This paper offers pragmatic guidance for designing effective distance education courses, including the need for designers to be aware of their educational aims, and the selection of different media and methods for effective learning. Discussion of a brief taxonomy of types of learning--knowledge, skills, understanding, and attitudes--is followed by descriptions of corresponding educational strategies. Steps in the design of a course are also discussed, including: (1) establishing the type of course being offered (i.e., to what extent it involves students acquiring factual knowledge, concepts and understanding, intellectual skills, manual skills, values, and attitudes); (2) establishing students' prior understanding and skills; (3) choosing an educational style to match the subject matter and type of course (e.g., open learning, didactic, multimedia, practical); and (4) matching the communication media to be used (e.g., print, video, audio, audio-vision, telephone conferencing, computer assisted learning, practical kits, and face-to-face tutorials, including tutored video instruction (TVI). Other criteria to be considered would include selecting appropriate media for courses that involve multiple educational aims, matching subject matter to the individual needs of different students, and the cost-effectiveness of each course in terms of materials and labor costs. A rank ordering of the importance of various teaching elements by Open University (UK) students and estimates of teacher time per student-hour of work are presented in tables. (DJR)