The Potential Attraction of Online Distance Education: Lessons from the Telecommuting Literature

Abstract

Distance education involves both the student and the instructor in various tasks associated with learning and testing the absorption of that learning. In this chapter, parallels are drawn between educational and workplace tasks–the understanding of prescribed material, assignments, experiences and acquisition of knowledge on one hand and the components of a job on the other. It draws on the telecommuting literature as it relates to telecommuting’s attraction to the worker, the organization and the community, the importance of the task, the technology required, the role of the supervisor and the individual attributes one needs to be a successful teleworker. These are brought together in a model aimed at providing a guide to the possible adoption of distance education and enabling administrators to assess its potential and some of the pitfalls that may be encountered.