Attributes of successful distance learners

1. ATTRIBUTES OF
SUCCESSFUL DISTANCE
LEARNERS
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2. INTRODUCTION
There are many attributes that a person should have to be a successful distance
learner. These include, but are not limited to:
 General Abilities (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012)
 Responsibility (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012; Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, 2012)
 Self-disciplined, self-motivated, a self-starter, and self-reliant (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, &
Zvacek, 2012; University of Otago, 2014)
 Perseverance (Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, 2012)
 Organization and time management skills (Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, 2012)
 Strong reading and writing skills (Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, 2012; University of Otago, 2014)
 Understanding one’s learning style (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012)
 Willingness to bring prior experience and knowledge into the educational
setting (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012)
 Open-mindedness (University of Otago, 2014)
Having these attributes will not guarantee success as a distance learner, but they
certainly will not hurt the student’s chances of being successful.
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3. INTRODUCTION (CONTINUED)
 Charles Wedemeyer stated that independence of the student
was the key to distance learning (Simson, Smaldino, Albright &
Zvacek, 2012).
 Wedemeyer’s system says that the student should “be capable
of operation anyplace where there are students – or even only
one student – whether or not there are teachers at the same
place at the same time” (Simson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek,
2012).
 Student independence is very present in this course.
 The student can work anywhere and at any time.
 The student is completely responsible for the completion of the
course.
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4. GENERAL ABILITIES
The student should possess several general abilities that will help
them succeed as a distance learner. They are:
 Cognitive abilities to be able to comprehend the material
 The ability to follow instructions to complete assignments
 Technical know-how to use the computer to complete
assignments and ultimately the course with a minimum of
technical difficulties
 Good communication skills
 Willingness to work with others - along with communication skills
will enable students to gain as much knowledge as possible from
their coursework
Reference for the entire slide: (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012)
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5. RESPONSIBILITY
There are several responsibilities for which the student must
be accountable. They are:
 Accepts responsibility for their own learning
 Recognizes that they need to know what is expected of
them (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012)
 Takes responsibility to communicate clearly with the other
students in the class as well as the teacher
 Takes responsibility to know when to ask for help and
actually asks for the help
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6. SELF-DISCIPLINED, SELF MOTIVATED,
SELF-STARTER, AND SELF-RELIANT
The student needs to be self-disciplined, self-motivated, a self-
starter, and self-reliant. The learner needs to be:
 Self-disciplined to focus and complete tasks on time (Simonson, Smaldino,
Albright, & Zvacek, 2012)
 Motivated to do the work and be eager to participate in the class
 A self-starter that can start and finish tasks on their own
 Self-reliant and have the confidence in themselves and their
abilities and the ability to work independently (University of Otago, 2014).
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7. PERSEVERANCE
Students need perseverance to be successful. This means that the
learner must:
 Be the type of student that finishes what they start, no matter how
hard they think it is.
 Be willing to admit when they do not understand what is
expected and contact either the instructor or a classmate for
assistance
 Know that just giving up on the assignment would not be helpful
to passing a class.
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8. ORGANIZATION AND TIME
MANAGEMENT SKILLS
To be a successful distance learner, students must:
 Be organized and manage their time in an efficient
manner (Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, 2012)
 Posses time management skills that allow the student to
set aside time each week to complete their work
 Learn to prioritize everything in their life (Macon & Shahani, 1990).
Without organizational skills, the student could become lost
very easily and have trouble completing assignments.
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9. STRONG READING AND WRITING
SKILLS
Strong reading and writing skills are necessary for successful
completion of a distance learning course (Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute,
2012; University of Otago, 2014).
 Strong reading skills enable the student to read and comprehend
the discussions, assignments, and projects assigned to them
 Writing skills are essential to completing the discussions,
assignments, and projects because most of them are in the form
of a written paper or presentation
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10. UNDERSTANDING LEARNING STYLE
 The student knowing and understanding their learning style is
important to their success as a distance learner (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, &
Zvacek, 2012).
 This can help with the selection of courses, if the student has a
choice.
 In the case of a required course, the student can look for ways
the course can be suited to their learning style.
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11. WILLINGNESS TO BRING PRIOR EXPERIENCE
AND KNOWLEDGE AND OPENMINDEDNESS
 A student's life and work experiences color their educational
experience, especially in a distance setting (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek,
2012)
 Experience levels range from prior distance education experience to
no experience with the internet at all
 The student needs to know that their experience counts
 All students bring a prior knowledge (even if it is just a little) of the
subject being taught
 The student needs to know that their prior knowledge can help them
be a successful learner
 Students must be open-minded about sharing their life, work
experiences, and educational experiences (University of Otago, 2014)
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12. CONCLUSION
 A person’s general abilities and many other factors define their
success as a distance education student.
 A student must remain open-minded about sharing life, work,
and educational experiences in a distance setting.
 Without sharing some personal details, instructors and other
students cannot get to know the student.
 In a traditional setting, the instructor can look for visible cues to
gauge understanding. That is not possible in a distance learning
scenario.
 Each student determines their own level of success.
Thanks to
http://www.odec.ca

13. REFERENCE
 Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute. (2012). Distance
learning success. Retrieved from
http://www.ccti.edu/DL/Success.htm#page=page-1
 Macon, T. H., & Shahani, C. (1990). College students’ time management:
Correlations with academic performance and stress. Journal of
Educational Psychology 82(4) 760-768.
 Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching
and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. Boston:
Pearson Education.
 University of Otago. (2014). Attributes of highly successful distance
students. Retrieved from
http://www.otago.ac.nz/courses/distance_study/otago029904.html