the United States and Canada. The estimates for the number of students currently taking distance education courses for college credit range from 300,000 to 1 million. Though distance education can be costly, one of the primary reasons behind its increased popularity is undoubtedly financial because of the great number of students it can serve effectively” (Swift, 1997, 85).
The topic of distance education and distance education technology is important because it has many ramifications for education, commerce, and society in general. Conventional distance education programs have also embraced a traditional classroom and teaching approach. However, one must be careful not to confuse modern distance education with that of yesterday’s because it is much more than a mode or method of instruction or delivering instruction. Rather than merely being an extension of the traditional classroom and conventional instruction methods, distance education and the technology developed to deliver it have also revolutionized traditional instruction and learning paradigms. For example, the old method of instruction viewed the teacher as an omniscient teacher whereas the new paradigm views the instructor as a knowledgeable guide who assists learners in their own educational endeavors. The chart below shows the differences between the old paradigm of instruction and the new paradigm created in part by the advent of distance education technologies.
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OLD MODEL NEW MODEL TECHNOLOGY IMPLICATIONS
lectures exploration Networked PCs with access to informa-
Passive absorption Apprenticeship Requires skills development and simu-
Individual work Team learning Benefits from collaborative tools and
Omniscient teacher Teacher as guide Relies on access to experts over
Stable content Fast-changing Requires networks and publishing tools content
Homogeneity Div...