Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom. It has been described as "a process to create and provide access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by time and distance, or both."^[1] Distance education courses that require a physical on-site presence for any reason (including taking examinations) have been referred to as hybrid^[2] or blended^[3] courses of study.

History and development[link]

Distance education dates to at least as early as 1728, when "an advertisement in the Boston Gazette... [named] 'Caleb Phillips, Teacher of the new method of Short Hand" was seeking students for lessons to be sent weekly.^[4]

Modern distance education initially relied on the development of postal services in the 19th century and has been practised at least since Isaac Pitman taught shorthand in Great Britain via correspondence in the 1840s.^[5] The University of London claims to be the first university to offer distance learning degrees, establishing its External Programme in 1858. This program is now known as the University of London International Programmes and includes Postgraduate, Undergraduate and Diploma degrees created by colleges such as the London School of Economics, Royal Holloway and Goldsmiths.^[6] In the United States William Rainey Harper, first president of the University of Chicago developed the concept of extended education, whereby the research university had satellite colleges of education in the wider community, and in 1892 he also encouraged the concept of correspondence school courses to further promote education, an idea that was put into practice by Columbia University.^[7] In Australia, the University of Queensland established its Department of Correspondence Studies in 1911.^[8]

More recently, Charles Wedemeyer of the University of Wisconsin–Madison is considered significant in promoting methods other than the postal service to deliver distance education in America. From 1964 to 1968, the Carnegie Foundation funded Wedemeyer's Articulated Instructional Media Project (AIM) which brought in a variety of communications technologies aimed at providing learning to an off-campus population. According to Moore's recounting, AIM impressed the UK which imported these ideas when establishing in 1969 The Open University, which initially relied on radio and television broadcasts for much of its delivery.^[9] Athabasca University, Canada's Open University, was created in 1970 and followed a similar, though independently developed, pattern.^[10] Germany's FernUniversität in Hagen followed in 1974^[11] and there are now many similar institutions around the world, often with the name Open University (in English or in the local language). All "open universities" use distance education technologies as delivery methodologies and some have grown to become 'mega-universities',^[12] a term coined to denote institutions with more than 100,000 students. In 1976, Bernard Luskin launched Coastline Community College as a college beyond walls, combining computer assisted instruction with telecourses proced by KOCE TV, the Coast Community College District public television station. Coastline has been a landmark strategic success in helping to establish online distacnce learning using modern technoloty for learning.

The development of computers and the internet have made distance learning distribution easier and faster and have given rise to the 'virtual university, the entire educational offerings of which are conducted online.^[13] In 1996 Jones International University was launched and claims to be the first fully online university accredited by a regional accrediting association in the US.^[14]

In 2006, the Sloan Consortium, a body which arguably has a conflict of interest in the matter, reported that:

More than 96 percent of the very largest institutions (more than 15,000 total enrollments) have some online offerings, which is more than double the rate observed for the smallest institutions.

and that almost 3.2 million US students were taking at least one online course during the fall term of 2005.^[15] A study published in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Education found that "From 2000 to 2008, the percentage of undergraduates enrolled in at least one distance education class expanded from 8 percent to 20 percent, and the percentage enrolled in a distance education degree program increased from 2 percent to 4 percent."^[16]

Today, there are many private and public, non-profit and for-profit institutions worldwide offering distance education courses from the most basic instruction through to the highest levels of degree and doctoral programs. Levels of accreditation vary: some of the institutions receive little outside oversight, and some may be fraudulent diploma mills, although in many jurisdictions, an institution may not use terms such as "university" without accreditation and authorisation, often overseen by the national government – for example, the Quality Assurance Agency in the UK.^[17] In the US, the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) specializes in the accreditation of distance education institutions.^[18]

Technologies used in delivery[link]

The types of available technologies used in distance education are divided into two groups: synchronous learning and asynchronous learning.

Synchronous learning technology is a mode of delivery where all participants are "present" at the same time. It resembles traditional classroom teaching methods despite the participants being located remotely. It requires a timetable to be organized. Web conferencing, videoconferencing, educational television, Instructional television are examples of synchronous technology, as are direct-broadcast satellite (DBS), internet radio, live streaming, telephone, and web-based VoIP.^[19]

The asynchronous learning mode of delivery is where participants access course materials on their own schedule and so is more flexible. Students are not required to be together at the same time. Mail correspondence, which is the oldest form of distance education, is an asynchronous delivery technology and others include message board forums, e-mail, video and audio recordings, print materials, voicemail and fax.^[19]

The two methods can be combined in the delivery of one course. For example, some courses offered by The Open University use periodic sessions of residential or day teaching to supplement the remote teaching.^{[citation needed]}

