Distance Education Essay -- Essays Papers

Distance Education Distance learning is a form of education in which the instructor and student are separated. As advances in technology rapidly progress, the interest in distance education has grown as well and has thus become more common. Technology has given this kind of learning numerous possibilities. There are various forms of distance education used alone or in combination. These technologies provide many opportunities for education, but not with out a few restrictions. There is a wide range of technological options for delivering information to the distance learner. There are many different forms of communication and media to contain course material and to overcome physical distance of the teacher and student. These methods include various types of voice, video, data, and print. Instructional audio tools include audio-conferencing, tapes, and radio. Instruction is delivered through lectures and discussions. Tapes and radio allow the student to listen to lectures one way, whereas audio-conferencing allows students to participate and interact with others. Audio tools allow access to the learner from their choice of location; however, with audio-conferencing there is usually a scheduled time for discussions. Another form of distance education is visual learning. This includes broadcast television and compressed video systems. â€Å"Broadcast television delivers distance education by sending analog or digital audio and video signals by microwave relay over short distances or by satellite over longer distances† (Ludlow and Duff 13). Television broadcasts can be used for one-way video and audio presentations. This can also be used in conjunction with by audio conferencing in which the stude... ...cators and institutions to examine the positives and negatives involved (Ludlow and Duff 10). Works Cited Clark, Tom and David Else. Distance Education, Electronic Networking, and School Policy. Bloomington, Indiana: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. 1998. Cox, Lois. â€Å"A Descriptive Analysis of the Opinions of College Students and Faculty Toward Distance Learning.† Diss. U of Dayton, 1997. Feyten, Carine M. and Joyce W. Nutta. Vitrual Instruction: Issues and Insights from and International Perspective. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. 1999. Ludlow, Barbara L. and Michael C. Duff. Distance Education and Tomorrow’s Schools. Bloomington, Indiana: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. 1998. Mood, Terry Ann. Distance Education. Englewood, Colorado: 1995. 3 Nov. 2001. http://emedia.netlibrary.com/reader.