ICT AND INTERNET

Unit 11
Part 3: Distance Learning

Ritu Shukla
T.O. (PoT)
NSTI(W), Allahabad
 Outline
• Distance Learning: Introduction
• Distance Learning: Definition
• Why Distance Learning?
• Distance Learning: Origin
• Distance Learning in India
• Distance Learning: Characteristics
• Types of Distance Learning
• Distance Learning: Merits & Demerits
• Distance Learning: DGT Initiatives
• Future Trends: Smart Learning
• Future Trends: eLearning
• Future Trends: Virtual Learning
• Conclusion
 Distance Learning: Introduction
• Distance learning, also called distance education, e-learning, and online learning, form of education in
which the main elements include physical separation of teachers and students during instruction and the
use of various technologies to facilitate student-teacher and student-student communication.

• Distance learning traditionally has focused on non-traditional students, such as full-time workers, military
personnel, and non-residents or individuals in remote regions who are unable to attend classroom
lectures.

• “Distance learning” - the umbrella term for any learning that takes place across distance and not in a
traditional classroom. Distance learning has a long history and there are several types available today,
including:

1. Correspondence Courses: conducted through regular mail with little interaction.

2. Telecourses: where content is delivered via radio or television broadcast.
3. CD-ROM Courses: where the student interacts with static computer content.
4. Online Learning: Internet-based courses offered synchronously and/or asynchronously.
5. Mobile Learning: by means of devices such as cellular phones, PDAs and digital audio players
(iPods, MP3 players)
 Distance Learning: Definition
• The California Distance Learning Project defines distance learning as: “ Distance Learning (DL) is
instructional delivery system that connects learners with educational resources. DL provides educational
access to learners not enrolled in educational institutions and can augment learning opportunities of
current learners. The implementation of DL is a process that uses available resources and will evolve to
incorporate emerging technologies.

• Several key features are:

I. The separation of teacher & learner at least majority of each instructional process.
II. Seperation of teacher & learner in space and/or time.
III. The use of educational media to unite teacher & learner
IV. The provision of two way communication between teacher & learner
V. Control of learning pace by student

• Three elements are of paramount importance to any distance learning program are:
I. Instructional design
II. Technology
III. Support
 Why Distance Learning?
• Adult life for many is complex & demanding. Many adults are unable to or unwilling to attend traditional adult
education schools for many reasons including
✓ Having work & family obligations
✓ Living in locations without convenient access to traditional classes
✓ Lacking the confidence to participate in a large classroom.

• Mostly people take distance mode for higher education while they are working.

• To democratize higher education to large segments of the population, in particular the disadvantaged groups
such as those living in remote and rural areas, working people, women etc.

• To provide an innovative system of education which is both flexible and open in terms of methods and pace of
learning; combination of courses, eligibility for enrolment, age of entry, conduct of examination and
implementation of the programmes of study

• To provide an opportunity for up-gradation of skills and qualifications.

• To develop education as a lifelong activity to enable persons to update their knowledge or acquire knowledge
in new areas.
 Distance Learning: Origin
• In the early days of distance education, letter writing was the most widely accessible technology. In 1728,
the first well-documented example of a correspondence course ran as an ad in the Boston Gazette, where a
man named Caleb Phillipps offered to teach shorthand to students anywhere in the country by exchanging
letters.

• Correspondence education, the initial form of distance education, developed in the mid-nineteenth century
in Europe and then spread to the United States and so on.

• The beginnings of distance education can be traced back to 1840, when Sir Issac Pitman thought of a way
to deliver instruction to an infinite audience. His idea was to offer correspondence courses by mail.

• In 1873, the first correspondence schools in the United States were founded, called The Society to
Encourage Studies at Home.

• Shortly thereafter, in 1892, the University of Chicago began offering correspondence courses, becoming
the first traditional educational institution in the U.S. to do so.
 Distance Learning in India
• The Distant Education Bureau (DEB) is a bureau of the University Grants Commission (UGC) based in New Delhi,
India, in charge of regulating distance education in India. It was established in 2012, replacing the Distance
Education Council (DEC), an organisation that was responsible for open learning and distance education since
1985.

• Distance education in India started in 1962 with a pilot project correspondence courses, which led to the birth
of University of Delhi's School of Correspondence Courses and Continuing Education.

• The success of the project led to introduction of correspondence course institutes (later renamed as
directorates or centres of distance education) in more universities.

• In 1982 Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University was established, the first open university in India. This was followed
by the establishment of Indira Gandhi National Open University at the national level in 1985.

• The idea was accepted by many states and 1987 saw the emergence of two more Open Universities, namely,
Nalanda Open University (NOU) Patna, Bihar and Vardhman Mahaveer Open University (VMOU), Kota,Rajasthan.
Subsequently, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), Nashik, Maharashtra was
established in 1989.
 Distance Learning: Characteristics
Distance learning is by definition carried out through institutions; it is not self-study or a non-academic
learning environment. The institutions may or may not offer traditional classroom-based instruction as well,
but they are eligible for accreditation by the same agencies as those employing traditional methods.

Geographic separation is inherent in distance learning, and time may also separate students and teachers.
Accessibility and convenience are important advantages of this mode of education. Well-designed programs
can also bridge intellectual, cultural, and social differences between students.

