ABSTRACT
This book started with a discussion of globalization, during which it was pointed out that one of the two main driving forces of this process is information technology; it is not surprising, therefore, that educational systems have been affected by the changes in the substructure of the globe. It is unnecessary to rehearse all of these arguments again here, but to recognize that nearly all forms of education are changing in response to the wider social pressures. Even so, distance education has grown in popularity in recent years, popularized by the British Open University, although its history is far older, and even university distance education occurred long before the Open University was ever dreamed about (Rumble and Harry, 1982). Consequently, this chapter first examines the nature of distance education/learning and, thereafter, it looks at the way that it has developed, and continues to develop, and, finally, it examines some of its practices in contemporary society.
