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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 152 (2014) 82 – 88

ERPA 2014

Distance Learning
Amani Mubarak Al-Khatir Al-Arimia*
a
Ibra College of Technology, PO Box No. 327, Postal Code: 400, Ibra, Al-Sharqiyah North Governoate, Sultanate of Oman.

Abstract

Advantage of e-learning often include flexibility and convenience for the learner, facilitation of communication between learner,
greater adaptability to a learner's need, more variety in learner experience with using multimedia and the non-verbal presentation
of teaching material. Video interaction provides visual and audio learner that the user control them that can paused and reversed
for watching again. E-learning is naturally suited to distance learning and flexible learning, but can also be used in conjunction
with face-to-face teaching, in which case the term Blended learning is commonly used. E-learning can also refer to educational
web sites such as those offering worksheets and interactive exercises for children. The term is also used extensively in the
business sector where it generally refers to cost-effective online training. E-Learning is the employment of technology to aid and
enhance learning. Focusing on the use of the Internet in e-learning, three primary uses have emerged. It is an electronic
technology to deliver, support and enhance teaching and learning. Through e-learning the student will have more experiences can
be achieved, because learn from the content as well learn from using online communities and networks. In this way, e-learning
can support "learning through reflection and discussion". E-learning empower learner to manage their way of learning and the
way he like to learn. Because each one has their own way of learning.
©
© 2014
2014 The Authors. Published
The Authors. Published byby Elsevier
Elsevier Ltd.
Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the ERPA Congress 2014.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the ERPA Congress 2014.
Keywords:e-learning; distance learning; media education; interactivity; active learning; effective communication

1. Introduction

When distance learning start to be in the Web that has many Difficulties in Understanding and explain what
distance is learning. What is the condition of distance learning, the result have been various instrumental attempts at
improving distance education by facilitating distance student learning. The most important characteristic of E-
learning is it the ability to transform itself into new contexts.

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +968-25587941; fax: +968-25549020.
E-mail address: [email protected]

1877-0428 © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the ERPA Congress 2014.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.159
 Amani Mubarak Al-Khatir Al-Arimi / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 152 (2014) 82 – 88 83

The adult have many reason to learn by distance: constraints of time, distance, and finances and the ability to
come in contact with other students from different social, cultural, economic, and experiential backgrounds (Willis,
1993). The result of that, they gain not only new knowledge but also new social skills, including the ability to
communicate and collaborate with widely dispersed colleagues and peers whom they may never have seen.
Advantage of e-learning often include flexibility and convenience for the learner, facilitation of communication
between learner, greater adaptability to a learner's need, more variety in learner experience with using multimedia
and the non-verbal presentation of teaching material. Video interaction provides visual and audio learner that the
user control them that can paused and reversed for watching again. Cost effect e-learning in the Web and software
development.

2. What is the media?

"Messages that are distributed through the technologies, principally text in books, study guides and computer
networks; sound in audio-tapes and broadcast: pictures in video-tapes and broadcast; text, sound and/or pictures in a
teleconference"

3. What is media education?

x Media education it care about how the target understand the massage and how much they can communicate with
the data. It goal to help them to learn and improve their skills in how they can use the media effectively to
communicate their own ideas.
x Media involve (TV, radio, cinema, newspaper, magazines, music and internet).

