Distance Education

In class we defined distance education as  A field of education that focuses on the 

pedagogy and andragogy, technology, and instructional systems design that aim to deliver education to students who are not physically on site.

Distance education has come along way in my life-time. My senior year of High School, 2007, was the first year my school offered distance education credits. The class consisted of various 45 minutes lectures found on an online data base, message board posts, online assignments and test, and teacher-student meetings once a month. This seemed very informal, but three years later, this curriculum is considered formal by today's standards. Now-a-days there is a collection of online lectures and in-class tests. That is it.

For this method of education to be successful it requires a highly motivated group of students who are willing to watch lectures, ask questions via e-mail or office hours, and (in some aspects) create their own class schedule.

As a public relations student, I have take many classes online and find it very advantageous. That is, if you are organized and stay on track watching lectures. If a student slips up and misses a week of lectures, he/she could be in for a long game of "catch-up." Going into law school is a different story, there are no online classes - just assignments and posted readings. Well, traditionally. The first online law school was recently founded (University of Phoenix), this was all made possible by the evolution of distance education.

Here is a Youtube about the 10 guided principles of distance education: 

The video shows the structure of distance education and provides the viewer with a feel for how the field of distance education functions.