Education Mirrors Industry: On the Not-So Surprising Rise of Internet Distance Education

Abstract

Internet distance education is analyzed as a natural consequence of fin de siècle industrial transformations. From this perspective, previous distance- and technologically-based educational innovations are discussed, not as having failed, but as not matching prevailing economic and social conditions. It is argued that in the evolution from a manufacturing economy, in which standard educational practices are based, to an information economy, in which greater autonomy, collaboration, flexibility, and a project orientation to work are the norm, educational practices will either follow the lead of industrial organizations or risk irrelevance. Implications for adapting educational practices to new economic realities and developing new research streams are presented, especially in terms of matching instructional technology to educational outcomes, virtual collaboration, and media naturalness effects.