4. What is distance learning?

x Distance learning or distance education is a field of education that focuses on the pedagogy/andragogy,
technology, and instructional system design that are effectively incorporated in delivering education to student
teacher and student may communicate asynchronously and synchronously.
x E-learning is naturally suited to distance learning and flexible learning, but can also be used in conjunction with
face-to-face teaching, in which case the term Blended learning is commonly used.
x E-learning can also refer to educational web sites such as those offering worksheets and interactive exercises for
children. The term is also used extensively in the business sector where it generally refers to cost-effective online
training.
x E-Learning is the employment of technology to aid and enhance learning. Focusing on the use of the Internet in
e-learning, three primary uses have emerged.
x It is an electronic technology to deliver, support and enhance teaching and learning.
x A definition is offered by Keegan as a list of criteria (Keegan, D. (1986) The Foundations of Distance Education.
London. Croom Helm):
1. Separation of teacher and learner (during at least a majority of the instructional process).
2. The influence of an educational organization (including the provision of student assessment).
3. The use of educational media to unite teacher and learner (and carry course content).
4. The provision of two-way communication (between teacher, tutor, or educational agency and learner).
Teaching strategies are characterized in a number of ways. For example traditional teaching which usually
involving:
x Controlled entry
x Directly taught classes
x High proportion of attended time
x Timetabled activity
x On-campus
But in open learning which presents a context with:
x Free access
84 Amani Mubarak Al-Khatir Al-Arimi / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 152 (2014) 82 – 88

x Student focused
x Possibly resource based
x Less strictly timetabled
x Based on information rather than structured teaching
x On-campus
Then the concept of distance learning may be quoted as having these characteristics:
x Controlled entry
x Taught or student focused
x Attendance may be required
x Off-campus
x Technology-based
Other concepts include independent learning, resource-based learning, and collaborative learning etc. all
representing different mixes of a number of fundamental characteristics.

Figure 1. Flexible Learning

5. Why e-learning for company?

E-learning saves a lot of money for the companies. It is flexible, fast and convenient. It saves time, money, and
resources.

6. The positive of distance learning:

The e-learning has benefits over traditional classroom training, the obvious benefits are the flexibility and the
cost saving (that spend in travel and be out of work). There are also benefits also that might not be obvious, for
example:
x What e-learning the student don’t have to travel to attend a course: attend your class in what time are stable for
you day or night and that will be so flexible to many student.
x What e-learning the hard subject can be easier and interesting.
x Through e-learning the student will have more experiences can be achieved, because learn from the content as
well learn from using online communities and networks. In this way, e-learning can support "learning through
reflection and discussion".
x E-learning empower learner to manage their way of learning and the way he like to learn. Because each one has
his way of learning.
x E-learning is so help full to the companies because it saves time and costs when the learner or the employees
learn at job and it also improve their performance and help the organizations to be active.
x It's less expensive to produce
x It's self – paced
x It provides a consistent message
x It can work from any location and any time It can be updated easily and quickly
x It can be easily managed for large groups of students – Information (such as health and safety) can be kept
current by updating the intranet site.
x Staff can train as and when they want to, and can break the course up into section as they see fit (removing the
problem of concentration loss).
x Avoids timetabling constraints
 Amani Mubarak Al-Khatir Al-Arimi / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 152 (2014) 82 – 88 85

x Information (such as health and safety) can be kept current by updating the intranet site.
x Enables 'just in time' learning.
x Money is saved by reducing the need to book venues and trainers. Staff is released from their desks for a
minimum amount of time.

7. Negative of distance learning:

x Content may become subservient to the technology.

x May encounter language barriers/translation problems.
x Can be obstructed by time zones.
x Requires forms of institutional support to be projected to distant students
x Is complex in relation to copyright issues?
x Often requires establishment of regional centers
x Can be costly for students to obtain equipment
x Staffs are resentful, as they feel obliged / are encouraged to do the training in their own time
x It may be difficult to gage whether or not staff are actually completing the training fully / benefiting from it as
much as they would from a classroom based training session.
x Staff may need support to use the technology.
x It may be difficult to gage whether or not staff are actually completing the training fully / benefiting from it as
much as they would from a classroom based training session.

8. Monitoring and evaluating in distance learning

The relationships between student and teacher and the imbalance of power in distance learning is an issue which
trouble many educationalists, theoretically committed, to assisting learner take cares control of their own learning
and became self-directed. On other hand, distance learning involves student in making sense of course materials for
themselves, to structured learning situations and shaping their own learning experiences.

9. Types of distance education courses:

x Correspondence conducted through regular mail.

x Internet conducted either synchronously or asynchronously.
x Tele-course-Broadcast where content is delivered via radio or television
x CD-ROM where the student interacts with computer content stored on a CD-ROM.
x Pocket-PC/Mobile Learning where that student accesses course content stored on a mobile device or through a
wireless server.

