, ideas and tips have you found most effective in the critical area of Distance Learning Support?*

We'll be grouping them into four categories: Faculty Support, Student Support, Site Support and Resources Support. Send to: lehman@ics.uwex.edu and then look for them in the October FOCUS article. (Rosemary Lehman)