Sue Faust, Distance Education Specialist
Instructional Communications Systems

In this article, I'd like to address the concept of 'forging' relationships in distance education settings as a tool for developing a sense of community and reducing the sense of isolation experienced by some learners. Distance education research and texts often advocate the use of personalization techniques to reduce the sensation of isolation and 'transactional' distance from instructor and fellow learners. Dillon and Walsh (1992) refer to these personalization techniques as "immediacy behaviors" and include in this category teaching techniques such as the use of first names, relating content to personal and professional experiences of students, vocal variety, praise, smiling, and encouraging discussion.

My use of the phrase 'forging relationships' broadens the concept of personalization to include concerted, focused efforts to allow learners and teacher alike to get to know one another in a way that goes beyond the traditional learner-teacher roles. It requires a focus on the dialogue variable that Moore lists as one of the basic elements in the distance education process. (1996) The kind of learner information usually gathered as part of a classroom experience is predictable; past education and professional experience, perhaps degree being sought, or commonly shared information such as marital status and number of children. Let's broaden that in a way that is fun, caring, and draws upon the personal nature of each learner.

But yet research tells us the nature of the distance education learner is very rich. Generally speaking, Thompson (1998) describes this learner as being older than the typical undergraduate student, female, often employed full time, and married. Moore also alludes to the richness of the distance education learner, describing them as students who "know a lot about life, the world, themselves, interpersonal relations...." (154, 1992) Thus they bring to the process of learning at a distance a wealth of personal and professional experiences that stem from the many life roles they play in addition to the student role.

Let me share some examples of the kinds of information I encourage faculty to explore, in an effort to know learners in a broader manner. While they may sound trite in nature, the very fact they are so can introduce lightness and informality, thus creating a more relaxed atmosphere, thus more conducive to participation. Find lighthearted characteristics about your learners, and announce a new detail weekly. And keep in mind that learners can initiate this also. You may wish to require two remote sites to communicate with each other and discover interesting details about one another.

Find out such tidbits as:

• Ice cream flavor preferred most by learners
• Children: Did anyone's son or daughter soccer team just win the local championship? Win the spelling Bee? Again a courtesy to acknowledge this.
• Children again - how do they feel about their parent taking classes?
• Any new grandchildren?
• Participant pets: Most unusual pet? Does someone have six cats?
• Where were learners born? Anyone born in the same city?
• How many people drive Ford automobiles? How about GM cars?
• Relate content to personal experience. What was the most challenging nursing position a learner held?
• What made the learner decide to participate in a distance education class?

All of these informal details can be used to demonstrate what learners have in common with one another, as well as highlight learner uniqueness. In getting to know one another in a broader sense, fellow learners become real people dealing with similar student and life issues; no longer just faceless or voiceless participants from the electronic distance.

And there are often serious issues that learners must deal with in the course of everyday life. For example:

• Life roles and work issues. Suggest that learners share via email their response to the following: "This week I am concerned about (fill in the blank), and this may affect my ability participate effectively this week." Review these concerns with sensitivity, and where appropriate and with permission, share concerns with class as a whole.

Learners should share concerns about sick children, parents, work issues, ill pets, or cars that break down. These issues can not always be pushed aside until course readings or papers are complete. Acknowledgment and encouragement from teacher and fellow learners alike demonstrates concern.

I suggest that the greater understanding between teacher and learner alike can contribute to the effectiveness of the distance learning experience in several ways:

• Through enhanced personal knowledge of one another, increase the sense of comfort a distance learner feels not only with the instructor but also with fellow students. What is really being developed is a 'social presence' for learners and teacher alike; something Short, Williams, and Christie (1976) describe as the degree to which an individual is seen as a real person in a distance education class.
• Increase participation as a result of being comfortable with and knowledgeable about one's fellow class participants.
• Strengthen a sense of community and cohesion between learners and teacher alike. Brookfield (p.55, 1990) points out that when you ask students to name the most critical factor in surviving an education experience, they will point to the sense of community that existed within the class.

Let me share an example of this approach. In a recent videoconferencing-training workshop conducted by our unit (Instructional Communications Systems, University of Wisconsin-Extension) we showed several postcards from the Madison area with the document camera. Not to be outdone, one of the remote sites spontaneously began maneuvering the document camera to show the New York City skyline from a window. We were excited with this response; they effectively used equipment features such as creating and focusing new camera shots with no prompting from us as workshop facilitators.

It must be acknowledged that learners will have different abilities and desires to relate to one another on a more personal nature. This preference needs to be respected, of course. Obviously learners will vary in the degree to which their learning is enhanced by a social dimension. But for those learning at a distance who miss the sense of 'community' that may come with a face to face classroom, perhaps my suggestions will enhance their learning experience.

References

Brookfield, Stephen (1990). The Skillful Teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Dillon, C.L. and S.M. Walsh (1992). Faculty: The neglected resource in distance education. The American Journal of Distance Education 6(3):5-21.

Moore, M., & Kearsley, G. (1996). Distance Education: A Systems View. New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Short,J., E. Williams, and B. Christie (1976). The Social Psychology of Telecommunications. London: John Wiley & Sons.

Thompson, M. (1998). Distance Learners in Higher Education. In C. Gibson (Ed.), Distance Learners in Higher Education, (pp.9-24), Atwood Publishing,Madison, Wisconsin