ABSTRACT
It has been a decade since the release of An Introduction to Distance Education; Understanding Teaching and Learning in a New Era, 1st edition. This updated volume continues to address two significant education transformations. One is the evolution, such that it is, of the long-standing foundations of distance education. Second is the role distance education history and foundations have played in an evolving higher education environment. In both cases, pervasive technology and significant social and economic developments are changing the context in which education resides. Online and blended education delivery has emerged in response to these changes. Those attendant to distance education, and the commitment to learner access and independence, want to ensure that instruction remains relevant and effective in an evolving digital age (Beaudoin, 2015). In the “constantly developing interdisciplinary fields where technology has become a significant catalyst” (Bozkurt, 2019, p. 252) delivery mechanisms and opportunities evolve. For distance and mainstream higher education, now seemingly connected in ways previously unavailable, “there is a need to revisit core values and fundamentals where critical pedagogy would have a pivotal role.” (Bozkurt, 2019, p. 252).
