My own example of long distance learning

I have chosen to do Canada as my example of long distance learning as it is a country I like very much and have a general interest in.

The website I have chosen is as follows; http://canadaonline.about.com/library/weekly/aa042197.htm

As of 1995, there was increasing pressure put upon the education sector in Canada to promote long distance learning. This pressure was put on due to certain things, which were outlined as being;
. the explosion of information as a result of new technology

. a changing workplace which calls for the constant upgrading of skills - technical, management, language, communications - the list goes on, and it's a long one

. the changing nature of work - more contracting, part-time, temporary jobs

. the changing makeup of the workforce itself - more older, part-time, female, and multicultural workers.

I am also aware that Canada is very unevenly spread in terms of population, like Australia, so there has been huge cries for investment in long distance education, especially at the college and university levels.

Most of the Ministries of Education in Canada say they are involved in placing distance learning higher up on its agenda. There have been some inroads.

Athabasca University gets high marks for providing a full MBA online. Using Lotus Notes (the software comes as part of the tuition package), you can take your whole MBA without having to go to a classroom. They do have session meetings so students can physically connect with a group, but just about all the work is done online. They are gradually increasing their use of the Internet as well. In addition, Athabasca offers a full range of undergraduate distance education courses.

The University of Western Ontario offers its Executive MBA through a form of distance learning, but it involves trundling down to a classroom in one of seven major Canadian cities for videoconferences. It doesn't strike me as all that much farther ahead than twenty years ago when we had courses piped in by television to classrooms at Carleton University. Some progress, I suppose, but not twenty years' worth.

The TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence includes a research project on Virtual-U software, "one of the world's first Web-based course delivery systems," and there are other research advances coming out of work by the TeleLearning Network also.

The only one problem with this website, is that it is now seemingly out-dated, as it takes its information from 1997-98. The internet has since rose to worldwide prominence, so I therefore guess that long distance learning in the country has increased with internet circulation.