What is Distance Education?
Distance education (DE) is any instruction that takes place outside the main campus classroom setting. University of Houston offers its students the opportunity to supplement their on-campus course work or even take their entire upper-division or graduate-level requirements for selected majors and programs through distance education. Classes offered through DE are regular UH classes taught by UH faculty and have the same pre-requisites and requirements as classes taken on campus. Most distance education classes at UH are upper-division (junior-, senior-, and graduate-level) courses. Some lower-division (freshman- and sophomore-level) classes are also available through distance education, but most of these must still be taken on campus. (Houston-area community colleges offer all the lower-division courses required by UH through distance education. If you decide to complete the requirements at one of these institutions, you can transfer the credits and apply them toward a bachelor’s degr
The terms “distance education” or “distance learning” have been applied interchangeably by many different researchers to a great variety of programs, providers, audiences, and media. Its hallmarks are the separation of teacher and learner in space and/or time (Perraton, 1988), the volitional control of learning by the student rather than the distant instructor (Jonassen, 1992), and noncontiguous communication between student and teacher, mediated by print or some form of technology (Keegan, 1986; Garrison and Shale, 1987).
The Distance Education Network (which is composed of live-interactive television, telecourses, college-by-cassette courses, and courses taught via the Internet) enables you to take courses outside the traditional classroom setting. All college resources will be available to you, including the Learning Resource Center, Student Services, Computer Labs, Testing Center, and Tutoring Services.
Distance Learning happens wherever the learner is most available, free from the traditional boundaries of geography. It could be in the next room, or in the next state. It uses whatever technology is most available and appropriate to allow effective learning wherever needed. It changes the rules. Now, you and your colleagues, the learners, are more able to adapt and use your newly-gained knowledge for your real world challenges immediately. Laboratory work is done at your own location. Typical Methods of Distance Learning include: • One-way video/two-way audio via satellite • Two way video and audio conferencing • Multiple user audio-only conferencing • World Wide Web-based access to educational programs • Internet and e-mail-based distributed educational programs A critical element of effective distance learning today is the learning environment. Interaction within that environment can occur by many technical means: e-mail, fax, telephone, two-way video. Interestingly, this interactio
Within a context of rapid technological change and shifting market conditions, the American education system is challenged with providing increased educational opportunities without increased budgets. Many educational institutions are answering this challenge by developing distance education programs. At its most basic level, distance education takes place when a teacher and student(s) are separated by physical distance, and technology (i.e., voice, video, data, and print), often in concert with face-to-face communication, is used to bridge the instructional gap. These types of programs can provide adults with a second chance at a college education, reach those disadvantaged by limited time, distance or physical disability, and update the knowledge base of workers at their places of employment.
