According to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for health including good health well-being and

quality of education, effective and affordable educational strategies need to be addressed critically especially in
low and middle-income countries (LMIC) [9]. Adopting distance e-learning in different fields of knowledge in
low and middle-income countries (e.g. Jordan) can add a great benefit to achieve 2030 SDGs.

As distance education becomes increasingly popular, instructors and administrators are working hard to
improve students’ online learning experience. Although, the dynamics of online learning experiences in an
educational setting have been well studied , the use of virtual teams presents a set of problems in relation to
how physical, temporal and social separation of learners affect learners’ learning processes. This paper is a
case study reporting an action research project investigating the experiences of using virtual teams in a new
Organisational Psychology unit at a regional Australian university. Online group challenges were identified
with potential solutions to these challenges trialed during the action research cycle.As distance education
becomes increasingly popular, instructors and administrators are working hard to improve students’ online
learning experience. Although, the dynamics of online learning experiences in an educational setting have
been well studied , the use of virtual teams presents a set of problems in relation to how physical, temporal and
social separation of learners affect learners’ learning processes. This paper is a case study reporting an action
research project investigating the experiences of using virtual teams in a new Organisational Psychology unit
at a regional Australian university. Online group challenges were identified with potential solutions to these
challenges trialed during the action research cycle.

Distance education courses are being offered at elementary and middle school levels as a method of
curriculum enrichment.

Distance education has been defined in many ways. For instance, distance education has been defined as
planned learning that normally occurs in a different place from teaching (Moore & Kearsley 1996,). distance
education is also described as "a planned and systematic activity [a step-by-step procedure] which comprises
the choice, didactic preparation and presentation of teaching materials as well as the supervision and support
of student learning and which is achieved by bridging the physical distance between student and teacher by
means of at least one appropriate technical medium [such as two way audio and video]" (Keegan 1986, 58).

Distance education courses are being offered at elementary and middle school levels as a method of
curriculum enrichment. The majority of distance education students are academically gifted and talented
students whose teachers feel can "handle" the unique circumstances. But the primary impetus for distance
learning at the secondary (or high school) level is the need for greater educational opportunities in small rural
school districts (U.S. Congress 1989).

The major issues for students during the distance learning process were interactions with the teacher for
learning purposes, socializing with other students, and having a sense of community in the classroom.
Previous research (Kember 1989; Newby 1991; St.Pierre & Olsen 1991) showed that student motivation was a
classroom issue; however, it was not an issue for these participants because they were reported as already very
motivated students. St. Pierre and Olsen (1991) surveyed student attitudes toward distance study and found
that "motivation was the single most important of the feedback-related independent variables influencing
student satisfaction" (p. 67). The most desired feedback was through didactic conversation with the instructor.

Learning with technology has been previously acknowledged as a communication challenge for the student-
teacher interactions because the student-teacher interactions are considered most important in any learning
situation and especially in distance learning (Moore, 1990; Bates, 1991). 

Technical difficulties were a part of learning with technology that the students learned to endure and integrate
into the daily activities. The students used video to overcome missing lessons due to technical problems. For
example, class time was lost due to technical difficulties with the cameraman, the camera that followed the
teacher, and the time taken to fax assignments during class, when the fax machine was either too slow or didn't
work. The students also used videos to review difficult lessons. The ability to videotape class added more
dimensions to the classroom and perhaps helped compensate for the lack of face-to-face interactions. Students
could watch repeatedly a lesson they could not see, hear, or understand. Students absent from class could
"attend" the missed lesson on videotape, which included students in other sections of the course beside the
distance course unit. And a teacher could review the tape to critique his or her teaching style.

Because a distance course is systematic (Keegan 1996), the lack of face-to-face student teacher and teacher-
teacher interactions is to be expected. However, the effect this lack of one-on-one interaction has on secondary
students may significantly effect their course performance (Lauzon, 1991). What should be noted for future
rural school district distance courses is that field trips and social interactions in class should not be an option;
rather they should be required activities.