Distance Education in the United States, Past, Present, Future

Through a generous offer of Mr. Lawrence Lipsitz publisher and editor of Educational Technology Magazine, subscribers to Distance-Educator.com e-Newsletter can download a PDF copy of Distance Education in the United States, Past, Present, Future.

Published since 1961, Educational Technology Magazine has chronicled the growth and development of the field by many leading scholars who have contributed to it. Over the years, articles in this publication has been assigned reading for courses that I taught at San Diego State University in the Department of Educational Technology as they reflected state-of-the-art thinking on instructional design, application of new technologies in teaching and learning, and leadership in educational technology.

In this article I propose that Distance Education has served specific social needs in its formative years during the 20th century. In the second decade of the new century, accelerating pace of innovation in information technology, and increased research in how people learn will introduce more theoretical, conceptual, and practical opportunities as well as challenges for professionals in the field. The promise of distance education, however, will depend to a great extent on how public representatives and government officials succeed in employing distance education in decreasing the cost of education, while increasing access to learning opportunities for everyone. I recommend reading this article.

Farhad (Fred) Saba, Ph. D.
Founder and Editor
Distance-Educator.com