Check out the DEANZ website: http://www.deanz.org.nz/
An excerpt from Mark’s Opinion Piece in the flier . . .
I’ve been thinking. Why is it that we often shy away from the term ‘distance education’? Is it because it brings up connotations of correspondence-style learning, where pre-determined materials are sent to an anonymous learner, and assignments go to and from a faceless marker via post? Is it because we see ‘distance’ as a deficit term, something that speaks of a problem to overcome?
Or is it that the term ‘distance’ is used to encapsulate so much in education that it implies too broad a range of approaches to teaching and learning? Terminology is an important thing. It is what we use to name the intangible.
I still use the term ‘distance education’ when describing my practice, because it at once sums up what I am involved in. However it is important that I explain just what I mean when I use the term ‘distance education’. . . . .
From Mark Nichols. His blog: http://ebcnzer.blogspot.com/