Other technology methods used in the delivery of distance education include online three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds. A popular 3D virtual world, active worlds, is used for synchronous and asynchronous learning. Active Worlds provides opportunities for students to work collaboratively.^[20]

Major benefits of use: an institutional perspective[link]

Diana G. Oblinger,^[21] writing specifically of the US context, has identified four broad reasons why educational institutions might embrace distance learning:

• Expanding access: distance education can assist in meeting the demand for education and training demand from the general populace and businesses, especially because it offers the possibility of a flexibility to accommodate the many time-constraints imposed by personal responsibilities and commitments.
• Alleviate capacity constraints: being mostly or entirely conducted off-site, the system reduces the demand on institutional infrastructure such as buildings.
• Making money from emerging markets: she claims an increasing acceptance from the population of the value of lifelong learning, beyond the normal schooling age, and that institutions can benefit financially from this by adopting distance education. She sees sectors of education such as courses for business executives as being "more lucrative than traditional markets".
• Catalyst for institutional transformation: the competitive modern marketplace demands rapid change and innovation, for which she believes distance education programs can act as a catalyst.

In addition, other benefits include:

• Disabilities, Handicaps, or sicknesses: There are many students that are unable to go to a traditional school setting because they cannot get around easily or a low immune system and get sick from other students. Distance education can help in these cases because the students will not have to leave their home or be around other people. It makes it possible for these students to still learn and to be able to get a good education.^{[citation needed]}
• Equal Opportunity to Education Regardless of Socioeconomic Status: Students have the opportunity to receive equal education regardless of income status, area of residence, gender, race, age, or cost per student. ^[22]

Casey and Lorenzen have identified another financial benefit for the institutions of the US, stating that distance education creates new graduates who might be willing to donate money to the school who would have never have been associated with the school under the traditional system.^[23]

Criticism[link]

Adult learners utilizing distance education can face obstacles such as domestic distractions and unreliable technology which could make completing a distance education course difficult.^[24] Students can also face challenges in program costs, contact with teachers and support services, and need for more experience. ^[25]

Communication is key between teacher and student in a Distance Education environment. Without key communication, the learning is not existent. The communication being used must be an effective communication device and a positive relationship with student and teacher. How often do the teacher and student need to communicate? Frequency of dialogue between teacher and student is still at discussion by many.

Some students attempt distance education without proper training of the tools needed to be successful in the program. Students must be provided with training on each tool that is used throughout the program. The lack of advanced technology skills can lead to an unsuccessful experience for a student. Schools have a responsibility to adopt a proactive policy for managing technology barriers.^[26]

See also[link]

• Continuing education
• Degree completion program
• Electronic learning
• Media Psychology
• Open universities
• Public, educational, and government access (PEG)
• Sunrise Semester
• Virtual education
• Virtual learning environment

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of ICT in Education

• Distance learning at the Open Directory Project

Charles Sturt
Born	28 April 1795 (1795-04-28) India
Died	16 June 1869(1869-06-16) (aged 74) Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
Occupation	Explorer of Australia, Colonial Administrator, Grazier

Captain Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British explorer of Australia, and part of the European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from both Sydney and later from Adelaide. His expeditions traced several of the westward-flowing rivers, establishing that they all merged into the Murray River. He was searching to determine if there was an "inland sea".

Early life[link]

Charles Sturt was born in Bengal,^[1] British India, the eldest son (of thirteen children) of Thomas Lenox Napier Sturt, a judge under the British East India Company.^[2] At the age of five, Charles was sent to relations in England to be educated,^[2] and after attending a preparatory school he was sent to Harrow in 1810.^[3] In 1812 Charles went to read with a Mr Preston near Cambridge,^[3] but his father was not wealthy and had difficulty finding the money to send him to Cambridge University,^[2] or to establish him in a profession.^[3] An aunt made an appeal to the Prince Regent, and on 9 September 1813, Sturt was gazetted as an ensign with the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot in the British Army.^[2] Sturt saw action with the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War and against the Americans in Canada,^[2] returning to Europe a few days after the Battle of Waterloo.^[2] Sturt was gazetted lieutenant on 7 April 1823 and promoted captain on 15 December 1825. With a detachment from his regiment, Sturt escorted convicts aboard the Mariner to New South Wales, arriving in Sydney on 23 May 1827.^[2]

Australia and Sturt's first two expeditions[link]

Early expeditions of Sturt

Sturt found the conditions and climate in New South Wales much better than he expected and he developed a great interest in the country.^[2] The Governor of New South Wales, Sir Ralph Darling, formed a high opinion of Sturt and appointed him major of brigade and military secretary.^[3] Sturt became friendly with John Oxley, Allan Cunningham, Hamilton Hume and other explorers. Sturt was keen to explore the Australian interior, especially its rivers.^[4]

