Distance Learning

Distance learning, also known as online learning or remote education, refers to an educational process where students and instructors are separated by physical distance and communicate through digital platforms. This mode of learning has gained significant traction, particularly due to advancements in technology and the necessity for flexible education solutions. Distance learning can take many forms, including fully online courses, hybrid models that combine in-person and online instruction, and asynchronous learning, where students access materials at their convenience.

One of the key advantages of distance learning is its accessibility; it allows individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those with geographical, financial, or time constraints, to pursue education. This flexibility can cater to a wide range of learners, including working professionals and those with family commitments. However, distance learning also presents challenges, such as the need for self-discipline, potential feelings of isolation, and the reliance on technology, which may not be equally available to all students.

As educational institutions continue to adapt and innovate, distance learning remains a crucial option in the landscape of modern education, offering both opportunities and obstacles that warrant careful consideration.

Published in: 2021

By: Joseph Dewey, PhD

Subject Terms

Distance Learning

Last reviewed: February 2017

Abstract

Distance learning draws on a wide range of digital capabilities and networking platforms to offer the opportunity for students, most often but not always at the college and graduate and professional trade certification levels, to complete these degrees through the use of online courses. Although this education model is not without its critics, distance learning, estimated in 2016 as being implemented by more than 80 percent of private and public colleges in the United States alone, is widely seen as opening educational opportunities to a much wider audience than conventional schools.

Overview

Distance learning takes full advantage of the revolution in digital communications developed largely since the mid-1980s. Distance learning has changed the concept of education itself. “The increasingly ubiquitous nature of online learning, both as a mechanism for course content delivery as well as a means for complementing or enhancing the traditional in-person classroom lecture, has necessarily changed pedagogical approaches in the 21st century.” (Courtney & Wilhoite-Mathews, 2015)

Correspondence Courses. The idea of making education accessible by opening it up to students unable or unwilling to be physically in a schoolroom and in front of a teacher dates back more than two centuries and to the emergence, in Europe but particularly in England, of an organized and reliable mail system regulated by the government. As mail became reliable, so-called correspondence schools found great success in England particularly under the direction of Sir Isaac Pitman (1813-1897), a progressive educator who is credited with first conceiving and implementing distance learning.

Pitman developed a far more efficient system for transcribing business communications in shorthand notation in response to the needs of the growing industrial networks of mid-century England. Those industries needed crack secretarial staffs and they needed efficient communication—Pitman greatly simplified existing dictation systems to make shorthand accessible to the influx of women into the job market, women who had largely not been to college. By using a system of postcards that provided instruction and, in turn, required students to return notes transcribed correctly, Pitman basically created the first mass system of distance learning.

With advancements in communication technologies, including the telegraph and the telephone, correspondence courses began to offer a more varied curriculum as transportation advancements lagged far behind these new communication systems. Correspondence courses were not restricted to those wanting to learn a trade. Rather, the traditional curricula of universities were offered. Indeed, the University of London offered the equivalent of a full undergraduate degree that could be earned entirely through the mail by the 1830s. Supporters hailed it as a landmark achievement that at last opened the opportunity for education to those not privileged enough to be sent to the more prestigious (and expensive) universities but who still wanted the benefits of an education.

Degrees earned through the mail, however, were often disdained by the usually affluent highly educated and by many employers as not a “real” degree.

Given the American dedication to the ideals of equal opportunity and the concept of the American Dream as an opportunity for the widest possible numbers to succeed, correspondence colleges found wide acceptance in the United States, most notably in the pioneering programs developed at the University of Chicago in the early twentieth century. Correspondence courses found a ready market among a varied audience—soldiers, for example, stationed overseas; prisoners in otherwise maximum security facilities; housewives; and men and women locked into careers with little chance of promotion or advancement.

Television and Radio. The American mark on distance learning came with the developments in mass communication, specifically the advent of radio and later of television. Both media were seen at least initially as virtually unlimited opportunities to provide what was essentially distance education to the masses. Daytime programming in the early years of both radio and television was often dominated with educational programs that introduced Americans to great art, world history, the geographical wonders of other continents, and foreign languages. Such open classroom programming faded as television quickly discovered the appeal of more entertaining programming and radio turned more to music formats.

