Distance Education - Past, Present and Future

A Personal Definition of Distance Education

Much like distance education, my definition of distance education has evolved. In the past, whenever I would  hear the term distance education, I would envision correspondence courses. For me 'distance' was the operative word in this term and that's what I focused on. It seemed like a slow and tedious process since students mailed assignments to tutors and then waited for feedback and grades. However, with the popularity and accessibility of the internet improving distance education became web based. Growing up in the United Kingdom, I was familiar with distance education, mainly because of the Open University and the controversy that surrounded it. In Great Britain education has always has been, and still is in some cases, for the rich and the elite. The Open University "was the first institution to break the insidious link between exclusivity and excellence" (Open University, n.d). I had a very traditional British education and so the Open University was something that I kept my distance from. It was when I came to the U.S. that I had my first taste of distance education. This was when I really understood the benefits of it. I remember the discussions that I had with teachers in the online discussion forums; I found that I learned more about the U.S. education system from discussions with these teachers, than the textbooks I read. Needless to say, I loved it so much that I enrolled at Walden University to create online classes! Distance education was an opportunity to learn from each other.

The history of Distance Education

I was quite surprised to find that distance education had been around more than a century. To appreciate how much distance education has evolved, it is important to understand the history of it.

(Simonson et al, 2012, p.37-40) (Baker’s Guide, n.d)

I think there are four important factors that continue to drive this process of change in distance education.

The history of distance education shows that not only have the modes of delivery changed, but along with them so has the target audience, the designers of the course and the purpose of  distance education courses. For example, distance education during Isaac Pitman’s era, in late 1800s, would have meant a correspondence course through the penny mail and the target audience would have been “people who didn’t have the means to get an education for themselves” as Pitman believed “educating anyone of any class from anywhere who could read and had the desire to learn.” (Webberm, n.d). Similarly in the U.S.  Anna Eliot Ticknor wanted to provide opportunities for women to receive an education. The designers of these courses were humble teachers, who wanted to end the monopoly of education by men and the upper classes.

Currently, distance education has more advanced modes of delivery, due to innovations such as web 2.0 and web 3.0 tools. The target audience now includes adults, K-12 students, adult students and professionals  who want to engage in life long learning. Today many educational institutions offer distance education. It is particularly favored in higher education and now many universities and colleges offer only online courses, even in the traditional degree courses. Although some institutions higher instructional designers, many still want their instructors to create the courses. The reason for this is a lack of understanding of distance education.  Their belief is that content from a face to face class can be taken and delivered through  the web with little or no alteration. This method “of duplicating it [content and materials] can lead to limited results (Moller et al, 2008, p.67).  In K-12 education, distance education is in the form of virtual schooling. The problem, however, with K-12 distance learning is that it is often used as a form of credit recovery or a “ repository for those unable or unwilling to function in the more traditional classroom environment” (Huett et al, 2008, p. 64).  While I agree that education should be accessible to all, I also think that that the learners should have the “desire to learn” (Pitman as quoted by Webberm, n.d). Very often the students that are in these credit recovery programs are the ones that do not possess this desire. Additionally, K-12 distance education is often created by teachers who have very little understanding of technology or the difference between face to face and distance education. The corporate world, is also experimenting with distance education.  The fact that distance education can reduce “training delivery costs” and that it is “instantly available, providing timely on demand learning access” (Moller et al , 2008, p.70) is making it a suitable solution for many organizations.  Like higher education, corporate organizations do not have suitable people to create the training, thus the training that is often produced is of low quality. Training effectiveness is not measured by Return on Investment (ROI) but “by the number of learner hours logged” (Moller et al, 2008).
In the past the content was of prime importance. Currently, knowledge of technology and creating effective instruction using technology is very important and in order to do that qualified instructional designers are needed in all the areas. Although the modes of delivery and the target audience have changed, the true purpose of distance education has become distorted along the way. For many people it has become a quick fix and this is the reason that distance education is undervalued and does not enjoy the same status as traditional education.  On the other hand, it is also true that distance education has been the driving force behind life long learning.

The Future of Distance Education

Simonson (n.d) states that distance education will never replace traditional education; rather, it will enhance it. For distance education to be effective, it is important that administrators and policy makers realize and value the important of instructional designers. Additionally, the purpose of distance education, to provide education to those who have a desire learn but are unable to do so,  needs to be revived. The “democratization” (Webber, n.d) is an important aspect of its legacy and should continue to be the driving force behind it. I would like to see more opportunities for distance education in K-12 education, higher education, and in professional and formal learning.  The modes of delivery will keep on improving as technology keeps on changing.

A Revised Definition

Distance education is institutionally based education where the instructor and learners are separated physically, geographically, through time or intellect. Learners and instructors are connected by data, video, voice and the desire to learn and share knowledge.  (Simonson et al, 2012). They engage in interactive communication, both synchronously and asynchronously.  Through technology, every person who has the desire to learn, regardless of gender, class, ability, or race, has the opportunity to access education.  Learning is authentic and student centered. The role of the instructor is to facilitate learning.

Distance Education Timeline. (n.d.). Baker's Guide to Online Christian Education. Retrieved March 1, 2012, from www.bakersguide.com/Distance_Education_Timeline/

History of the OU | About the OU | Open University. (n.d.). Distance Learning Courses and Adult Education - The Open University. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from http://www8.open.ac.uk/about/main/the-ou-explained/history-the-ou

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70.

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

Webberm. (n.d.). History of Distance Education « Webberm’s Weblog.  Webberm Weblog. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from http://webberm.wordpress.com/com-546-papers/history-of-distance-education/