Computer | Distance Learning

Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school.Traditionally, this usually involved correspondence courses wherein the student corresponded with the school via mail. Today, it usually involves online education. A distance learning programme can be completely distance learning, or a combination of distance learning and traditional classroom instruction (called hybrid[3] or blended).[4] Massive open online courses (MOOCs), offering large-scale interactive participation and open access through the World Wide Web or other network technologies, are recent educational modes in distance education.[1] A number of other terms (distributed learning, e-learning, m-learning, online learning, virtual classroom etc.) are used roughly synonymously with distance education. History One of the earliest attempts was advertised in 1728. This was in the Boston Gazette for "Caleb Philipps, Teacher of the new method of Short Hand", who sought students who wanted to learn through weekly mailed lessons.[5] The first distance education course in the modern sense was provided by Sir Isaac Pitman in the 1840s, who taught a system of shorthand by mailing texts transcribed into shorthand on postcards and receiving transcriptions from his students in return for correction. The element of student feedback was a crucial innovation in Pitman's system.[6] This scheme was made possible by the introduction of uniform postage rates across England in 1840.[7] This early beginning proved extremely successful, and the Phonographic Correspondence Society was founded three years later to establish these courses on a more formal basis. The Society paved the way for the later formation of Sir Isaac Pitman Colleges across the country.[8] The first correspondence school in the United States was the Society to Encourage Studies at Home, which was founded in 1873.[9] Founded in 1894, Wolsey Hall, Oxford was the first distance learning college in the UK.[10] University correspondence courses The University of London was the first university to offer distance learning degrees, establishing its External Programme in 1858. The background to this innovation lay in the fact that the institution (later known as University College London) was non-denominational, and given the intense religious rivalries at the time, there was an outcry against the "godless" university. The issue soon boiled down to which institutions had degree-granting powers and which institutions did not.[11]

COVID-19 pandemic[edit]

Distance lessons over video conferences in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.

in Russia

in Italy.

Further information: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the closure of the vast majority of schools worldwide.^[37][38] Many schools moved to online remote learning through platforms including—but not limited to—Zoom, Cisco Webex, Google Classroom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, D2L, and Edgenuity.^[39][40] Concerns arose over the impact of this transition on students without access to an internet-enabled device or a stable internet connection.^[41] Distanced education during the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted synchronous learning for many students and teachers; where educators were no longer able to teach in real time and could only switch to asynchronous instruction, this significantly and negatively affected their coping with the transition,^[42] and posed various legal issues, especially in terms of copyright.^[43] A recent study about the benefits and drawbacks of online learning found that students have had a harder time producing their own work.^[44] The study suggests teachers should cut back on the amount of information taught and incorporate more activities during the lesson, in order for students to create their own work.^[44]

Radio and television

External audio

audio icon Air college talk., 2:45, 2 December 1931, WNYC[51]

The rapid spread of film in the 1920s and radio in the 1930s led to proposals to use it for distance education.[52] By 1938, at least 200 city school systems, 25 state boards of education, and many colleges and universities broadcast educational programmes for the public schools.[53] One line of thought was to use radio as a master teacher.

Experts in given fields broadcast lessons for pupils within the many schoolrooms of the public school system, asking questions, suggesting readings, making assignments, and conducting tests. This mechanizes education and leaves the local teacher only the tasks of preparing for the broadcast and keeping order in the classroom.[54]

The first large-scale implementation of radio for distance education took place in 1937 in Chicago. During a three-week school closure implemented in response to a polio outbreak that the city was experiencing, superintendent of Chicago Public Schools William Johnson and assistant superintendent Minnie Fallon implemented a programme of distance learning that provided the city's elementary school students with instruction through radio broadcasts.

