BACKGROUND Depressive symptoms are often reported to be higher in very old populations when compared to younger age groups. However, it is unclear whether the differences are due to age differences in dysphoria or in other components of depression. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to examine age differences for specific items and subscales of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). DESIGN The current study compared specific items, subscales, and the total score from the GDS among three age groups. SETTING Community-dwelling older adults were tested. PARTICIPANTS One hundred and thirty-nine centenarians were compared to 93 octogenarians and 91 sexagenarians. MEASUREMENTS The GDS (Brink et al., 1982) was used in this study. RESULTS Results indicated age-group differences in the overall depression score and in the withdrawal-apathy-vigor (WAV), mental impairment, and hopelessness subscale scores, as well as on the item level with significant age group differences on 12 of the 30 items. Centenarians rated higher on all subscales, but there was no difference in dysphoria. CONCLUSION It is important to distinguish different dimensions of depression when assessing very old populations because some of the questions on the GDS are associated with fatigue, mild cognitive decline, and decline in physical functioning which increase with aging. Future research should revisit the concept of depression in very late life.

The Great Plains Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA) emphasizes the importance of a collaborative environment for instructors and students in distance education. The authors highlight a number of important principles for distance-education programs and point out similarities and differences when compared to traditional face-face-to classes such as communication, classroom management, connectivity, and technical challenges. They summarize general topics concerning the faculty, the syllabus, office hours, the calendar, and announcements. Three essential lesson components are noted: an overview, the lesson itself, and supplemanetary material. The authors also take the student perspective, emphasizing the diversity of students, the importance of computer proficiency, and student interactions. Finally, they summarize a first round of course evaluations in the Great Plains IDEA gerontology master's program.