Background
Since 1997, CSAP's Northeast CAPT has been providing training to substance abuse practitioners in the 11 northeast states. All of our trainings are based on the science of prevention-current research and best practice-and are designed to increase understanding about what works in prevention, build practical skills, and strengthen the capacity of state and local professionals. Our online training sessions are based on the face-to-face workshops that have been delivered numerous times throughout the region. To date, we've conducted more than 350 face-to-face trainings across the six New England and five mid-Atlantic states, including sessions offered as part of state and regional conferences and events, such as the annual New England School of Prevention Studies. Based on our assessments, we know that the vast majority of our clients are quite satisfied with our training services and believe that the information they received will be useful to them in their work.

Interaction
The strength of our trainings depends as much on our training model as on the content: We are determined to draw on the knowledge, experience, and perspectives offered by the wide and diverse range of people who attend our sessions. These professionals come from work sites that include state agencies, local coalitions, community-based organizations, regional prevention centers, and schools; they walk in the door with vast collective experience. We know that to be successful our trainings need to tap into this wealth of experience at the same time that they deliver new concepts and strategies. Online, our participants will "log on" rather than walk in the door; however, we are just as committed to engaging their participation.

Translating Trainings to an Online Environment
When translating our face-to-face trainings into a Web-based environment, our goal is to retain our commitment to providing opportunities for engagement and interaction through activities that have been adapted to meet the specifications of an online event. We also reviewed numerous articles and books from the growing literature on online learning, finding the point of view offered by Robert Tinker, director of The Concord Consortium (Collison, Elbaum, Haavind, and Tinker, 2000), to be particularly persuasive. Tinker outlines an effective progression of stages that can increasingly involve participants in online activities:

• Ice-breakers: At first, participants are asked to respond to fairly simple, straightforward questions that are easy to answer.
  

• "Wallowing in the shallows": Next, participants begin to interact with the moderator and one another, as they engage lightly with the content.
  

• Reasoned discourse: Finally, participants are ready to tackle some demanding questions, delve more deeply into the issues, and interact with one another more strenuously.

The moderator's initial role is to foster an exchange with the participants, but then, as the session goes on, shifts to fostering exchange among the participants themselves.

Theoretical Foundation for the Program
This distance learning program is structured around the following models, which may be used in various combinations within a given training:

• Library Model: This model includes access to online resources, such as journals, reading lists, Web sites, and other subject-related materials rich in relevant information.
  

• Textbook Model: This model includes the use of courses and lectures, slide presentations, and other class-related documents in various media formats.
  
  
• Computer-Mediated Communication Model: This model features collaborative learning; teachers and students communicate and elicit feedback through the use of asynchronous and synchronous interaction with a facilitator or moderator.
  
  
• Virtual Classroom Model: This model includes the three aforementioned models plus additional elements of interactive, computer-based instruction, such as simulations, games, and various forms of synchronous interaction.

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Berge, Z. L. and Muilenburg, L. (September-October, 2000). Designing discussion questions for on-line, adult learning. Educational Technology, 53-56.

Collison, G., Elbaum, B., Haavind, S., and Tinker, R. (2000). Facilitating online learning: Effective strategies for moderators. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing.

Harvey, D. M. and Lee, J. (2001). The impact of inherent instructional design on online courseware. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 2:1, 25-48.

Janicki, T. and Liegle, J. O. (2001). Development and evaluation of a framework for creating Web-based learning modules: A pedagogical and systems perspective. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5:1, 58-84.

Northrup, P. (March-April, 2001). A framework for designing interactivity into Web-based instruction. Educational Technology, 31-39.

Schwier, R. A. (2001). Catalysts, emphases, and elements of virtual learning communities: Implications for research and practice. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 2:1, 5-18.