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| Why Distance |
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What is Distance Education?
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Within
a context of rapid technological change and shifting market
conditions, the Indian education system is challenged with
providing increased educational opportunities without increased
budgets. Many educational institutions are answering this
challenge by developing distance education programs. At its
most basic level, distance education takes place when a teacher
and student(s) are separated by physical distance, and technology
(i.e., voice, video, data, and print), often in concert with
face-to-face communication, is used to bridge the instructional
gap. These types of programs can provide adults with a second
chance at a college education, reach those disadvantaged by
limited time, distance or physical disability, and update
the knowledge base of workers at their places of employment. |
Is Distance Education Effective?
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Many educators
ask if distant students learn as much as students receiving
traditional face-to-face instruction. Research comparing distance
education to traditional face-to-face instruction indicates
that teaching and studying at a distance can be as effective
as traditional instruction, when the method and technologies
used are appropriate to the instructional tasks, there is
student-to-student interaction, and when there is timely teacher-to-
student feedback. |
| Which Technology is Best? |
Although
technology plays a key role in the delivery of distance education,
educators must remain focused on instructional outcomes, not
the technology of delivery. The key to effective distance
education is focusing on the needs of the learners, the requirements
of the content, and the constraints faced by the teacher,
before selecting a delivery system. |
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Key Players in Distance Education
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The following briefly describes the roles
of these key players in the distance education enterprise
and the challenges they face.
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Students
- Meeting the instructional needs of students is the cornerstone
of every effective distance education program, and the test
by which all efforts in the field are judged. Regardless of
the educational context, the primary role of the student is
to learn. This is a daunting task under the best of circumstances,
requiring motivation, planning, and an ability to analyze
and apply the instructional content being taught. When instruction
is delivered at a distance, additional challenges result because
students are often separated from others sharing their backgrounds
and interests, have few if any opportunities to interact with
teachers outside of class, and must rely on technical linkages
to bridge the gap separating class participants.
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Faculty
- The success of any distance education
effort rests squarely on the shoulders of the faculty. In
a traditional classroom setting, the instructor's responsibility
includes assembling course content and developing an understanding
of student needs. Special challenges confront those teaching
at a distance. For example, the instructor must:
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· Develop an understanding
of the characteristics and needs of distant students with
little first-hand experience and limited, if any, face-to-face
contact.
· Adapt teaching styles taking
into consideration the needs and expectations of multiple,
often diverse, audiences.
· Develop a working understanding
of delivery technology, while remaining focused on their teaching
role.
· Function effectively as a
skilled facilitator as well as content provider.
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Facilitators
- The instructor often finds it beneficial
to rely on a site facilitator to act as a bridge between the
students and the instructor. To be effective, a facilitator
must understand the students being served and the instructor's
expectations. Most importantly, the facilitator must be willing
to follow the directive established by the teacher. Where
budget and logistics permit, the role of on-site facilitators
has increased even in classes in which they have little, if
any, content expertise. At a minimum, they set up equipment,
collect assignments, proctor tests, and act as the instructor's
on-site eyes and ears. |
Support
Staff - These individuals are the silent
heroes of the distance education enterprise and ensure that
the myriad details required for program success are dealt
with effectively. Most successful distance education programs
consolidate support service functions to include student registration,
materials duplication and distribution, textbook ordering,
securing of copyright clearances, facilities scheduling, processing
grade reports, managing technical resources, etc.. Support
personnel are truly the glue that keeps the distance education
effort together and on track.
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Administrators
- Although administrators are typically
influential in planning an institution's distance education
program, they often lose contact or relinquish control to
technical managers once the program is operational. Effective
distance education administrators are more than idea people.
They are consensus builders, decision makers, and referees.
They work closely with technical and support service personnel,
ensuring that technological resources are effectively deployed
to further the institution's academic mission. Most importantly,
they maintain an academic focus, realizing that meeting the
instructional needs of distant students is their ultimate
responsibility. |
| Distance learning is conventionally
defined as : |
Broadly,
any educational or learning process or system in which the
teacher and instructor are separated geographically or in
time from his or her students; or in which students are separated
from other students or educational resources. Contemporary
distance learning is effected through the implementation of
computer and electronics technology to connect teacher and
student in either real or delayed time or on an as-needed
basis. Content delivery may be achieved through a variety
of technologies, including satellites, computers, cable television,
interactive video, electronic transmissions via telephone
lines, and others. Distance learning does not preclude traditional
learning processes; frequently it is used in conjunction with
in-person classroom or professional training procedures and
practices. It is also called distributed learning.
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| Core Values |
| These
principles assume that the practice of distance learning contributes
to the larger social mission of education and training in
a democratic society. With that in mind, the principles reflect
the following tenets and values
·Learning is a lifelong process,
important to successful participation in the social, cultural,
civic, and economic life of a democratic society.
·Lifelong learning involves
the development of a range of learning skills and behaviors
that should be explicit outcomes of learning activities.
·The diversity of learners,
learning needs, learning contexts, and modes of learning must
be recognized if the learning activities are to achieve their
goals.
·All members of society have
the right to access learning opportunities that provide the
means for effective participation in society.
·Participation in a learning
society involves both rights and responsibilities for learners,
providers, and those charged with the oversight of learning.
·Because learning is social
and sensitive to context, learning experiences should support
interaction and the development of learning communities, whether
social, public, or professional.
·The development of a learning
society may require significant changes in the roles, responsibilities,
and activities of provider organizations and personnel as
well as of the learners themselves. |
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