Distance Education
Distance education, or distance learning, is a field of education that focuses on the pedagogy and andragogy, technology, and instructional systems design that aim to deliver education to students who are not physically “on site”.According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “is 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 qualitative value for the learner to best suit their needs outside the classroom. Rather than attending courses in person, teachers and students may communicate at times of their own choosing by exchanging printed or electronic media, or through technology that allows them to communicate in real time and through other online ways. Distance education courses that require a physical on-site presence for any reason including the taking of examinations is considered to be 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.
Types of distance education courses
* Correspondence conducted through regular mail
* Internet conducted either synchronously or asynchronously
* Telecourse/Broadcast, in which 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 student accesses course content stored on a mobile device or through a wireless server.
* Integrated distance learning, the integration of live, in-group instruction or interaction with a distance learning curriculum.
Distance Education has traversed four to five ‘generations’ of technology in its history. These are print, audio/video broadcasting, audio/video teleconferencing, computer aided instruction, e-learning/ online-learning, computer broadcasting/webcasting etc. Yet the radio remains a very viable form, especially in the developing nations, because of its reach. Australian children in extremely remote areas have been participating in the “School of the air” since the 1940s using 2 way radio. In India the FM Channel is very popular and is being used by universities, to broadcast educational programs of variety on areas such as teacher education, rural development, programs in agriculture for farmers, science education, creative writing, mass communication, in addition to traditional courses in liberal arts, science and business administration. The increasing popularity of mp3 players, PDAs and Smart Phone has provided an additional medium for the distribution of distance education content, and some professors now allow students to listen or even watch video of a course as a Podcast . Some colleges have been working with the U.S. military to distribute entire course content on a PDA to deployed personnel.
Attain more at Cardinal Stritch University Minneapolis offering flexible study options at your convenience.
