Distance Education

and the Internet

TECH4101
Dr. Alaa Sadik
u068706 Omar Al-Breiki Instructional & Learning Technologies Department
u061513 Abdullah Al-Rahbi
www.alaasadik.net
alaasadik@squ.edu.om
Distance Education
and the Internet
TECH4101
Lecture One
Defining
Distance Education

Interactive Presentation
Defining Distance Education
What is distance education or distance
learning?
a form of education in which there is normally a
separation between teacher and learner and
thus one in which other means ¯ the printed
and written word, the telephone, computer
conferencing or teleconferencing, for
example ¯ are used to bridge the physical
gap.
Defining Distance Education
What is distance education or distance
learning?

a process to create and provide access to learning

when the source of information and the
learners are separated by time and distance,
or both.
Defining Distance Education
What is distance education or distance
learning?

Discuss the definitions

you found with your team
Defining Distance Education
What is distance education or distance
learning?

Clarify the definitions using

the information you found in
Wikipedia and other sites.
Defining Distance Education
What is distance education or distance
learning?
Distance Education refers to classes that use
educational technology to deliver or convey the
class content and communication between the
instructor and students….
http://www.boisestate.edu/distance/whatis.shtml
Defining Distance Education
Distance education or distance learning?
I think distance education represent the use of technology
to deliver learning contents to students who are far
away from educational institutes or for students who
are not able to attend classes, which implies the
flexibility in gaining education.
In my opinion, it is the best way to link between learners
among countries, however I think it will be a bad
way to learn because it Will lead to laziness among
peoples.
Defining Distance Education
History of distance education and technology
1800s - 1900s\ Correspondence courses and the
postal system.
The first known correspondence course was initiated in England by
Isaac Pitman, the English inventor of shorthand. In 1840, he began
teaching shorthand by correspondence in Bath, England. In the
United States Anna Eliot Ticknot and William Rainey Harper
began teaching courses in History, Science, Art, Literature, French,
and German via correspondence in 1873. Assignments were
exchanged between student and teacher via the postal system.
1800s - 1900s\ Correspondence courses and the
postal system.

The International Correspondence Schools (ICS) evolved from the Colliery

Engineer School of Mines based in Wilkes-Barre, PA. It was also a
member of the first generation of distance education. Their home study
course on mine safety quickly became very popular after their formation
in 1890. With the growing importance of railroads, ICS became a very
large institution. At one point, they offered courses to employees from as
many as 150 railroad companies. Today, ICS is the largest commercial
provider of home study programs in the US. It also has a very large
international presence. (Moore and Kearsley, 1996) Today – ICS is part
of Thomson Learning, and is known as Education Direct. Student can
now access course materials via the Internet, rather than waiting on the
US mail!
1920s One-way audio – Radio
 Thefirst educational radio license
was issued in 1921
1950s - 1960s Video
Conferencing
 In July 1962, the first American
communications satellite (Telstar 1) was
launched into space. Shortly thereafter,
educators recognized this method of
communication as a viable means of distance
education. One-way video/two-way audio was
and still is the most common format.
1950s - 1980s Teleconferencing
 The first educational television license was
issued in 1945. In 1952, the Joint Council on
Educational Television, a group of professional
educators and interested parties, pressured the U.
S. Federal Communications Commission to
reserve a segment of the open TV channel
spectrum for educational purposes.
"Educational“ stations began to spring up.
1950s - 1980s Teleconferencing
 Thus ITV was born. During the 60's and 70's, classrooms
were privy to instruction viatelevision. Still a relatively
young medium at the time, television gave classrooms an
avenue to receive instructional programming. During the
70's and 80's, broadcast video and home video playback
equipment provided another means of constructing a
distance learning course and allowed the learning the
learning goals that could be addressed through independent
learning to be expanded. At the college level, telecourses
became a common distancelearning format
1950s - 1980s Teleconferencing
Several major telecourse development projects were
funded by the Annenburg Foundation, the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting, and some community colleges
and universities. During the last decade, cable
television and satellite transmission has offered an
alternative method for delivering instructional
television. Many cable companies will pick up satellite
transmissions of educational programs and broadcast
them on public access channels
1980s Personal Computers
Personal computers became common by the late
1980s. At first, they were used mostly by
distance learners as tools to type up papers to be
submitted to correspondence teachers via the
postal system, but very soon the Internet become
popular and online Internet classes began to
replace the postal system method of exchanging
assignments.
Defining Distance Education
History of distance education and
technology
1990s - present Web-based Instruction
Virtual learning environments are popular today. via the Internet..
Basically, the students in the class, along with the instructor, use a
local computer (usually at home) to access the course. Students then
are able to do a myriad of things – register online, download course
materials, gain access to video and audio materials, and communicate
with instructors and fellow students.
1990s – present\ Modern
software and technology
 CMS / LMS and applications that can be
used to encapsulate learning materials for
Internet delivery have been steadily
expanding since the 1990s.
Today - 2004
 Today, some of the most popular Course
Management Systems are Blackboard, WebCT and
Web Crossing. Some popular software applications
for creating learning objects include Macromedia
Flash, PowerPoint, Impatica, Hot Potatoes,
SoftChalk LessonBuilder, Camtasia, Robo Demo,
Macromedia Director, QuickTime and many more.
Java Applets are commonly used today to stream,
play and simulate learning activities.
Today - 2004
 Audio and video are common components within Web
courses, as well as interactive quizzes, discussion
boards and live chat applications. More homes in
America have personal computers than homes that
don’t. Many have high speed Internet access via
cable or DSL, and email is fast becoming the premier
method of communication. Online learners will
typically either email assignments to instructors of
upload them into some type of online digital drop box.
Significant
Educational
Timeline
http://timerime.com/en/t
imeline/403478/Distan
ce+Education+History/
Definition of DE in the past
In the past, the idea of distance learning conjured
up images of clunky video tapes with pre-
recorded lectures and plenty of do-it-yourself
textbooks.
 Now the widespread use of the
Internet has revolutionized
distance education, and advances
in technology continue to enhance
nearly every
Definition of DE nowadays
These days, participating in distance education
isn't an isolated event. Students can attend
online class along with their peers, talk back
and forth in forums, e-mail questions to
professors, and even listen to each lecture in
online class. Distance education has come a
long way.
Defining Distance Education

Time for
Presentation
The End
Questions & Discussions