How much do you know about Distance Education?

Distance Education: A Summary

• Distance education is a form of education where the learner and teacher are separated in both time and distance.

• It has evolved with the advancement of technologies such as video conferencing, TV, and the Internet, and now usually involves online education.

• Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a recent educational mode of distance education.

• The University of London was the first university to offer distance learning degrees, establishing its External Program in 1858.

• The Open University in the United Kingdom was founded in 1965 and revolutionized the scope of the correspondence program, creating a respectable learning alternative to traditional education.

• Athabasca University, Canada's open university, was created in 1970 and followed a similar pattern.

• Distance learning has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many schools moving to online remote learning through various platforms.

• Internet technology has enabled many forms of distance learning through open educational resources and facilities such as e-learning and MOOCs.

• Distance education technologies are divided into two modes of delivery: synchronous learning and asynchronous learning.

• Synchronous learning requires a timetable and includes web conferencing, videoconferencing, educational television, and instructional television.

• Asynchronous learning allows participants to access course materials flexibly on their schedules and includes mail correspondence, message board forums, e-mail, video and audio recordings, print materials, voicemail, and fax.

• Distance learning can also use interactive radio instruction (IRI), interactive audio instruction (IAI), online virtual worlds, digital games, webinars, and webcasts, all of which are referred to as e-Learning.The Evolution and Benefits of Distance Learning

• Distance education began with correspondence courses in the 1800s.

• Physicist Daniel Q. Posin and Charles Wedemeyer were pioneers in distance education through televised and radio courses respectively.

• The emergence of tele-courses in the 1970s paved the way for online courses today.

• The widespread use of the internet has made distance learning easier and faster.

• The first online courses for credit were offered in 1985 through Connected Education and the University of Toronto.

• Enrollment in distance education courses has increased rapidly worldwide since 2000.

• Online learning is available from many private, public, non-profit, and for-profit institutions worldwide.

• Distance education can expand access to education and training, lessen institutional capacity constraints, and enable lifelong learning.

• Distance learning offers students the opportunity to learn in ways that traditional classrooms cannot provide.

• Distance education can provide equal access regardless of socioeconomic status, gender, race, age, or cost per student.

• Distance learning can reduce the phenomenon of rural exodus.

• Barriers to effective distance education include obstacles such as domestic distractions and unreliable technology, as well as students' program costs, adequate contact with teachers and support services, and a need for more experience.Challenges and Opportunities in Distance Education

• Students prefer face-to-face communication over professor-mediated chat rooms and independent studies in distance education courses.

• There is no evidence that large class size is always worse or that small class size is always better in online courses.

• Distance learning programs may face institutional challenges and require different organizational needs.

• Distance education has negative sides, including cost, time constraints, isolation of students, and high dropout rates.

• Cultural differences between students and teachers and among students pose a complex challenge in distance education.

• Electronic educational technology facilitates distance learning and independent learning through the use of ICT.

• Transactional distance, resulting from the lack of communication between learner and teacher, is a significant issue in distance education.

• Online credentials, such as digital badges and certificates, challenge the traditional paper credentials for skill or educational achievement.

• Three forms of online credentials include test-based credentials, online badges, and online certificates.

• A UNESCO article titled "Level-setting and recognition of learning outcomes: The use of level descriptors in the twenty-first century" is the source of this text.

• The article is licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0.

• Further reading and external links are available for more information.