Sturt received approval from Governor Darling on 4 November 1828 to explore the area of the Macquarie River in western New South Wales.^[2] It was not, however, until 10 November that the party started out. It consisted of Sturt, his servant Joseph Harris, two soldiers and eight convicts; on 27 November Sturt was joined by Hamilton Hume as his first assistant. Hume's experience proved to be very useful. A week was spent at Wellington Valley breaking in oxen and horses and on 7 December the real start into comparatively little known country was made. 1828–29 was a period of drought and there was difficulty in getting sufficient water. The courses of the Macquarie, Bogan and Castlereagh rivers had been followed, and though its importance was scarcely sufficiently realized, the Darling River had been discovered. The party returned to Wellington Valley on 21 April 1829. The expedition proved that northern New South Wales was not an inland sea, but deepened the mystery of where the western-flowing rivers of New South Wales went.^[3]

Sturt memorial at Narrandera, New South Wales on the Murrumbidgee River.

In 1829 Governor Darling approved an expedition to solve this mystery. Sturt proposed to travel down the Murrumbidgee River, whose upper reaches had been seen by the Hume and Hovell expedition. In place of Hume, who was unable to join the party, George Macleay went "as a companion rather than as an assistant". A whaleboat built in sections was carried with them which was assembled, and on 7 January 1830 the eventful voyage down the Murrumbidgee began.^[3] In January 1830 Sturt's party reached the confluence of the Murrumbidgee and a much larger river, which Sturt named the Murray River. It was in fact the same river which Hume and Hovell had crossed further upstream and named the Hume. Several times the party was in danger from the Aborigines but Sturt always succeeded in appeasing them.^[3]

Sturt then proceeded down the Murray, until he reached the river's confluence with the Darling. Sturt had now proved that all the western-flowing rivers eventually flowed into the Murray. In February 1830, the party reached a large lake which Sturt called Lake Alexandrina. A few days later, they reached the sea. There they made the disappointing discovery that the mouth of the Murray was a maze of lagoons and sandbars, impassable to shipping.^[2]

The party then faced the ordeal of rowing back up the Murray and Murrumbidgee, against the current, in the heat of an Australian summer. Their supplies ran out and when they reached the site of Narrandera in April they were unable to go any further. Sturt sent two men overland in search of supplies and they returned in time to save the party from starvation, but Sturt went blind for some months and never fully recovered his health. By the time they arrived back in Sydney they had rowed and sailed nearly 2,900 kilometres of the river system.

A break from exploring[link]

Charles Sturt monument in Merbein, Victoria.

Sturt briefly served as Commander on Norfolk Island where mutiny was brewing among the convicts, but in 1832 he was obliged to go to England on sick leave and arrived there almost completely blind. In 1833 he published his Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia during the years 1828, 1829, 1830 and 1831, of which a second edition appeared in 1834. For the first time the public in England realized the importance of Sturt's work. Governor Darling's somewhat tardy but appreciative dispatch of 14 April 1831, and his request for Sturt's promotion, had had no result, and nothing came of the request by Sir Richard Bourke who had succeeded Darling that Viscount Goderich should give "this deserving officer your Lordship's protection and support". Though it seems to have been impossible to persuade the colonial office of the value of Sturt's work his book had one important effect. It was read by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, and led to the choice of South Australia for the new settlement then in contemplation. In May 1834, in view of his services, Sturt applied for a grant of land intending to settle on it in Australia, and in July instructions were given that he was to receive a grant of 5,000 acres (2,000 ha), Sturt on his part agreeing to give up his pension rights. On 20 September 1834 Sturt married Charlotte Christiana Greene, daughter of an old family friend.^[2] and soon afterward sailed for Australia.

Return to Australia[link]

Sturt returned to Australia in mid-1835 to begin farming on his own 5,000 acres (20 km²) of land granted to him by the New South Wales government on the lower reaches of Ginninderra Creek, near present-day Canberra. (Sturt named the property ' Belconnen', a name now applied to the nearby population centre.) In 1838 he herded cattle overland from Sydney to Adelaide, on the way proving that the Hume and the Murray were the same river. In September 1838 he led an expedition to the Murray Mouth which settled all dispute as to the suitability of Adelaide for the colony's capital. After returning to NSW to settle his affairs, Sturt then settled at Grange South Australia in early 1839 and was appointed Surveyor-General until the London-appointed Surveyor-General Edward Frome unexpectedly arrived. In the meantime, in December 1839, Sturt and his wife accompanied George Gawler, Julia Gawler, and Henry Inman on a Murray River expedition, discovering Mount Bryan. Julia Gawler, Charlotte Sturt, and Charlotte's maidservant thereby became the first white women to travel the Murray. Sturt was briefly Registrar-General but he soon proposed a major expedition into the interior of Australia as a way of restoring his reputation in the colony and London.

