Planning an effective distance education (DE) course requires careful planning by experienced educators supported by strategically chosen instructional and delivery media components. The challenge of DE is to develop an instructional process that incorporates good teaching and learning strategies and provides remote students with a quality of instruction similar to that enjoyed by students attending classes. Teachers often fear that physical separation from their students will result in less effective learning. However, DE gives teachers greater flexibility in using their time, thereby allowing them to focus more on activities such as counseling, tutoring, remedial work, and student support activities. For the many vocational students who are studying subjects related to current employment, workplace trainers may be able to provide counseling and guidance and more experience employees can act as mentors. DE uses various media components to deliver learning information and link students and teachers. Media components can provide the following items: subject information and the instructional process; sound and vision to demonstrate skills; self-testing opportunities and assessment procedures; and communication between teachers and students. There is no single response that fits all DE situations. Teachers' ingenuity and imagination are key in selecting media and determining how it will be used. (Contains 16 references.) (MN)