Carina Petterson
9th Novermber, 2001, London

The focus of the presentation was on distance learning — ‘e-learning’ — at university level. The main users of distance learning internationally are China and Russia although various other countries such as Australia, the UK and Germany, also have established programmes.

Although the motto of distance learning was that we should be able to learn where and when we want, there are always organisational limitations, such as the time limits imposed on the start and end of courses. In some fields there is the added constraint that specialised equipment is required, as in laboratory equipment, as well as a basic PC and modem and there were sometimes problems in getting access to software.

The acknowledged benefits of face-to-face contact in education, and hence the disadvantages of distance learning, were that it improved motivation, enabled learning from peers and helped sociability. In the past students involved in distance learning tended to be in isolation when corresponding with the teacher. As a result, distance learning students tended to be older (the average age was 30) and to be more disciplined and self-motivated.

ICTs does offer some new possibilities. There are more options for communicating with the teacher, via the phone, e-mail and teleconferencing with the possibility of quicker responses from teachers. And teleconferencing could help put students in touch with one another, both for social purposes and for learning ones. Research suggests that students perceive the best approach to be one that involved students and teachers also meeting face-to-face occasionally.