Distance education

Distance education is instruction in which learners and instructors are separated by distance and teaching depends on communication technologies rather than regular in-person contact.

Synchronous learning: Learning that occurs through live interaction at a scheduled time. Live classes preserve immediate conversation despite participants being in different places.
Correspondence education: Education delivered primarily through lessons and assignments exchanged by post. Postal courses established a durable model for teaching learners separated from instructors.
Massive open online course: An online course designed for large-scale participation, often with open enrollment. MOOCs extend distance teaching to large numbers through shared online materials and activities.
Educational access: The opportunity to participate in and benefit from education. Distance formats can reach learners unable to attend institutions in person.
Asynchronous learning: Learning through materials and activities that participants access at different times. Recorded lessons and discussion boards let instruction proceed without shared schedules.
Isaac Pitman: English educator who pioneered shorthand instruction by correspondence in the nineteenth century. His postal shorthand course is an early landmark in organized distance instruction.
Virtual school: A school that delivers some or all instruction through online technologies. Virtual schools apply distance education to primary and secondary schooling.
Digital divide: Unequal access to digital technologies, connectivity, and the skills needed to use them. Technology-dependent courses can exclude learners lacking reliable devices or internet.
Learning management system: Software for organizing courses, learning materials, assignments, communication, and progress records. It commonly hosts the materials and interactions that structure an online course.
University of London External System: A University of London program offering degrees to students who study outside its colleges. Its nineteenth-century examinations helped formalize university study beyond campus.

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