Distance Learning

Distance learning is a term in wide use today. Educators also refer to it as distance education and, in some settings, distributed education. For the purposes of this entry, distance learning is defined as the communication over distance between teacher and student mediated by print or some form of technology designed to bridge the separation between teacher and student in space or time. Advances in information and communication technology are changing the manner in which instructors have traditionally conducted distance learning, and these changes are providing many transformational possibilities for all levels of education. With the development of many online tools and the easing of prices for handheld computers and audio/video players, students are increasingly able to shift their distance learning experience not only beyond ...