Recent trends favor accomplishing required training through distributed learning methods.
Distributed learning is formal, institutionally based learning activities where the instructor and student are separated from each other geographically. The primary objective of distributed learning is to extend the learning environment to students at remote locations. A variety of media are combined in an effective distributed learning system, including video, audio, computer mediated instructional presentations, audiographics, and print media. Distributed learning has been practiced for over a hundred years, primarily in the form of print-based correspondence courses. Correspondence courses were a useful attempt to solve the problems of geographic dispersal of students for specialized courses, usually involving technical content.