For more than a century, distance learning in higher education has constantly evolved–both in practice and in the definition of the term. As in many academic pursuits that are still in a state of development, there have been debates not only about the definition, but also about the words distance and learning themselves. While there is no one authority to arbitrate this issue, reviewing some well-researched definitions yields some common concepts.
In the mid-1990s, the U.S. Department of Education undertook two studies that tallied the number of U.S. institutions offering distance-learning courses, the number of courses that they offered, and the number of students served by the courses. The studies defined distance education as "education or training courses delivered to remote (off-campus) location(s) via audio, video (live or prerecorded), or computer technologies" (Lewis, Farris, and Levin, p.2). To gain a precise count, the Department of Education listed what should and should not be counted as distance education. For example, they asked that courses taught by faculty traveling to a remote site not be included.
In the late 1990s the American Association of University Professors addressed the rapid adoption of distance learning in their Statement on Distance Education. This document defined distance education (or distance learning) as education in which "the teacher and the student are separated geographically so that face-to-face communication is absent; communication is accomplished instead by one or more technological media, most often electronic (interactive television, satellite television, computers, and the like)" (American Association of University Professors website).
Also late in the 1990s, the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET) developed a publication entitled The Distance Learner's Guide to assist learners in successfully finding and taking courses at a distance. The authors sought a definition that did not focus on technology and would be easy for anyone to understand: "Perhaps the simplest definition is that distance learning takes place when the instructor and student are not in the same room, but instead are separated by physical distance" (Connick, p. 3).
Three main concepts are common to these definitions:
• Education. A course of study is being undertaken involving both teaching and learning.
• Overcoming barriers of place and/or time. Teachers and learners traditionally meet at an appointed place at an appointed time to pursue a course of study. Distance learning originally developed to overcome the difficulties of teachers and learners who were not in the same geographic location. More recently, distance learning may also serve those who might be at the same location, but choose not to meet at the same time.
• A tool is used to facilitate learning. To overcome the distance of place or time, some form of technology is used to communicate between the teacher and learner. Originally, the technologies of pen, paper, and the postal service were used to connect them. As electronic communication technologies (audio, video, and data) became readily accessible to learners, these have been increasingly used.
Related Terms and Concepts
While the term distance learning is widely used, the rapid development of communications technologies in the late 1990s and early 2000s created many variations on the theme. To understand distance learning, it is helpful to examine other closely related terms and concepts.
Correspondence study. The original form of distance learning, correspondence study involves the exchange of the written word, on paper, between teacher and learner. Improvements in transportation technologies (i.e., trains, trucks, planes) have assisted the postal service in making this an increasingly more viable method of study.
Distance education. Those wishing to focus on the learner as the center of the instructional process favor using the word learning. Others insist that the higher education institution cannot force someone to learn, and that the activity undertaken by the institution is education, not learning.
Distributed education. As electronic technologies provided more assistance to overcome the barriers of time, instead of just distance, some felt that the focus on distance had outlived its usefulness. In distributed education, education is available (or "distributed") to any location at any time. Often a mix of technologies is proposed, including face-to-face instruction.
Hybrid classes. These courses use a mixture of distance learning and face-to-face techniques. For example, a group of learners in a biology class may meet face-to-face for their laboratory work, but the remainder of the instruction may be offered via television or computer.
Open learning. This is a term for distance learning commonly used in the British Commonwealth countries. The term derives from the Open University of the United Kingdom. To assist those not privileged to attend Britain's selective universities, the Open University began offering classes in the 1960s via a combination of written materials, televised programs, and local tutors. Open universities have spread throughout the Commonwealth countries and serve millions of students throughout the world.
Online learning. Distance learning where the bulk of instruction is offered via computer and the Internet is called online learning.
E-learning. Gaining popularity in the early 2000s, the term e-learning refers to any electronically assisted instruction, but is most often associated with instruction offered via computer and the Internet.
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