Distance education

From Freepedia

Distance education is a method of teaching in which the students are not required to be physically present at a specific location during the term. Instead, teachers and students communicate by exchanging printed or electronic media, or through technology that allows them to communicate in real time.

Most often, regular mail is used to send written material, videos, audiotapes, and CD-ROMs to the student and to turn in the exercises. E-mail, the Web, and video conferencing over broadband network connections are used as well. With advances in technology and online distribution, it is even possible to provide distance education students with powerful forms of learning support such as educational animation.

Full time or part-time study is possible, but most students choose part-time study. Research study is possible as well. Often students are required to come to meetings at regional offices on specific weekends, for example to take exams. Distance education is offered at all levels, but is most frequently an option for university-level studies. A form of educational program which is similar to this but which requires some amount of presence during the year is a low-residency program.

Distance education programs are sometimes called correspondence courses, an older term that originated in nineteenth-century vocational education programs that were conducted through postal mail. This term has been largely replaced by distance education, and expanded to encompass more sophisticated technologies. The first subject taught by correspondence was the Pitman Shorthand, a tool of stenography. Primary and secondary education programs were also widely available by correspondence, usually for children living in remote areas.

One of the oldest distance education universities is the University of South Africa, which has been offering DE courses since 1946. The largest distance education university in the UK is the Open University founded 1969. In Germany the FernUniversität in Hagen was founded 1974. All three are now mega universities. In 1999 the European Graduate School went online from both Switzerland and the United States.

There are many private and public, non-profit and for-profit institutions offering courses and degree programs through distance education. Levels of accreditation vary; some institutions offering distance education have received little outside oversight, and some may be fraudulent diploma mills.

Contents 1 Major institutions offering distance learning programs 1.1 Australia 1.2 Canada 1.3 Germany 1.4 China 1.5 India 1.6 Iran 1.7 The Netherlands 1.8 Philippines 1.9 Portugal 1.10 Russia 1.11 Singapore 1.12 South Africa 1.13 Spain 1.14 Switzerland 1.15 Thailand 1.16 United Kingdom 1.17 United States 1.18 International 2 See also 3 External links

Major institutions offering distance learning programs

Australia

• Correspondence schools are run by state education departments for students in remote areas, where they are too far away to attend any school. Students and teachers use the postal system to communicate.
  • Queensland - Department of Distance Education
• School of the Air is a system similar to Correspondence schools but use radios developed in the 1920s for the RFDS to link students and teachers.

Canada

• Athabasca University
• Royal Roads University
• Simon Fraser University
• Télé-Université
• Thompson Rivers University
• University of Waterloo
• Ryerson University

Germany

• FernUniversität in Hagen
• AKAD Privathochschulen
• Diploma Europäische Hochschulen
• Europäische Fernhochschule Hamburg
• Fernfachhochschule Riedlingen
• Hamburger Fernhochschule
• Private Fernfachhochschule Darmstadt

China

• The Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK)
• School of Professional and Continuing Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU SPACE)

India

• Indira Gandhi National Open University

Iran

• Payame Noor University

The Netherlands

• Open University (Netherlands)

Philippines

• University of the Philippines Open University

Portugal

• Universidade Aberta

Russia

• MIM LINK (The Open University (UK) partner in CIS)

Singapore

• Singapore Institute of Management-Open University Centre (to be accorded university status as SIM University in 2006)

South Africa

• University of South Africa

Spain

• Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
• Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Switzerland

• AKAD Hochschule für Berufstätige
• Fernfachhochschule Schweiz

Thailand

• Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University

United Kingdom

• Heriot-Watt University
• Open College of the Arts
• The Open University
• University of London
• University of Wales, Lampeter
• International Correspondence Schools
• The International Extension College
• The National Extension College

United States

• California State University, Dominguez Hills
• Charter Oak State College
• City College of San Francisco
• Empire State College
• Excelsior College
• Goddard College
• Heritage College & Heritage Institute
• Saint Joseph's College of Maine
• Thomas Edison State College
• Union Institute & University
• University of Phoenix
• University of Maryland University College

International

• European Graduate School
• Universitas 21 Global, an online university affiliated to the Universitas 21 alliance

See also

• Efficient learning method
• European Association of Distance Teaching Universities
• Caution Some organisations decribing themselves as Distance Education institutions are nothing of the sort and their actions may bring the sector into disrepute. Refer to Diploma mills and List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning.

External links

• Distance Learning: The Distance Learning Network
• The Distance Education and Training Council
• European Association of Distance Teaching Universities
• Athabasca University
• Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University
• Open University (United Kingdom)
• Fernuniversitaet in Hagen - University in Hagen (Germany)

• Open University (Netherlands)
• Italian Culture on the Net A consortium of Italian Universities funded by the Italian Government which grants academic degrees