ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the key element associated with the effectiveness of distance-learning materials is their pedagogical quality and presentation rather than the nature of the media through which the materials are imparted. Broadcast and non-broadcast audio-visual media are generally used to support print, rather than to act as the principal expository element of a course. Several more detailed accounts exist, of course, of the use and characteristics of media for distance education. The credibility of distance education as a method, then, no longer needs to be proved. Broadcasting is used in some projects in association with the print materials, either as a general rule or on selected courses. Some projects include specially designed kit materials to be used by the student on certain science and technology courses. J. S. Daniel and K. Forsythe, in summarising this experience, point out the importance of institutional commitment to the idea and philosophy of using ‘alien’ materials.
