Medical Assistant Distance Education Goals:

Program Goals:
In an our effort to make high quality health care education accessible to more students we have created an innovative accredited Medical Assistant distance program online. With innovative online e-learning program students can now study at their own their convenience and pace to begin a new exciting new career as a medical assistant. Distance education is quickly becoming the most common method of education for the new generation of Medical Assistants and St. Augustine Medical Assistant School continues to lead the way in innovative Medical Assistant education.

St. Augustine Medical Assistant School Online
Medical Assistant
Our accredited Medical Assistant program covers all the major areas of study needed to begin a successful career as a Medical Assistant. After secure online registration the student is given a user name and password, they can then log into our classes and begin their studies online. All assignments are online and can be completed at your own pace. Our distance education classes include: textbook reading assignments, internet based lessons, online clinical videos and virtual online clinical labs.

Improving Teacher-Student Relations in e-Learning

Teaching and learning at a distance is demanding. However, learning will be more meaningful and “deeper” for distant students, if the students and their instructor share responsibility for developing learning goals and objectives; actively interacting with class members; promoting reflection on experience; relating new information to examples that make sense to learners; maintaining self-esteem; and evaluating what is being learned. This is the challenge and the opportunity provided by distance education.

Profile of the Distant Education Student

The primary role of the student is to learn. Under the best of circumstances, this challenging task requires motivation, planning, and the ability to analyze and apply the information being taught. In a distance education setting, the process of student learning is more complex for several reasons (Schuemer, 1993):
Many distance-education students are older, have jobs, and families. They must coordinate the different areas of their lives which influence each other — their families, jobs, spare time, and studies.
Distant students have a variety of reasons for taking courses. Some students are interested in obtaining a degree to qualify for a better job. Many take courses to broaden their education and are not really interested in completing a degree.
In distance education, the learner is usually isolated. The motivational factors arising from the contact or competition with other students is absent. The student also lacks the immediate support of a teacher who is present and able to motivate and, if necessary, give attention to actual needs and difficulties that crop up during study.
Distant students and their teachers often have little in common in terms of background and day-to-day experiences and therefore, it takes longer for student-teacher rapport to develop. Without face-to-face contact distant students may feel ill at ease with their teacher as an "individual" and uncomfortable with their learning situation.
In distance education settings, technology is typically the conduit through which information and communication flow. Until the teacher and students become comfortable with the technical delivery system, communication will be inhibited.

Medical Assistant
St. Augustine Medical Assistant School
Online Distance Education for Medical Assistants
www.medassistant.org

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Faculty Update:
The Chronicle of Higher Education- Review the new distance education technology information and upcoming professional development seminars at: www. chronicle.com/infotech