No matter how well a course is designed, or how well it is taught, students will need support. Support helps meet student needs and overcome barriers to learning, such as:

• Technical problems or a lack of knowledge of how to use the technology.
• The uncertainty that students face when they don't understand content or don't know how to proceed with their study.
• Low motivation: students working online can feel isolated from others.
• High workload caused by having to solve all their problems on their own.

Manu: We can't afford to make the same mistakes I've seen elsewhere! So when we add e-learning activities to your course, we'll need to include good support.

Manu and Phil tried to brainstorm all the problems that Phil's students could face with the e-learning activities. Then they made a list of the support they would need to provide so the problems didn't occur or could be dealt with more easily.

While some students will feel more comfortable contributing to discussion that is online rather than face-to-face, others may find the greater emphasis on writing rather than speaking quite a challenge!