Effective teaching through distance education

Historically, most distance education courses were vocational in nature, but today courses are offered for academic, professional, and avocational purposes for students of all ages. There are numerous specialized programs, such as those for blind persons and for parents of small children with hearing impairments. Distance education is available in practically any field, from accounting to zoology. Courses are offered in gemology, high school diploma, journalism, locksmithing, child day care management, yacht design, and many fascinating subjects. Distance education courses also vary greatly in scope, level, and length. Some have a few assignments and require only a few months to complete, while others have a hundred or more lesson assignments requiring three or four years of conscientious study. Distance education is a method of education in which the learner is physically separated from the teacher and the institution sponsoring the instruction. It may be used on its own, or in conjunction with other forms of education, including face- to- face instruction. In any distance education process there must be a teacher, one or more students, and a course or curriculum that the teacher is capable of teaching and the student is trying to learn. The contract between teacher and learner, whether in a traditional classroom or distance education, requires that the student be taught, assessed, given guidance and, where appropriate, prepared for examinations that may or may not be conducted by the institution. This must be accomplished by two- way communication. Learning may be undertaken either individually or in groups; in either case, it is accomplished in the physical absence of the teacher in distance education. Where distance teaching materials are provided to learners, they are structured in ways that facilitate learning at a distance. Abbas Emami, Mehdi Nazarpour. Effective teaching through distance education. Life Science Journal. 2011; 8(3): 127-132] ( ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com.