Global competition requires reductions in costs and increases in the rate of new technical knowledge and innovation. Lifelong learning is the norm, with profound implications for the volume, speed, and quality of products and services required of those who support learning. No longer must universities form around libraries because books are scarce and expensive and must be collected. Nor must the faculty be gathered around a physical resource in a library. The technology of the World Wide Web provides conferencing among widely dispersed individuals who are teaching and learning together, thus fostering competition between widely dispersed education providers.
Completion rates are typically very low for self-study courses.
And distance education using video can become merely a replacement for standup lectures with little or no learner involvement. We and others see ALN as one of the most promising forms of distributed learning systems. Several universities and companies, including our Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, have been designing distributed learning systems. Some of these resemble traditional college courses with an online syllabus and lecture notes. Others include online simulations, collaborative projects among those at distant locations, and online submission of assignments.