This article addresses the issue of quality in distance education programs in terms of how such courses are designed and taught. Findings indicate that teachers are an essential component in the efficacy of such courses. Educators must develop a new set of technical and organizational skills to be effective as distance teachers. Such skills include "planning and adapting course content and distance delivery methods to fit the needs of learners." In addition, there are certain specific behaviors demonstrated by effective distance instructors. The article focuses on three studies designed to examine such behaviors:

• E. C. Thatch (1995) examined the roles of distance learning professionals in the United States and Canada.
• B. K. McKenzie, E. Kirby, S. Newbill, and T. J. Davidson (1998) utilized a validation instrument to examine effective distance teaching behaviors.
• McKenzie and colleagues (1999) replicated their validation study using student observations.

The findings indicate certain trends in this area:

• Effective teaching in distance learning is primary, and is, in effect, comparable to traditional classroom needs.
• In distance education, the strategies for attaining these qualities may be quite different from strategies utilized by the teacher in a traditional setting.
• Student evaluations of distance courses are lower than those of traditional courses.
• Behaviors that students find important are often not present in distance instructors.
• An emphasis must be placed on training distance instructors to be more effective teachers in distance courses.

The implication of these findings indicates a need to set performance objectives for programs designed to train quality distance educators. The educators themselves must be aware of their own need for training and improvement. In addition, administrators must develop strategies for identifying and hiring effective distance instructors.

My personal experience supports the findings of these studies. This is the third course I have taken that employs distance education components. The qualities in an instructor that are important to me as a learner are the same regardless of the delivery system. Organization, clear guidelines, enthusiasm, respect, and support inspire me to tap into my own desire to learn. In a distance course, such qualities are sometimes more difficult to discern. A distance instructor who provides frequent feedback and support and who encourages learning in accord with the student’s needs and abilities is equivalent to such an instructor in a traditional classroom. It is important for me to have some face-to-face interaction, however. In one distance course, I met the professor on the first night of class and never saw him again. As the course continued, he became less and less of an influence on my learning, even though his e-mail responses were frequent. For my learning style, I need to be able to talk (with my voice and not just my keyboard) and interact in person to capitalize on "blips" of feedback and inspiration.