Distance Education Guides, Distance Learning Schools

Distance Education

Distance education, or distance learning, is a field of education that focuses on the pedagogy, technology, and instructional system designs that aim to deliver education to students who are not physically on site in a traditional classroom or campus. It has been described as a process to create and provide access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by time and distance, or both. In other words, distance learning is the process of creating an educational experience of equal quality for the learner to best suit their needs outside the classroom. Distance education courses that require a physical on-site presence for any reason (including taking examinations) is considered a hybrid or blended course of study. This emerging technology is becoming widely used in universities and institutions around the globe. With the recent trend of technological advance, distance learning is becoming more recognized for its potential in providing individualized attention and communication with students internationally.

Distance Education that takes place when the instructor and student are separated by space and/or time. The gap between the two can be bridged through the use of technology - such as audio tapes, videoconferencing, satellite broadcasts and online technology - and/or more traditional delivery methods, such as the postal service.

In Simple words Distance Education is an educational process and system in which all or a significant proportion of the teaching is carried out by someone or something removed in space and time from the learner. Distance Learning requires structured planning, well-designed courses special instructional techniques and methods of communication by electronic and other technology, as well as specific organizational and administrative arrangements

Types of distance education courses

Correspondence conducted through regular mail
Internet conducted synchronously or asynchronously
Telecurso / Broadcast, in which the content is delivered via radio or television
CD-ROM, in which the student interacts with computer content stored on a CD-ROM
PocketPC / Mobile Learning where the content of the courses students have access to stored on a mobile device or through a wireless server
Integrated distance learning, the integration of live instruction, group interaction with a curriculum of distance learning

Distance Education has gone through four-five "generations" of technology in its history. It is graphic, audio / video broadcasting, audio / video teleconferencing, computer aided instruction, e-learning / online learning, computer broadcasting / webcasting etc. Yet the radio remains a very viable, especially in developing nations because of its scope. Australian children in remote areas have been participating in the School "air" from the 1940s through two transmitters and receivers. In India the FM Channel is very popular and is being used by universities, dissemination of educational programs of variety on areas such as teacher training, rural development, agricultural programs for farmers, science education, creative writing , mass communication, in addition to traditional courses in humanities, science and business administration. The increasing popularity of mp3 players, PDAs and smartphones has provided an additional medium for the distribution of distance education content, and some professors now allow students to listen or watch a video of a course as a Podcast. Some universities have been working with the U.S. military distribution for the complete course content on a PDA to deployed personnel.