Distance learning refers to conducting a class in one school to be viewed in one or more other schools located elsewhere. In the past, this has been accomplished through small cable TV networks connecting together several high schools in a region. Ideally, they would allow students to take classes that weren't offered at their school but were at a near-by school. Then, by coordinating classes and schedules a district of schools could reallocate their resources to minimize redundancies and maximize the diversity of classes offered. These systems were quite expensive and not all that efficient, due to the awkwardness of conducting a class session over a TV/video camera set up. The real problem was that they were using a new medium in the same old fashioned way.
Recently the possibility of video conferencing over the internet has sparked a renewed interest in distance learning. Unfortuantely almost every type of "internet distance learning" package has exactly the same problem that the cable TV setup had. They are trying to force the technology to simulate the familar way of teaching and learning -- instead of adapting the methods of teaching and learning to the new technology.
There are also some projects out there that are offering "do it yourself" classes online -- you download the assignments and submit the completed ones over the network. These suffer from the lack of feedback and discussion.
Finally, there's a few email and web-based courses that combine real-time discussions with the do-it-yourself style of learning. These are the most effective systems out there, but they are few and far between, expensive, and lacking in depth due to the limitations of the web.
What is the purpose of spending tons of money to set up complex hardware and software in order to have video conferencing abilities in high schools when there's no formal way of organizing such a system? Clearly the main priority should be establishing a network with clearly defined means of communication. The design of the software is purely secondary. We need to teach high schools how to communicate amongst each other and how to share intellectual resources.
Keep reading the overview to see how we've improved on this concept!