Internet[edit]

Main article: Virtual education

The widespread use of computers and the internet have made distance learning easier and faster, and today virtual schools and virtual universities deliver full curricula online.^[64] The capacity of Internet to support voice, video, text and immersion teaching methods made earlier distinct forms of telephone, videoconferencing, radio, television, and text based education somewhat redundant. However, many of the techniques developed and lessons learned with earlier media are used in Internet delivery.

The first totally online courses for graduate and undergraduate credit were offered starting in the Fall of 1985 by Connected Education through The New School in New York City, with students earning the MA in Media Studies completely online via computer conferencing, with no in-person requirements.^[65][66][67] This was followed in 1986 by the University of Toronto^[68] through the Graduate School of Education (then called OISE: the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education), offering a course in "Women and Computers in Education", dealing with gender issues and educational computing. The first new and fully online university was founded in 1994 as the Open University of Catalonia, headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. In 1999 Jones International University was launched as the first fully online university accredited by a regional accrediting association in the US.^[69]

Between 2000 and 2008, enrollment in distance education courses increased rapidly in almost every country in both developed and developing countries.^[70] Many private, public, non-profit and for-profit institutions worldwide now offer distance education courses from the most basic instruction through to the highest levels of degree and doctoral programmes. New York University, International University Canada, for example, offers online degrees in engineering and management-related fields through NYU Tandon Online. Levels of accreditation vary: widely respected universities such as Stanford University and Harvard now deliver online courses—but other online schools receive little outside oversight, and some are actually fraudulent, i.e., diploma mills. In the US, the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) specializes in the accreditation of distance education institutions.^[71]

In the United States in 2011, it was found that a third of all the students enrolled in postsecondary education had taken an accredited online course in a postsecondary institution.^[72] Growth continued. In 2013 the majority of public and private colleges offered full academic programmes online.^[72] Programmes included training in the mental health,^[73] occupational therapy,^[74][75] family therapy,^[76] art therapy,^[77] physical therapy,^[75] and rehabilitation counseling^[78] fields.

By 2008, online learning programmes were available in the United States in 44 states at the K-12 level.^[79]

Internet forums, online discussion group and online learning community can contribute to a distance education experience. Research shows that socialization plays an important role in some forms of distance education.^[80]

ECourses are available from websites such as Khan Academy and MasterClass on many topics.

Benefits[edit]

Distance learning can expand access to education and training for both general populace and businesses since its flexible scheduling structure lessens the effects of the many time-constraints imposed by personal responsibilities and commitments.^[84][85] Devolving some activities off-site alleviates institutional capacity constraints arising from the traditional demand on institutional buildings and infrastructure.^[84] Furthermore, there is the potential for increased access to more experts in the field and to other students from diverse geographical, social, cultural, economic, and experiential backgrounds.^[76][85] As the population at large becomes more involved in lifelong learning beyond the normal schooling age, institutions can benefit financially, and adult learning business courses may be particularly lucrative.^[84][85] Distance education programmes can act as a catalyst for institutional innovation^[84] and are at least as effective as face-to-face learning programmes,^[73][74][86] especially if the instructor is knowledgeable and skilled.^[77][85]

Educational technology[edit]

The modern use of electronic educational technology (also called e-learning) facilitates distance learning and independent learning by the extensive use of information and communications technology (ICT),^[85] replacing traditional content delivery by postal correspondence. Instruction can be synchronous and asynchronous online communication in an interactive learning environment or virtual communities, in lieu of a physical classroom. "The focus is shifted to the education transaction in the form of a virtual community of learners sustainable across time."^[109]

One of the most significant issues encountered in the mainstream correspondence model of distance education is the transactional distance, which results from the lack of appropriate communication between learner and teacher. This gap has been observed to become wider if there is no communication between the learner and teacher and has direct implications over the learning process and future endeavors in distance education. Distance education providers began to introduce various strategies, techniques, and procedures to increase the amount of interaction between learners and teachers. These measures e.g. more frequent face-to-face tutorials, increased use of information and communication technologies including teleconferencing and the Internet, were designed to close the gap in transactional distance.^[110]