I'm taking “Advocacy and Library Issues” with former CLA President, Wendy Newman, as a distance course this term. This is my first ever distance course (I took French 101 as a distance course back in 1993 or so but was in the classroom in front of the instructor while the other students were at sites around the province via video links- this was pre-Internet – so that doesn't really count.)
So, after the first week, here's some thoughts on the good and not-so-good about it. This is perhaps a timely list as the department offered an unprecedented (as far as I know) six classes by distance this term. That's not a huge deal except the rules say that you can only take one distance course per term so that can cause some issues if two of the courses appeal to you or, even if they don't, because it severely limits the number of regular courses left for you to choose from.
If I could suggest one change in this policy, I'd let students take up to two distance courses, especially when so many are offered. Maybe a ratio would work – if less than five distance courses are offered (like in the summer semester), you can only take one. But if more than five are offered, you can take up to two?
Here's a screenshot of what the window for viewing class lectures looks like:
GOOD
– obviously, the biggest advantage is that, outside of a few set times for chat sessions and in-person meetings, the student can work on their own schedule. You can read the discussion board in the morning when you get up or in the evening before you go to bed. If you work Monday to Friday, you can view the lecture on the weekend.
– working in your underwear while drinking a beverage of your choice might also be considered a related benefit by some people 
– since the course is comprised of a combination of video lectures, PowerPoint slides, a discussion board, chat sessions and other related items, you can view (and re-view) any of these items at any time.
– not sure if they do this but presumably there could be some cost and/or time savings for professors in that once the course lectures are recorded, they can be re-used in the future
– being a distance course co-offered with U of T's FIS program, this particular class gives us a great opportunity to interact with some of our colleagues from another school that we wouldn't normally have. I've already met one person from Regina who I wouldn't have met otherwise for instance.
NOT SO GOOD
– people have to be fairly comfortable with technology to do everything the course requires (although to be fair, nothing is too complicated. The biggest “techie” thing I had to do was change my Java settings to allow me to cut & paste into their discussion board's “Compose” window. And strangely, I still can't figure out how to embed my picture in my required “Introduce Yourself” post.)
– for some reason, you can only play/pause the lectures but not rewind which would be helpful in those times where you just miss a comment and want to skip back a few seconds.
– although the software we're using (Blackboard Academic Suite) is fairly robust, there are minor annoyances – no way to view only unread messages and things like that. There are also no newer technologies like blogs, wikis, RSS feeds integrated which might make it more effective.
(Update: sounds like some of my issues might be because I'm using FireFox and their tech support person suggests I log-in with IE. Yuck. It's horrible when any site, let alone one for a University, has to tell you which software to use!)
– I find the system slow to click around in sometimes giving me memories of having 56k dial-up access again. The software is part of the U of T Portal system and I'm not sure if that's part of the reason or not.
– related to that last point, there are a couple extra complications dealing with a U of T system for us at UWO. I don't think we can change our generated passwords to something easier to remember without a U of T UserID for instance.
– this hasn't happened yet but there's always the concern that tone is harder to convey in a virtual environment. As someone with a sometimes sarcastic, sometimes dry sense of humour, I am very aware of the problems this can cause.
– minor annoyance but they only offer the video in Windows Media or RealPlayer format, neither of which I'm a huge fan of.
OTHER POINTS
– it's a different form of interaction to only communicate with classmates and the instructor virtually. Some people like it, some people don't. It may be better for introverts, worse for people who aren't as comfortable with technology for instance.
– this depends on the person as well but some people could find it harder to focus on the lectures/assignments than in a classroom setting (it's the old argument about how to run a home office and yet maintain a division between the two).
– you also have to be very self-motivated to keep up on everything when there are no regular class sessions.
– the video window you watch is fairly small (typical YouTube 320×200 size) although you can right click and change it to full size view which is easier to watch
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