The Evolution of Distance Learning

This article describes how our present delivery of instruction over distance could become an even more powerful and useful educational medium through incorporating ideas from cooperative learning and computer supported cooperative work. Advances in information technology that would enhance distance learning include collaborative mimetic interfaces, direct manipulation capabilities, telepointers, automatic electronic archiving, hypertext, and specialized software for different types of interaction. Through incorporating these functionalities, distance learning environments can be designed to have greater opportunities for students to interact than traditional single-classroom settings. By overcoming pupils’ segregation into homogeneous enclaves, distance learning can enhance pluralism to prepare Americans for competition in the world marketplace. Eventually, all educational institutions will need to develop students’ abilities in distanced interaction, for skills of collaboration with remote team members will be as central to the future American workplace as performing structured tasks quickly was during the early stages of the industrial revolution. However, whether TMIL creates a global village or an unattractive world of weakened social relationships ultimately depends upon how carefully we think through our design decisions and monitor shifts in Interpersonal interaction as they emerge.