Online support and resources are required to foster a meaningful distance learning environment; it imperative in an eLearning situation that learners have access to instructional, counseling, and technical support.
Depending on the pedagogy of the learning framework in which the eLearning is designed, and in combination with the fact that not all students will need and/or want support services, it is difficult to determine the exact levels of learner support needed at various stages of the program. However, Fritsch recommends that following general phases of learner support be available and implemented as necessary:
Information Phase - Decision/ Sales
Guidance Phase - Admissions/ Long-term plans
Registration Phase - Financial/ Administration
Integration Phase - Orientation/ Pedagogy
Help Desk - Technical Troubleshooting
Learning Phase - Social/ Instructional/ Resources
Final Results Phase - Assessments/ Career Counseling
Fritsch gives us a range of areas in which learners may require support, and strengthens the notion that "learner support is defined as all those elements capable of responding to a known learner (...) before, during, or after the learning process."(Thorpe, 2002)
For additional resources, check out: Christopher Pappas, eFront: Refreshing Learning Tools blog, "e-Learning Programs' Support Services to Learners" post.
References:
Fritsch, H. (2003) The role of student support services in e-learning (Hagen, FernUniversitat ZIFF Papiere 121).
Thorpe, M. (2002). Rethinking Learner Support: the challenge of collaborative online learning. The Open University, Institute of Educational Technology, UK. Vol. 17, No. 2.
