Distance Education in Higher Education Institutions
Higher education institutions (HEIs) are faced with the problem of meeting the demands of thousands of students attending universities each year. Some universities see in excess of 100,000 students, and fitting these students into classrooms becomes problematic in terms of scheduling and availability (Keegan, 1996). With this influx of students, it is imperative for educational facilities to modify their approach to meet the needs of students. Distance education provides one possible solution based on its ability to reach students who previously might not have been accommodated (Keegan, 1996).
With its rise in popularity within the last decade, there have been many attempts to define distance education (see Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2014). However, it is generally agreed that distance education refers to a learning environment where a student is separated by distance from the instructor, and that learners use some form of technology (e.g., computers, tablets, etc.) to access learning materials provided by the teacher (Anderson, 2008). Presently, distance education is commonly recognized as being synonymous with online learning, and in some contexts, blended learning, the latter being an educational model that combines the strengths of both online and face-to-face learning. Blended learning has grown increasingly popular in HEIs due to its promise of increasing students’ competence and confidence in learning, providing a quality educational experience, and developing critical thinking in the classroom (Azizan, 2010).
Research in distance education during the 20th century focused heavily on answering the question “Which learning environment or which delivery technology or media is more effective when the outcome variable is the average scores of two or more groups of learners?” (Black, 2013, p. 6). Kozma (2001) states that it is not the medium of instruction that impacts the learning of students as much as it is the use of authentic materials and the interaction between students and materials. Furthermore, Moore (2013) argues that distance education is especially beneficial in countries where traditional education is not as readily accessible to students. However, critics of distance education believe that there is still much to be desired in assuring quality control in distance education.