THE DESIGN AND ORGANIZATION OF DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSES ARE BOTH IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS since the learner is usually separate from the instructor by distance, time, or both. Learners need an organized structure, or they can become lost. Although each type of media requires specific design considerations, there are some general guidelines to follow. There are six basic characteristics to consider when designing courses and selecting a technology for delivery. Designing courses for the international market requires awareness of the culture, values, and politics of that country.

Effective design is based on a framework like the ADDIE Model. Although different design considerations will apply depending upon the type of distance education course and its media of communication, there are six characteristics to keep in mind when designing courses and selecting a technology for delivery.

For detailed information on designing for specific media, check these sites:

Instructional Design

Instructional Development Guide 

The effectiveness of course design will depend upon the media selected to communicate the content. Therefore, media selection "must be content-driven rather than technology-driven" (Moore & Kearsley, 1996). Each medium has its strengths and weaknesses. These must be kept in mind when matching the medium to the learning environment. 

Courses designed in North America and imported to other nations often carry American values and cultural assumptions which may not be shared by another country. Not all nations share our values of individualism, secularism and feminism, but place higher value on group support, religion, and specified gender roles. Course designers need to become aware of any implicit cultural or social bias contained in the content of courses as well as implied by the ISD model itself.

As Farhad Saba, Ph.D. points out, "the transfer of technology to an underdeveloped country is a political act." Designers must first understand the political, social, and cultural context of a nation before succeeding in meeting people's needs and objectives. 

McIsaac, M. S., & Gunawardena, C. (1996). Distance education. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research for educational communications and technology (p. 148). New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan. 
Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (1996). Distance education: A systems view.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Nancy Pickett, Educational Technology Graduate Student, SDSU