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OVERVIEW

For thousands of years the traditional way of education has been to bring students, in a wide variety of ages, together in a single location, in boxes called classrooms. In this environment the lecture is the primary delivery system. This mode altered some with the coming of the printing press, because people could learn from books. But lectures continue to be widely used.

The traditional schools and universities recently have experienced severe problems. Increasing numbers of students have driven them into less interactive modes of learning, therefore decreasing the quality of learning for many students. Further, we do not reach all students who desire such an education. So it is appropriate, even essential, to investigate carefully new learning modes.

In short, we need to educate more people, educate them to far higher standards, and to do it as effectively and as efficiently as possible.

1in An American Imperative:

1in Higher Expectations in Higher Education

1in Report of the Wingspread Group

1.5in on Higher Education

1in The Johnson Foundation, 1993

Distance education, as it exists today, depends on modern communication tactics. Correspondence courses were used widely when mail services became more reliable. More recently a whole range of electronic communication technology has made the possibilities for learning at a distance, perhaps in one's own home, much more realistic. The technological aids to communication have increased greatly lately, leading to new forms of distance learning. Because of these new modes learning in one's home is a growing phenomenon, in all parts of the world. It is playing a particularly important role, thus far, in university and adult education, but occurs at all levels. But we have a long way to go to fully realize the potential of distance learning.

It is curious that we do not have in the United States any major comprehensive distance learning institution. We have nothing that compares for example with the Open University in the United Kingdom, in size, budget, and numbers of students. Nor do we have the expertise in developing curriculum material that is represented in the Open University, essential for such major institutions.

We do have in the United States many small distance learning institutions, some connected with major universities. Why we have not developed a major institution is a puzzle. Given the size of the United States and the vast numbers of rural areas, it would seem that distance learning would be a natural direction for education, both for schools and for universities.

Furthermore, outreach is often a major goal for United States education, and so distance learning would seem to be a rational approach. It enables us to reach far more students than conventional universities can reach.

This paper discusses 'distance learning.' This term, and the related terms, do not have at present a clear meaning, as they are used by different people to represent different possibilities, particularly with regard to how learning is delivered. Our discussion is oriented to the future, with emphasis on highly interactive delivery methods. It looks toward the establishment of a major distance learning institute in the United States.

I begin with several examples of distance learning institutions, to give some idea of the range involved. The use of interactive multimedia learning methods is of particular interest in this discussion. I will discuss the issues of interaction later in this paper.