Much has been written about the differences in teaching children and educating adults. Perhaps the easiest way to describe the distance education student is one who does not depend upon an institution to provide them with education in a dedicated place and accepting what others present to them. Rather the distance education student has an identified need for specific knowledge, while not having access to a formal institutional setting to provide it. The distance education student, separated by either time or distance, from the instructor must depend upon some form of technology to receive and send information between himself, other students and the instructor. Most participants of distance education programs are adults, maintain regular employment and take on additional learning programs as a means to personal or professional growth or both. Malcolm Knowles has written much about adult learners and his theory of andragogy, or how adults perceive learning. The following propositions have been developed, which should be considered be any adult who will be involved in learning at a distance:

• While children trust the teacher to define course content, adults need to define it for themselves, or at least to be persuaded that it is relevant to their needs.

• While children accept a dependent relationship with a teacher, adults have a sense of self-direction and personal responsibility.

• Children have little experience to draw on, but adults have a lot, which the appreciate being used as a learning resource, and resent being ignored in favor of other people’s experiences.

• Children will accept the teachers decisions about what to learn, when, where, and how. Adults like to make such decisions for themselves or at least be consulted.

• Children must acquire a lot of information as the basis of life in the future. For adults the future is now; they have a basis of information and see learning as necessary for using it in solving problems in the present.

• Children may need external motivation to make them learn; adults volunteer to learn because of their intrinsic motivation.

This information is presented to help you as a first user of distance education better understand how you might fit into the process. Distance learners must understand that they will be involved in an unfamiliar setting as they pursue new knowledge, skills and attitudes. Learners participating in distance education programs often will not have the availability of normal support groups found in traditional settings. It is important to understand that as a distance learner you will not be isolated or left on your own. Rather, there is in place a sophisticated and well developed support system that includes both emotional, academic and technical support. These are explained in detail in subsequent links.