A bit more on the history of distance education

Too often, we are isolated by language from the relevant work of other people in online and distance education. I am pleased therefore to bring attention to Médiations & Méditisations

The Journal

Médiations & Médiatisations is a journal devoted to education in the digital era. It focuses on issues of importance to total or partial distance education. It is supported by Téluq, Québec’s distance teaching university. Articles are published in three languages: French, English and Spanish. (Warning: although the abstracts are in all three languages, most of the full papers are available only in their original language)

Special issue on the history of distance education

Issue 6 has just been published. It is a special issue on:

• Distance learning: focusing on a number of issues in an already long history (La formation à distance : quelques aspects d’une histoire déjà longue /La formación a distancia: algunas aspectos de una historia ya larga)

The articles

The editor of the edition is Viviane Glikman. Her editorial is:

• Il était une fois…la formation à distance (Once upon a time.. there was distance learning).

There are three research articles:

• Tony Bates and Viviane Glikman: One history of technology and media in distance education (Une histoire des technologies et des médias dans la formation à distance/Una historia de las tecnologías y de los medios de comunicación en la formación a distancia): more on this article below
• Claire Peltier: Live streaming for university courses: a look back at an old novelty (La diffusion des cours universitaires en direct : retour sur une ancienne nouveauté/ Transmitir cursos universitarios en directo: una mirada retrospectiva a una antigua novedad)
• Béatrice Verquin Savarieau, Stéphane Simonian, Jacques Béziat: Sustainability and changes in distance learning at the university: Review of twenty years of existence of the digital campus FORSE, (Pérennité et mutations en formation à distance à l’université : Retour sur le vécu des vingt années d’existence du campus numérique FORSE/ Perennidad y mutaciones en formación a distancia en la universidad: Repasando los veinte años de existencia del campus digital FORSE)

There is one ‘practitioner’ article:

• Francis Bastien: The roots of FADIO: genealogy of distance education in Eastern Quebec (Les racines de FADIO : généalogie de la formation à distance dans l’Est-du-Québec/Las raíces de FADIO: la genealogía de la educación a distancia en el Este de Quebec)

There is one discussion/debate article:

• John Daniel: Distance Education: Ten principles inspired by its history (La formation à distance: dix principes inspirés par son histoire/La formación a distancia: diez principios inspirados por su historia)

Then there are six interviews/personal accounts:

• Cathia Papi, Viviane Glikman, Hélène Pulker: Institutions dedicated to distance learning: past or future of education? (Des institutions dédiées à la formation à distance: passé ou futur de l’éducation?/Instituciones dedicadas a la formación a distancia: ¿pasado o futuro de la educación?)
• Michel Umbriaco: Historical Fragments of a French-speaking Canadian distance university: the Université TÉLUQ (Fragments historiques d’uWeller, Parker,ne université à distance canadienne francophone : l’Université TÉLUQ – Entretien avec Michel Umbriaco/ Fragmentos históricos de una universidad canadiense de educación a distancia en francés: la Université TÉLUQ
• Martin Weller: The history of the UK’s pioneer distance education university: the Open University (L’histoire de l’université à distance pionnière au Royaume-Uni : l’Open University/La historia de la universidad a distancia pionera en el Reino Unido: la Open University)
• Nancy Parker: The history of an English-speaking Canadian distance university: Athabasca University (L’histoire d’une université à distance canadienne anglophone : l’Athabasca University/La historia de una universidad canadiense de educación a distancia en inglés: la Athabasca University)
• Albert Sangrà: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya: The first university born online (la primera universidad nacida en línea/la première université née en ligne)
• Daniel Peraya: Educational technologies and learning: the history of TECFA, a research and teaching unit in the University of Geneva (Technologies éducatives et apprentissages : l’histoire de TECFA, une unité de recherche et d’enseignement de l’Université de Genève/Tecnologías educativas y aprendizaje: la historia de TECFA, una unidad de investigación y enseñanza de la Universidad de Ginebra 

My article (with Viviane Glikman)

My article focuses on the development of media and technology in distance education, but rather than focus on specific technologies, the focus is on the following media of communication:

• oral communication
• written communication
• video
• computer technologies

The main lessons I draw are as follows:

• many claims made for a newly emerging technology are likely to be neither true nor new; what we need to understand better are the educational affordances of emerging media: what they can do better than existing media.
• new technology rarely completely replaces an older technology; usually the old technology remains, operating within a more specialised ‘niche’
• we have moved away from the confines of speech, or text, or audio, or video, or computing, to rich, multimedia environments that support a variety of approaches to teaching and learning
• we need innovative teachers and administrators, and thinkers, to continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, while at the same time not ignoring the lessons from history.

In particular distance education  – and even online learning – is much more than 30 years old. It did not start (or end) with the Internet. I think we are still waiting for the definitive history. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for good histories of distance education, drop me a line at tony.bates@ubc.ca