10. Methods

In distance education student don’t need to present in a classroom in distance learning use all forms of
technology, and that include radio, TV, audio video conferencing, on line learning.
There are different between open learning and distance learning. Distance learning is methodology used when
student and teacher are separated by time and place.

11. Theories and philosophies of distance education

The theoretical basis on which instructional models is based affects not only the way in which information is
communicated to the student, but also the way in which the student makes sense and constructs new knowledge
from the information which is presented.
86 Amani Mubarak Al-Khatir Al-Arimi / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 152 (2014) 82 – 88

Schlosser and Anderson (1994) refer to Desmond Keegan's theory of distance education, in which the distance
learning system must artificially recreate the teaching-learning interaction and re-integrate it back into the
instructional process. This is the basis of their Iowa Model: to offer to the distance learner an experience as much
like traditional, face-to-face instruction, via intact classrooms and live, two-way audio-visual interaction. In contrast,
the Norwegian Model has a long tradition of combining mediated distance teaching with local face-to-face teaching
(Rekkedal, 1994).
Hilary Perraton (1988) defines the role of the distance teacher. When, through the most effective choice of media,
she meets the distance students face-to-face, she now becomes a facilitator of learning, rather than a communicator
of a fixed body of information. The learning process proceeds as knowledge building among teacher and students.
(See Scardamalia and Bereiter,1994, for an example of electronic knowledge building discussions.)
Distance education systems now involve a high degree of interactivity between teacher and student, even in rural
and isolated communities separated by perhaps thousands of miles. The Office of Technology Assessment stresses
the importance of interactivity: distance learning allows students to hear and perhaps see teachers, as well as
allowing teachers to react to their students' comments and questions (US. Congress,1988). Moreover, virtual
learning communities can be formed, in which students and researchers throughout the world who are part of the
same class or study group can contact one another at any time of the day or night to share observations, information,
and expertise with one another (VanderVen, 1994; Wolfe, 1994).

12. Interactivity

The interactivity between student and the teacher is the key for any successful distance education .that mean the
interactivity not between student and teacher just but between the teacher and student and the student with
themselves.
"Millbank (1994) studied the effectiveness of a mix of audio plus video in corporate training. When he
introduced real-time interactivity, the retention rate of the trainees was raised from about 20 percent (using ordinary
classroom methods) to about 75 percent (p. 75). A key element in Porter's (1994) New Directions in Distance
Learning (NDDL) project is the enhancement of independent learning materials through the use of interactive
communications technologies and teacher mediation. He projects a completion/success rate of around 60 percent
over the life span of the pilot project (p. 26). "†
Interactivity don’t mean just the communication between teacher and student and student together it mean the
student feel that they are with a local teacher in traditional classes (face to face).on other word two way
communication between them.

13. Active learning

In the process of learning student have to deal with the material to be learned. "The mental effort which a learner
will invest in a learning task depends on his own perception of two factors:
x the relevance of both the medium and the message which it contains
x his ability to make something meaningful out of the material presented." salomon's study (as cited in seattle,
1990)

14. Effective communication

Ben Shneiderman (1992) cautions all instructional designers to begin with an understanding of their intended
users, and to recognize them as individuals whose outlook is different from the designer's own. Horton (1994) states

†
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~lsherry/pubs/issues.html#abstract
 Amani Mubarak Al-Khatir Al-Arimi / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 152 (2014) 82 – 88 87

the golden rule for designers of instructional visuals: "communicate unto others as they would communicate unto
themselves" .In other words, if you want the learner to construct an idea which is similar to yours, then use an image
for your presentation which will trigger a similar idea in the learner's mind, in the context of the learning
environment and the learner's prior experiences.
To quote Marshall McLuhan, "the medium is the message". Horton (1994) notes that it is up to the designer to
x use advance organizers to create an appropriate context for instruction
x Select effective images, using appropriate objects with relevant attributes that will convey the same idea to the
user as they did to the designer.

