Defining Distance Learning

Defining Distance Learning

My earlier definition of distance learning had been built through my experiences of learning over a number of decades. I had initial thought of distance learning as being for adults only, and only those who did not have opportunities to complete their studies. In the late 1970’s my father had studied and completed his high school through correspondence study. With that experience in mind, I then defined distance education in terms of the money exchange with the package of study material, and assignment submissions through mail posting. This was in line with the view of distance learning as a study for “adults with occupational, social, and family commitments” where posting was used as the medium of communication with no physical contact (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek, 2012). The biggest challenge for correspondence study was time delay in the delivery of the learning material.

As I grew up, my definition of distance learning changed slightly. While I was at university in the late 1980’s, one of my friends had registered for a module through distance learning. She would receive a package with audio cassette and videos. Tracey & Richey, (2005) mention that “radio programming has been used innovatively to either support or supplement print based materials or to carry the majority of the course content”. My definition of distance learning changed slightly therefore to include media which accommodated listening skills for students.  The new definition brought in an element of the face to face classes but still lacked interaction between teachers and students and interaction amongst students. Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek, (2012) points out that “it is important that learners be able to interact with each other, with resources of instruction, and with their teacher” (p.34). My definition of distance learning then evolved to include learning for anyone, at any place and at any time through mail correspondence with learning material that included cassettes and video tapes.

In the mid 2000’s, I personally enrolled with a distance learning university. The scenario was very different from what I had known about distance learning as the audio and video cassettes had largely been replaced with CDs and DVDs “to provide valuable resource materials for distance learners” (Tracey & Richey, 2005). The post medium was still in use, mostly for the delivery of learning material but with an option of submitting assignments online. There were also opportunities of “real-time interaction” with the teachers, through optional tutorial classes, phone calls and emails to supplement the learning material (Moller, et al., 2008). The definition of distance learning changed then to include “flexible learning with increased access and hence more openness” (Bates, 2005). The challenge still remained that of lack of communication with other students.

Fig. 1: Learner as a central point

In 2012, I registered for a Master’s program in Instructional Design and Technology at another distance learning institution. All the classes were now online, with specific weekly discussions and submissions. This university became for me an example of an institution where the distance between teachers and students had been reduced by allowing for interaction with the use of audios, videos, transcripts, and multimedia to present classes, and where there is continuous interaction with the teacher and among students through discussion forums, blogs, and emails. In this setting, learning has different categories of engagement with the learner as the central point and all members of the learning community interact with one another (see Figure 1). According to Morrison et al. (2011), learning design with “instructional design approach considers instruction from the perspective of the learner rather than from the perspective of the content” (p.6). With the new upgrade of the Learning Management System (Blackboard), the distance is almost cut to zero as I can connect in many different ways with my classmates and the teacher.

Fig.2. Mind Map

The University I work for is currently offering a number of distance learning courses, hybrid courses that complement face to face classes with a distance learning component, and has partnerships with other distance learning institutions (Tracey & Richey, 2005). The institution has also invested extensively in “state of the art” infrastructure to support distance education by hiring high profile personnel to support technology for teaching distance learning, using and supporting the use of learning management systems. These changes are based on emerging global trends where various teaching and learning tools that support distance learning have been on the rise.

In conclusion, my definition of distance learning (See Fig. 2) regards it as a method of learning through a variety of correspondence media (post, telephone, radio, video, computers and internet) where students are able to study anywhere, anytime using  various learning styles (reading, listening, discussion, group work) with limited physical contact. Gunes & Altintas (2013) argue that “the most important question on distance education is: ‘How can we improve the learning level, by which media?’ and ‘How can we set a high level interaction between the students and the teacher?’” (p.70). Distance learning has evolved over a 180 years (1833-2013) through the development of delivery media and technology (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). While “mail correspondence” for example, is still being used today with more options to reduce time delays for delivery to almost zero thus improving the level of learning through distance learning. The levels of interaction can also be set high with the use of current trends in synchronous technology such as Skype.

Fig. 3.   Challenges of distance learning

References

Bates, A.W. (2005). Technology, E-Learning, and Distance Education (2^nd edition). Routledge, Canada.

Gunes, A. & Altintas, T. (2013). Evaluation of Distance Education Components of e-MBA program – A Case Study. International Journal on E-Learning, 12 (1), 69-80.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Distance Learning Timeline Continuum [Multimedia Program]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_3467554_1%26url%3D.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and Development Key Trends in training). TechTrends, 52(3), 70 - 76.

Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. (2011). Designing effective instruction (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Tracey, M., & Richey, R. (2005). The evolution of distance education. Distance Learning, 2(6), 17–21. Retrieved 3 September from http://sloanconsortium.org/