Definitions, Historry, and Theories of Distance Education
- 1. DEFINITIONS, HISTORY, AND THEORIES OF DISTANCE EDUCATION CAROLYN JENKINS-HAIGLER
- 2. WHAT IS DISTANCE EDUCATION? • Distance education is defined as institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors (Simonson, 2006).
- 3. MAIN COMPONENTS • First is the concept that distance education is institutionally-based. This is what differentiates distance education from self-study. • The second component of the definition of distance education is the concept of separation of the teacher and student. Most often, separation is thought of in geographic terms—teachers are in one location and students in another.
- 4. CONTINUED • Interactive telecommunications is the third component of the definition of distance education. Interaction can be synchronous or asynchronous—at the same time, or at different times. • Finally, we examine the concept of connecting learners, resources, and instructors. This means that there are instructors who interact with learners and that resources are available that permit learning to occur. Resources should be subjected to instructional design procedures that organize them into learning experiences that promote learning, including resources that can be observed, felt, heard, or completed.
- 5. DISTANCE EDUCATION DEFINED FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES • Rudolf Manfred Delling stated in general that distance education is a planned and systematic activity that comprises the choice, didactic preparation and presentation of teaching materials as well as the supervision and support of student learning and which is achieved by bridging the physical distance between student and teacher by means of at least one appropriate technical medium. • Hilary Perraton (1988), distance education is an educational process in which a significant proportion of the teaching is conducted by someone removed in space and/or time from the learner.
- 6. CONTINUED • Greville Rumble (1989) offered a definition of distance education. He noted that, in any distance education process, there must be: a teacher; one or more students; a course or curriculum that the teacher is capable of teaching and the student is trying to learn; and a contract, implicit or explicit, between the student and the teacher or the institution employing the teacher, which acknowledges their respective teaching-learning roles. • Desmond Keegan (1986), the following four definitions were central to an attempt to identify the elements of a single, unifying definition of distance education: 1. The French government, as part of a law passed in 1971, defined distance education as education which either does not imply the physical presence of the teacher appointed to dispense it in the place where it is received or in which the teacher is present only on occasion or for selected tasks.
- 7. CONTINUED 2. Börje Holmberg, distance education covers the various forms of study at all levels which are not under the continuous, immediate supervision of tutors present with their students in lecture rooms or on the same premises but which, nevertheless, benefit from the planning, guidance and teaching of a supporting organization. 3. Otto Peters emphasized the role of technology, saying that distance teaching/education (Fernunterricht) is a method of imparting knowledge, skills and attitudes. 4. Michael Moore, the related concept of “distance teaching” was defined as the family of instructional methods in which the teaching behaviors are executed apart from the learning behaviors, including those that in a contiguous situation would be performed in the learner’s presence, so that communication between the teacher and the learner must be facilitated by print, electronic, mechanical or other devices.
- 8. KEEGAN’S FIVE MAIN ELEMENTS • The quasi-permanent separation of teacher and learner throughout the length of the learning process (this distinguishes it from conventional face-to-face education). • The influence of an educational organization both in the planning and preparation of learning materials and in the provision of student support services (this distinguishes it from private study and teach-yourself programs). • The use of technical media—print, audio, video or computer—to unite teacher and learner and carry the content of the course. • The provision of two-way communication so that the student may benefit from or even initiate dialogue (this distinguishes it from other uses of technology in education). • The quasi-permanent absence of the learning group throughout the length of the learning process so that people are usually taught as individuals and not in groups, with the possibility of occasional meetings for both didactic and socialization purposes.
- 9. FOUNDATIONS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION Keegan (1986) classified theories of distance education into three groups: • Theories of independence and autonomy • Theories of industrialization of teaching • Theories of interaction and communication A fourth category seeks to explain distance education in a synthesis of existing theories of communication and diffusion, as well as philosophies of education.
- 10. HISTORY OF DISTANCE EDUCATION Distance education seems a new idea to most educators of today. However, the concepts that form the basis of distance education are more than a century old. Certainly, distance education has experienced growth and change recently, but the long traditions of the field continue to give it direction for the future.
- 11. SUMMARY In the rapidly changing and diverse environment in which distance education is practiced, many questions remain unanswered. In this environment it is difficult to arrive at one definition or agree on a theory of how to practice and do research in the field of distance education. New technologies, globalization, and new ideas about student learning challenge the traditional approaches to the practice of distance education. This theme of change is evident in the discussions of distance education and its definition, history, status, and theory.