15. The teacher

Schlosser and Anderson (1993) identify the new skills which teachers must learn as they assume the role of
distance educators:
x understanding the nature and philosophy of distance education
x identifying learner characteristics at distant sites
x designing and developing interactive courseware to suit each new technology
x adapting teaching strategies to deliver instruction at a distance
x organizing instructional resources in a format suitable for independent study
x training and practice in the use of telecommunications systems
x becoming involved in organization, collaborative planning, and decision-making
x evaluating student achievement, attitudes, and perceptions at distant sites
x dealing with copyright issues (pp. 32-37). (See Sherry and Morse, 1995, for rankings of these skills by Denver
educators.)

16. Basic pedagogic models for distance learning:

There are four fundamental ways of organizing the teaching and learning context:
x The distributed classroom model-Synchronous is communication between on and off campus classrooms.
x Group conference model-Tutor and off campus groups and individuals are interactive contact.
x The individual learning model-Tutor manages individual content with student and their study programmers
x The independent learning model-Based on materials, self-direction and group interaction. Least contacts with
tutor.
Within each of these contexts, there are many levels of options. For example, the conferencing model presents
these possibilities:

Figure 2. Conferencing model

17. Perspectives on e-Learning

E-Learning exploits interactive technologies and communication systems to improve the learning experience. It
has the potential to transform the way we teach and learn across the board. It can raise standards, and widen
88 Amani Mubarak Al-Khatir Al-Arimi / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 152 (2014) 82 – 88

participation in lifelong learning. It cannot replace teachers and lecturers, but alongside existing methods it can
enhance the quality and reach of their teaching, and reduce the time spent on administration. It can enable every
learner to achieve his or her potential, and help to build an educational workforce empowered to change. It makes
possible a truly ambitious education system for a future learning society.
Towards a Unified e-Learning Strategy
The DfES e-Learning Strategy Unit, 2003

Technology has revolutionized the way we work and is now set to transform education. Children cannot be
effective in tomorrow's world if they are trained in yesterday's skills. Nor should teachers be denied the tools that
other professionals take for granted.
Tony Blair
1998
A click of a mouse button provides any student anywhere with unprecedented opportunities to learn. So if a child
in Grand Junction wants to master Japanese, it's possible online. If a budding artist in Five Points wants to study the
masterpieces of the Louvre, it's possible online. If a future Stephen Hawking in La Junta wants to study
Gravitational Entrophy with the man himself, it's possible online. If military parents want continuity in their
children's education throughout frequent moves to serve our country, then it's possible online.
Rod Paige
US Secretary of Education, 2002
With every special newspaper supplement, it seems, those in the business [of e-learning] offer new visions, new
services we didn't know we needed, yet more exciting equipment and software possibilities that lie just over the
horizon and, less well-publicized, an increasing number of routes to what may be educational dead ends.
Online Learning and Teaching With Technology
Murphy, Walker, Webb, 2001

18. Conclusion

It means the distance in geographical between student-tutor and the time. Asynchronous Communication:
Delayed interaction between teacher and student. Synchronous Communication: Real-time interaction between
teacher and student. Advantages: Learner-paced, Can be used anywhere and Low cost. Disadvantages: Limited
interactivity, Motion cannot be shown and Tarnished reputation
These days, organizations want to keep their employees aware of new information and technology. Also learners
want a fast and suitable way to learn new skills and information.
Some main benefits of e-learning to the learners and organizations are discussed in this article. These benefits
will help the organizations to determine whether to use e-learning, and the learners to decide the most suitable way
for them to learn. Because of these benefits to organizations and employees, the trend toward e-learning is growing
dramatically.

Reference

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Moore, M. &Kearsky, G. (1996). Distance Education: A Systems View.
Rowntree, D. (1986) Teaching through self-instruction: A practical handbook for course developers
Michael simonson and other 2003.teaching and learning at a distance .Second Edition
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