1. DISTANCE LEARNING CONCEPTS NETTIE JEAN LACOUR

2. EXPANDING THE CLASSROOM: MOBILE DISTANCE LEARNING ACROSS AMERICA* A NEW HOPE The concept of broadening students horizons was the point made by Dr Flores in his article. Student s were offered a way to identify opportunities that may not have been obvious in a small community. By providing links that extended well beyond communities’ geographical boundaries, online learning can stoke a sense of possibility that can drive students to aspire to achieve at a university and beyond. With the continuing evolution of technology and the growing experience with digital resources, teachers and students in traditional classrooms are increasingly using online tools for ―blended learning ‖ — a combination of online class and offline interaction — that enables them to combine traditional learning with online work to broaden their horizons instead of only thinking of the single large employer or only products produced locally. FAVORITE QUOTE Visiting lecturers by online experts and teachers, virtual tours of historic sites, science labs, or museums, and Twitter dialogues are becoming part of the classroom experience — just as earlier generations embraced voice recording, radio, television, and video to their educational toolkit. *DR. JOHN G. FLORES, Ph.D EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNITED STATES DISTANCE LEARNING ASSOCIATION ADMINISTRATOR AND PROGRAM PROFESSOR FISCHLER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY 76 Canal Street, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02114 Telephone: 800.275.5162 Fax: 617.339.1771 Website: www.usdla.org

3. THE DIFFICULTIES OF ONLINE LEARNING FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN STUDENTS LIVING IN REMOTE COMMUNITIES – IT’S AN ISSUE OF ACCESS* A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE While the positives for online learning are being touted by universities as a panacea for educational access, what is not clear is the potential negatives for those who cannot be expected to engage with online learning. Indigenous Australians are some of the country’s most disadvantaged people’s, with health, education, and lifestyle. Those living in remote communities are the least likely to have used the internet. The idea that this seemingly reasonable trend towards increased online learning will in fact be hugely detrimental to this section of Australian society and will see the potential for a widening of the gap in education. FAVORITE PLACE I have actually been to Australia and learned some heartbreaking facts about the Aborigines so this article stuck with me. *Sarah G. Anthony Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Northern Territory, Australia sarah.anthony@batchelor.edu.au Michael S. Keating Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Northern Territory, Australia michael.keating@batchelor.edu.au sarah.anthony@batchelor.edu.au michael.keating@batchelor.edu.au

4. DISTANCE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES FOR BASIC EDUCATION IN DISADVANTAGED AREAS* FACTORS (1)Higher productivity. Distance learning allows teachers to spend their time more productively by not traveling. (2) More attractive working conditions. For teachers who are reluctant to endure the hardship of living in less developed regions, distance teaching offers an attractive alternative. (3) More flexible time commitment by teachers. For example, a volunteer may donate one hour per day of her spare time to grade homework through the distance learning system. (4) Automated feedback using FAQs. (5) A local staff and upperclassmen may be recruited to shoulder various responsibilities. Hopefully with a digital technology-based distance learning project that serves to amplify the reach and productivity of teachers so that quality basic education can reach the disadvantaged children who have access to none today BEST QUOTES Our goal is not to compete against or replace human teachers; on the contrary, our goal is to amplify the reach and power of the limited number of qualified teachers that we do have. Basic education plays a crucial role in uplifting disadvantaged areas from the grip of poverty. Traditional approaches centered around brick-and- mortar schools, however, may not easily meet the massive scalability needs of basic education in developing nations. *Randolph Wang ∗ Kai Li ∗ Margaret Martonosi† Arvind Krishnamurthy‡