The definition has changed somewhat because of new technologies. Perhaps the oldest form of distance learning is correspondence study, in which learners received lessons by mail. In this form, there truly was a physical separation of teacher and student by time and space. However, with the advent of electronic communications, there need not be a separation of teacher and student by time. World Wide Web chat rooms and videoconferencing software enable teachers and students to communicate in real time.
Distance learning is a term that is being used more and more today in place of distance education .
In essence, distance learning and distance education are the same. The difference is in emphasis. For some people, distance education appears to place emphasis on the teacher while distance learning focuses more on the learner and the learning process. This change in emphasis reflects the changes in popular distance learning theories.