ISBN:  Unavailable

Category: Unavailable

Page count: 248

The purpose of this study was to discover the major elements of effective distance instruction. The participants in the study were 525 students enrolled in North Taiwanese colleges and universities who had experience in asynchronous distance instruction. A student questionnaire of affecting factors in asynchronous distance instruction was the instrument for the study. The questionnaire identified five major elements in asynchronous distance instruction, namely abundant material design, the strategies of the course activities, learners' management style, the technological knowledge of the learner, the quality of the system and the Internet. Results indicated that the quality of the system and the Internet were the most important elements of this type of instruction. Demographic variables also affected the results. The findings specifically indicated that learners' management style had a significant relationship with gender. Additionally, age differences affected the responses received in the categories of learners' management style, material design, and technological knowledge.