Flexible learning: it's not just about distance

Flexible learning: it's not just about distance Flexible learning is becoming somewhat of a buzzword: everyone is for it, but often people have not thought further about it, except perhaps that it means something about distance education. In this chapter we introduce the first of our lessons learnt: that such vagueness is not desirable and is even counter-productive. To put the lesson into practice we show that flexible learning can involve

many dimensions, only one of which is related to location of participation. While flexible learning offers many opportunities, we also show that trying to implement it brings with it many problems and challenges. We introduce four key components of flexible learning - technology, pedagogy, implementation strategies and institutional framework - whose interaction forms the focus of this book. Although many combinations of these components have stimulated forms of flexible learning in the past, the new technologies of the Internet, particularly those of the World Wide Web (WWW), coupled with new pressures on highereducation institutions are bringing new possibilities for the realization of flexible learning, perhaps more than ever possible before. However, there is still much to be learnt from previous experiences with flexible learning and technology. We believe that lessons learnt from previous experiences with technology, pedagogy, implementation and institutional responses can shape and temper our expectations for the future.