What type of groups are used will depend on the geographical distribution of students, availability of technology, human and financial resources, and the aims of the group support system.

Tutor-based

Most distance education systems have a subject expert meet with a group of students to discuss the course according to a published schedule. Theoretically, such sessions are student-centred; the tutor identifies the difficulties of each student and addresses them directly, dealing with the individual rather than with the entire student body. A lecture simply repeats what has already been covered in the course material, and the parts identified by the lecturer as likely to cause difficulty may not be the ones students actually find difficult. Lectures can also be taped and distributed; the student does not even need to physically attend.

Students in my own institution are generally resistant to the student-centred approach. Arrangements are made for groups of up to 35 students to meet with their tutor but attendance is voluntary, and only 12 to 15 students actually turn up on average. We have found that students are instead attracted to tutors who lecture. These lectures can be so popular that tutors who faithfully organise student-centred sessions are left with few students.

The opportunity to have their own tutor’s personal attention in a small group is not always a sufficient incentive to keep students away from the lectures. Students with lots of distance education experience acknowledge the logic of student-centred sessions, but still express a preference for lectures. This suggests that a sense of belonging to a conventional academic community is more important than personal attention.

Pressure on the individual student in a lecture is much less, and there may be a tendency for students to avoid personal exposure. It can be difficult for academics to create an atmosphere in which students can feel confident about participation. When group meetings are relatively infrequent, group identity is difficult to establish and nurture.

There is a certain amount of tension in structuring tutorials. Distance education theory insists that student-centred sessions are in the students’ long-term interest, but if students react against this approach is it right to deny them what they want? Is there a tendency to downplay the social needs of students in favour of more academically acceptable needs?

Self-help groups

Formal group sessions are often relatively infrequent, and some students may need more regular opportunities to discuss their difficulties with others. In the absence of sufficient resources to cater for this demand formally, institutions can encourage students to organise themselves into self-help groups for peer tutoring. Such groups meet at times and places decided by the students themselves.

The hardest part of forming self-help groups is the initial start up; students are often strangers to each other. It is helpful if the tutor can be the initial point of contact for those interested in joining. Institutions are invariably unable to provide accommodation, so it is important to keep the groups small for meetings to be held in people’s homes, or in cafes. It also helps if an enthusiastic group leader can be identified from the beginning. Organising meetings can be onerous, and a self-help group can collapse without at least one person accepting responsibility for keeping it going.

Alternatives to face-to-face meetings

Technology can be used to enable groups to meet when other factors prevent face-to-face meetings. However, it is a mistake to assume that all that is required is the infrastructure. Most technology requires specific skills.

Telephone conferencing may seem a simple concept, but users have to accept a certain amount of central control to avoid several people attempting to speak at the same time. In a classroom the lecturer often relies on body language to indicate who should speak next, or to encourage a reluctant participant. Such is not possible over the telephone. Alternative signals are required and all participants must be aware of what they mean.

Video conferencing may appear to provide a complete alternative to the classroom, but many people are uncomfortable with communicating via a camera.

The Internet offers a number of different communication channels but currently requires users to be computer literate. Text-based communication can be confusing and is subject to great variation in interpretation. Group dynamics on the Internet are also very different to those within a room.

The use of any technological solution for group meetings means that the necessary skills have to be identified, and suitable training provided, at the beginning. The additional burden this places on the student will be a disincentive to participation unless benefits are quickly realised.

Virtual groups

Given the nature of distance education, the Internet does offer new opportunities for support groups where this technology is available. The Internet incorporates both synchronous and asynchronous communication. The former allows members of a group separated by distance to communicate with each other live, through technologies like chat. The latter allows exchanges where members are separated by distance as well as time.

Most distance learners find it difficult to free themselves from commitments to attend a face-to-face meeting. Posting messages through a mailing list, bulleting board or news group to be read later by other group members removes the time constraint; it doesn’t matter that one student contributes at midnight and another before breakfast. Frequently interactions occur over much longer periods, but contributions are better thought out rather than spontaneous.

It is a mistake to assume that group work in a face-to-face environment can be transferred directly to virtual groups. The dynamics of electronic communication are very different. For example, it is easier to ignore e-mail messages than a direct question; it is easier to be aggressive through a computer interface than when addressing someone in person.

The size and nature of virtual groups do not have to obey the rules of face-to-face meetings. Groups can be of any size, allowing the entire student body on a course to be involved. This is normally impractical for large population courses. Groups can meet at times selected by students, rather than by administrators needing to timetable their physical resources.

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