Virtual Classrooms. It is difficult to underestimate the impact of the advent of digital communication and global networking on the development of distance learning. Distance learning grew rapidly in the 1980s. By 1987, for example, the interest in distance learning was sufficient to create the United States Distance Learning Association (USDAL), an international platform for both distance learning programs and distance learners themselves. By the mid-1990s, community colleges, trade schools, four year colleges, and graduate school programs were all experimenting with the opportunities presented by distance education. As Mehmood and colleagues observed in 2016, “The role of distance education is shifting from traditional education to technology enhanced open education. This shift has significant implications, and allows distance educators to play an important role in the fulfillment of the promise of the right to universal education.” The promise of e-learning appears to be limitless.

With the Internet, virtual classrooms became possible, and platforms were developed to simulate a space in which users can interact with each other and with instructors (Miller, 2014). There emerged two types of distance learning courses: straight online classes in which students, working at their own pace against a traditional semester schedule, worked through course material entirely through some combination of e-mail systems, webinars, and message boards, submitting examinations and/or papers through the same media; and hybrid (or blended) courses that divided the semester’s work between online correspondence and face to face classroom meetings. Blended courses attempt to provide the best of both education methodologies, although in practice students often find the split commitment difficult to manage.

Applications

Distance learning classes tend to be either synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous classes require that students participating in the class meet online in a virtual classroom at a regular time. Class size is often restricted, sometimes making participation more costly, but the students get feedback more typical of a traditional classroom and have the opportunity to communicate with the instructor. This creates a more personal education experience and gives the instructor some sense of the progress of the class.

Asynchronous classes allow for participation directed entirely by the student. The class of students never actually meets together, but the student individually maintains communication with an instructor, who necessarily remains an entirely online presence. Asynchronous distance learning is less costly and more accommodating to students who have little flexibility in their schedules because of work or family commitments. Asynchronous distance learning, however, has a much wider margin for student failure as independent monitoring across multiple semesters can be difficult to maintain.

Supplemental Education. The distance learning template has also been applied to younger students. Parents interested in advancing their children at a pace their local schools do not meet often take advantage of K-12 courses that are offered as supplements to more traditional classroom instruction. Parents who home school, for example, often take advantage of certified programs online as a way to direct their children’s progress. Online distance learning can be used to prepare high school students for standardized tests, including SAT, ACT, and Advanced Placement subject tests.

In addition, distance learning has been developed for two-year professional certifications, most often in boom fields such as nursing, computer systems technology, paralegal work, and engineering. Perhaps most intriguing for the future of distance learning is the development of cutting-edge state of the art applications that, according to the more visionary computer programmers, literally could create an international classroom capable of real-time discussion and interaction with the most renowned experts in a field. Massive open on-line courses (MOOCs) represent the potential for expanding distance learning into more sophisticated education experiences than current technology provides (Scanlon, McAndrew & O’Shea, 2015).

Viewpoints

Even its most vocal critics agree the benefits of distance learning far outweigh the disadvantages. According to the United States Distance Learning Association, in 2015, an estimated quarter of a million people were participating in some level of undergraduate distance learning in the United States alone. These students can work and pursue their education within the flexible schedule afforded by distance learning. Online courses provide the opportunity to study virtually at campuses anywhere in the world without the challenge of relocation. More locally, digital classrooms save home-based students the costs of commuting or room and board, while students study the same textbooks and materials with the same instructors as on-campus students.

Because colleges now routinely provide their distance learners with access to critical college services, such as the library, advising, and career services, students participating remotely can enjoy the principal advantages given a typical resident student. In addition, these programs encourage distance learners to become involved with campus activities, to attend athletic and social events, to join organizations and service clubs to make them feel a part of their college. Distance learners receive honors recognition and can participate in the general college commencement program.

Lack of Student Support Services. Distance learning, because it is very much an evolving template for education, still has problems (Budiman, 2015; Brown, Hughes, Keppell, Hard & Smith, 2015). Because it relies almost entirely on student discipline and organization, distance learning can present significant challenges to those not adequately prepared for the workload and difficulty in material typical of a college curriculum. Distance learners can be too easily distracted at home or at work, and other commitments can seem more pressing if class time is not a built-in part of their day.

Psychologists have begun to document emotional stress particular to distance learners. Students can easily feel isolated, not really a part of their college, not entirely part of their home life. They can easily feel as if they have no real place, no real roots. More to the point, colleges, in their rush to secure the lucrative promise of an expanding distance learning program, can oversell its benefits and make college seem too easy, thus heightening the expectations of those who elect to pursue a degree off site. Distance learners often do not realize the significant commitment that college requires of both time and money—courses are still expensive and textbooks and supplemental materials still have to be purchased.

