Trials and tribulations of e-learning and distance learning within Essay

Trials and tribulations of e-learning and distance learning within higher education - Essay Example Fortunately enough, there have been radical developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Computer technology has scaled new heights in terms of processing speed, storage and display; the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) has made it possible for content to be made available at any time, anywhere in the world. The requirement for faster knowledge acquisition and dissemination and the rapid developments in ICT have converged to lead to the development of what is known as e-Learning and Distance Education. â€Å". . . a wide set of applications and processes allied to training and learning that includes computer-based learning, online learning, virtual classrooms and digital collaboration. These services can be delivered by a variety of electronic media, including the intranet, internet, interactive TV and satellite.† Distance Learning lays more emphasis on the geographical distance or separation between the knowledge disseminating agency and the student. The concept of distance education is not new. Imparting education by despatch of course material through the postal service or snail mail, was the earlier form of distance education which has now metamorphosed with the application of electronic technology. Desmond Keegan (1995) defines Distance Learning as resulting from the technological separation of teacher and learner which frees the student from the necessity of travelling to â€Å"a fixed place, at a fixed time, to meet a fixed person, in order to be trained.† As far as dissemination of educational content through electronic technology is concerned, e-Learning and Distance Learning can therefore be considered to be the same. For the purpose of this paper, e-Learning and Distance Learning are used interchangeably. e-Learning delivery can be synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous delivery implies an online or live