Exploring from Adelaide, Sturt's third and final expedition[link]

Sturt leaving Adelaide in 1844

Sturt was driven by a conviction that it was his destiny to discover a great salt water lake, known as 'the inland sea', in the middle of Australia. At very least, he wanted to be the first explorer to plant his foot in 'the centre' of Australia.^[5] In August 1844, he set out with a party of 15 men, 200 sheep, six drays and a boat to explore north-western New South Wales and to advance into central Australia. They travelled along the Murray River and Darling River before passing the future site of Broken Hill, but were then stranded for months by the extreme summer conditions near the present site of Milparinka. When the rains eventually came Sturt moved north and established a depot at Fort Grey in today's Sturt National Park. With a small group of men, including explorer John McDouall Stuart as his draughtsman, Sturt pressed on across Sturt's Stony Desert and into the Simpson Desert, at which point he was unable to go further and turned back to the depot.^[6] Sturt made a second attempt to reach the centre of Australia, but he contracted scurvy in the extreme conditions. His health broke down and he was forced to abandon the attempt. John Harris Browne, surgeon on the expedition, assisted Sturt, took over leadership of the party and after travelling 3,000 miles (4,800 km) brought it back to safety.

Later life and legacy[link]

Early in 1847 Sturt went to England on leave. He arrived in October and was presented with the Royal Geographical Society's gold medal. He prepared his Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia for publication, however it was not published until early in 1849. Throughout this time he was suffering again with poor eyesight.

Sturt returned to Adelaide with his family, arriving back in August 1849. He was immediately appointed Colonial Secretary with a seat in the council. There was no lack of work in the ensuing years. Roads were constructed, and navigation on the Murray was encouraged. But Sturt had renewed trouble with his eyes.

On 30 December 1851 Sturt resigned his position and was given a pension of £600 a year^[2] and settled down on 500 acres (200 ha) of land close to Adelaide and the sea. But the gold discoveries had increased the cost of living, and on 19 March 1853 Sturt and his family sailed for England.^[2] Sturt lived at Cheltenham and devoted himself to the education of his children.

In 1855 Sturt applied unsuccessfully for the positions of Governor of Victoria and in 1858 for Governor of Queensland.^[2] Sturt's age, uncertain health, and comparatively small income were against him. By 1860 Sturt's three sons were all in the army, and the remainder of his family went to live at Dinan to economize after the expenses of education and fitting out. Unfortunately the town was unhealthy and in 1863 a return was made to Cheltenham. In 1864 Sturt suffered a great grief in the death of one of his sons in India. In March 1869 he attended the inaugural dinner of the Colonial Society, at which Lord Granville mentioned that it was the intention of the government to extend the Order of St Michael and St George to the colonies. Sturt allowed himself to be persuaded by his friends to apply for a knighthood (KCMG), but afterwards regretted he had done so when he heard there were innumerable applications.

Sturt's health had been very variable and on 16 June 1869 he died suddenly. He was survived by his widow, two sons, Colonel Napier George Sturt, R.E. and Major-General Charles Sheppey Sturt, and daughter Charlotte. Mrs Sturt was granted a civil list pension of £80 a year, and the queen granted her the title of Lady Sturt as if her husband's nomination to a knighthood of the order of St Michael and St George had been gazetted. Reproductions of portraits by Crossland and Koberwein will be found in Mrs N. G. Sturt's Life, which suggest the charm and refinement of Sturt's character.

Sturt is commemorated by the City of Charles Sturt and suburb of Sturt in Adelaide, the electoral Division of Sturt in Adelaide's eastern suburbs, Charles Sturt University in regional New South Wales, and the Sturt Highway from Wagga Wagga to Adelaide as well as the Sturt's desert pea, the Sturt's Desert Rose and Sturt Stony Desert.

Sturt's home, known as "The Grange", in the Adelaide suburb of Grange is preserved as a museum.

The Australian-born American actor Rod Taylor, whose middle name is Sturt, is his great-great grand-nephew.

Affiliations[link]

• TS Sturt, Australian Navy Cadets

References[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Two expeditions into the interior of Southern Australia

External links[link]

• Portrait of Charles Sturt in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
• Works by Charles Sturt at Project Gutenberg
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Charles Sturt". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Charles_Sturt.