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Distance Education is a technology driven formal education process and system where students and instructors are separated by distance and/or time. New media information technologies are most frequently used to communicate and transfer material and assessment in today’s form of distance education. This form of education may be used by students who are in remote areas, students who are not able to attend the institution or students who do not have a great deal of time and need flexible courses. However it also comes with factors that impact on society.
Face-to-face interaction between learners and instructors is important for the social development of students, especially at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education (Distance Education Part 1, 2005, [URL]). Through the process of distance education students are separated from their instructors and the other students, which results in reduced levels of social interaction that can lead to students feeling isolated (Distance Education Part 1, 2005, [URL]). The decreased level of interaction involved with distance education also can lead to decreased motivation levels among students and poor adademic performances (Distance Education Part 1, 2005, [URL]). Three universities in Ontario, North America, are currently offering distance education programs that have been developed to combat against lack of motivation and feelings of isolation. These involve students being given the choice of how they want to and how they feel they would be best able to complete their studies. These choices involve personalising one’s own program choosing between learning aids such as visual, auditory, interactive learning and so on. Distance education also has the ability to enhance human interactivity and lead to improved communications as it encourages and forces participants to learn new methods of communication (Distance Education Part 1, 2005, [URL]).
It was hoped that distance education would improve the quality of life and education levels of the powerless and poor, but it has been seen that the new media technologies used in distance education reinforce the problem of inequality in the world today (Hellman, 2003, [URL]). The divide between those who have access to new technologies and the ability to use them and those who do not have access or the skills has become to be know as the ‘digital divide’ (Hellman, 2003, [URL]). Education plays a role in this, as most with who have the requisite levels of literacy and knowledge of computers, the Internet and new communication technologies often obtain these through schooling. Income, age, ethnicity, language and gender also are factors influencing this divide. This ‘digital divide’ also increases the cultural dominance of developed countries over those less developed countries (Hellman, 2003, [URL]).
Some believe that distance education leads to the deskilling of the profession of teaching at a time when the profession is thought to be declining in prestige and respect and also a decline in wages for teachers (Hellman, 2003, [URL]). This deskilling is thought to be due to the significant decline in face-to-face communications and teaching between students and teachers, however it may better be referred to as a reskilling of teachers as new skills and knowledge are required to understand the new communication technologies and the new required roles of teachers in distance education (Hellman, 2003, [URL]).
No-one can predict what the future holds for distance education or how it may further affect society.
Distance Education
Distance Education - Teachers' Perspective
InnoVisions Canada (2005) “Distance Education Part 1,�? retrieved October 3, 2005, from http://www.ivc.ca/distance_ed1.html.
Hellman, J. A. (2003) Distance Education: Its Advantages and Shortcomings, retrieved October 3, 2005, from http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2003/issue4/0403p47.asp.
Laura harris 16:44, 27 Oct 2005 (EST)