Interactive telecommunications connect individuals within a learning group and with the teacher.The
connections of learners, teachers, and instructional resources become less dependent on physical proximity
as communications systems become more sophisticated and widely available; consequently, the Internet,
mobile phones, and e-mail have contributed to the rapid growth in distance learning.

Distance education, like any education, establishes a learning group, sometimes called a learning community,
which is composed of students, a teacher, and instructional resources—i.e., the books, audio, video, and
graphic displays that allow the student to access the content of instruction.
 Types of Distance Learning
There are two distance education delivery system categories: Synchronous & Asynchronous.

SYNCHRONOUS LEARNING: Synchronous learning is where you take part in learning activities (such as
webinars and virtual classes) simultaneously with your instructors and fellow students.
Advantages Disadvantages
You can interact with your instructors and fellow students in You will have less flexibility, as you will have to be available to
real time. attend sessions at the scheduled times.
You can get instant feedback from your instructors. You will need to have access to the relevant technology
(which may be expensive).
You may be more motivated to ask questions or to participate You will need to be comfortable using the relevant
in discussions. technology.

ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING: Asynchronous learning does not require you to participate in learning activities at
the same time as your fellow students. Instead, you are given the opportunity to work through the course
material at your own pace and according to your own schedule.
Advantages Disadvantages
You are free to determine your own study schedule, which You will need more self-discipline to study on your own and to
means that you will have more flexibility. stick to your study schedule.
You can work through the course material at your own pace. You may have to wait longer for feedback from your
instructors.
 Distance Learning: Merits & Demerits

Merits Demerits
Time Saving Lack or Nil Interaction
Studying from anywhere Lesser Seriousness
Comfort Level Lack of Motivation
It is Flexible Narrow choice
Cost Factor Lack or Less opportunities to develop Oral
Communication Skills
Easy Availability Acknowledgement Factor
Technological Facilitation Delayed Feedback
Beneficial for Slow Learners Hidden Costs
Lesser or Nil Distractions Technology problems
Visible Efforts Questionable credibility of degrees
 Distance Learning: DGT Initiatives
• MSDE under DGT is setting up DL
Infrastructure to provide quality training to
both students & trainers.

• Hub & Spoke Model was used to Train the

Trainers: Communication between “Hub &
Spoke” is done over the Internet through
AVIEW Technology.
• Hub: Teacher End contains Studio
• Spoke: Student End which is the Remote
Center

• 10 CFIs of DGT made as Hubs & 194 GITIs

made as Spokes to ensure national coverage.

• The Spokes were chosen based on the

number of ITI Students in the state and the
area of state.

• The Hubs have joined the prestigious

National Knowledge Network (NKN).
Distance Learning: DGT Initiatives
 Future Trends: Smart Learning
• Smart learning is a broad term for education in today’s digital age. It reflects how advanced technologies
are enabling learners to digest knowledge and skills more effectively, efficiently and conveniently.

• A smart learning service or provider is founded on three pillars: accessibility, flexibility and affordability.

• Smart learning should be flexible for all, regardless of gender, physical abilities, age, religion and other
groupings.

• Smart Learning or intelligent education includes new educational contexts in which the importance is
focused on the student’s use of technology at their fingertips. It does not only depend on the software
and hardware available, but on how they are articulated in the classes or the online training in
conjunction.

• Smart learning is concerned with context-aware ubiquitous learning. Contexts include the interactions
between learners and environments.

• Smart learning is the best path to ensure the brightest future for higher education.
 Future Trends: eLearning
• e-learning is defined as “learning that is enabled electronically”.

• eLearning is learning utilizing electronic technologies to access educational curriculum outside of a

traditional classroom. In most cases, it refers to a course, program or degree delivered completely online.

• eLearning is based on formalized learning, it is provided through electronic devices such as computers,
tablets and even cellular phones that are connected to the internet. This makes it easy for users to learn
anytime, anywhere, with few, if any, restrictions.

• While teaching can be based in or out of the classrooms, the use of computers and the Internet forms the
major component of E-learning.

• E-learning can also be termed as a network enabled transfer of skills and knowledge, and the delivery of
education is made to a large number of recipients at the same or different times.

• E-learning offers the ability to share material in all kinds of formats such as videos, slideshows, word
documents, and PDFs. Conducting webinars (live online classes) and communicating with professors via
chat and message forums is also an option available to users.
 Future Trends: Virtual Learning
• Virtual learning is a learning experience that is enhanced through utilizing computers and/or the
internet both outside and inside the facilities of the educational organization. The instruction most
commonly takes place in an online environment.

• Virtual learning is: “Distance learning conducted in a virtual learning environment with electronic study
content designed for self-paced (asynchronous) or live web-conferencing (synchronous) online teaching
and tutoring.”

• It can overcome many drawbacks of the physical environment such as time, facilities, location, etc.

• Online environments allow teachers to work with larger numbers of students and optimize their routine
tasks.

• Virtual learning also brings new pedagogical techniques into the traditional forms of education and
makes learning more personalized and convenient.
 Conclusion
• Although distance education is not a new trend, but has got a huge increase due to developing technology.

• Distance learning provide a bright future to our education with its positive probability.

• Distance education is undergoing huge transformation and has and will never reach to a stage of saturation
as much is yet to be explored and presented in this field.

• It can be a great blessing to bring success to the whole society with some proper development.
THANK YOU