Because college life is not a dominant part of off-campus students’ daily life, these students often drift from a clear commitment to an academic program. Distance learners often do not receive adequate academic counseling or advising and can consequently make uninformed decisions, such as taking redundant classes or classes for which they are not prepared.

Access and Isolation. Distance learning can be compromised by glitches or inadequate technology. Computer systems can crash or network connections be lost, resulting in involuntarily aborted or unsubmitted class work. Many distance learners themselves are not entirely confident in using the advanced sorts of computer technology that these programs require, and often students do not have the computer equipment necessary to complete the program.

Perhaps the most critical disadvantage to distance learning is the lack of the opportunities to interact socially with other students, to learn as a physical community. Without the ability to chat with peers face to face or question instructors, students cannot fully tap into the synergy of a typical classroom. They do not get to feel the sense of belonging because they do not walk about the campus, eat at the campus services, study in the campus library, or kill time outside buildings with other students. These students also miss out on one of the most important post-graduation advantages of a university education—an expanded network of friends, faculty, and mentors in a chosen field.

Credibility. Distance learning was initially met with skepticism and widely dismissed as a digital version of the bogus correspondence school degree. In fact, many heavily advertised online programs lack the accreditation that established colleges and universities must earn, and even expensive programs can fail to provide a high quality education. Unfortunately, distance learning degrees, even from accredited programs, can be dismissed by potential employers as suspect or as somehow not quite up to traditional degrees. As Gaskell & Mills concluded (2014), “Not only are [distance learners] often studying part-time with all the pressures of additional family responsibilities or work, but also, for many years, their qualifications were not considered of any real value by their peers and potential employers.”

Nevertheless, colleges are increasingly expanding into distance learning, and colleges that exist solely online are becoming a critical element in the decision process that high school students go through in choosing where to study. Advocates stress that distance learning is all about teaching, not technology. The education model is at a pivotal moment in its evolution. Technology and the system of distance learning that it has engendered is only going to become more available, more efficient, and, in turn, more widely accepted.

Terms & Concepts

Asynchronous Distance Learning: An approach to distance learning in which students set their own schedule for studying and reviewing material.

Blended Course: A hybrid of distance learning in which at least 50 percent of the class work is completed in a traditional classroom, face to face with an instructor.

Correspondence Course: An early template for distance learning in which instruction was completed entirely through the mail.

Massive Open On-line Courses: A model for an expanded kind of distance learning that includes wider access and interaction with often distinguished professionals in the field.

Professional Certification: A post-secondary degree, most often a two-year program, that specifically addresses a particular field and/or occupation.

Synchronous Distance Learning: A kind of distance learning in which the class meets regularly online to review material and engage in virtual discussions.

Synergy: The interaction of diverse individuals and/or entities making up a larger single unit or grouping.

Bibliography

Brown, M., Hughes, H., Keppell, M., Hard, N., & Smith, L. (2015). Stories from students in their first semester of distance learning. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 16(4), 1–17. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=111113544&site=ehost-live

Budiman, R. (2015). Distance language learning: Students’ views of challenges and solutions. International Journal on new Trends in Education and Their Implications, 6(3), 137–147. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=103651127&site=ehost-live

Courtney, M., & Wilhoite-Mathews, S. (2015). From distance education to online learning: Practical approaches to informational literacy instruction and collaborative learning in online environments. Journal of Library Administration, 55, 266–277. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=103364776&site=ehost-live

Gaskell, A., & Mills, R. (2014). The quality and reputation of open, distance, and e-learning: What are the challenges? Open Learning, 29(3): 190–205. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=101516932&site=ehost-live

Liu, H-C, & Yen, T-R. (2014). Effects of distance learning on learning effectiveness. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science, & Technology Education, 10(6), 575–580. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=100416223&site=ehost-live

Mehmood, T. T., Ch, A. H., & Saeed, A. (2016). Community development through open learning and distance education. Bulletin of Education & Research, 38(1), 183–196. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=116185322&site=ehost-live

Miller, R. (2014). The application of virtual reality in higher education distance learning. Journal of Applied Learning Technology, 4(4): 15–18. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=100053047&site=ehost-live

Scanlon, E. E., McAndrew, P. P., & O’Shea, T. P. (2015). Designing for educational technology to enhance the experience of learners in distance education: How open educational resources, learning design and moocs are influencing learning. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2015(1), 1–9. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=102155020&site=ehost-live

Distance Learning

On this Page

Subject Terms

Distance Learning

Abstract

Overview

Applications

Viewpoints

Terms & Concepts

Bibliography

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