How Quickly Distance Learning Has Expanded - By: Zachery Warsaw

Very simply put, distance learning is described as being; an instructor teaching in one location while a student, or students, learn lessons removed from that location. A form of distance learning possibly began as early as our postal system with lessons and instruction being delivered from a teacher to an enrolled student in another part of the country. The student would accomplish the lessons and return the completed assignments to the instructor via the same route. Distance education has become much more sophisticated through the years with new technologies, and currently may serve up to 3 million students in the United States alone.

In the mid-1990s, Jones International University claimed to be the first university to offer college credit courses at a distance using broadcast and cable television as a one way instructional vehicle. This was to be known as asynchronous instruction as the instructor gave lectures and assignments to the students with no immediate feedback from, nor interaction with the student.

Synchronous distance education came into use in communities in the 1980s via a telephone connection from the classroom to students in home due to a prolonged illness or disability. While this type of instruction helped a student to keep up with the class, the major advantages of distance education would come to be significantly more advantageous to a larger body of students over a wider distributed network or television electronic classroom.

In the mid-1980s, cable television companies began gaining operational permission from communities to operate their services by offering local schools and colleges the use of some channels on the cable systems. These services could often be made bidirectional wherein the college could transmit a signal to the community, and a registered student could, through a small transmitter, send information directly back to the college. With the relatively easy setup of a camera, the technique would provide a simultaneous, dynamic learning experience to a large body of students.

Up to 95% of universities now offer some form of distance learning through the Internet for college credit. Many techniques are used to facilitate direct communication between the instructor and students. Most instances of instruction now include live web casts of lectures to a large student body but can involve occasional one-on-one student teacher interaction using a service such as Skype.

The average classroom size in the country is approximately 20 students for every teacher. With the advent of distance education, a larger class can be accommodated allowing the benefits of one instructor to be spread over a larger audience.

About the Author

Jump start your career by using distance learning in education. Use this simple guide to learn more about distance learning schools and how they can help you in the job field.

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