ABSTRACT

Distance education during the industrial period developed at the intersection of three powerful forces: social change, technological development, and the need for educational institutions to adapt to changing social needs. Among these three forces, technology has been both a cause of change-due to its impact on society-and a means by which distance education responded to those changes. Technology also affected how institutions organized the distance education function over time. To understand better the interactions among technologies, organization, and the role of distance education, it is good to take a long view.