Although the electronic age has made it much easier to learn at
a distance, the roots of today's distance learning courses are
more than 100 years old. Some date distance learning back to
1889, when it was used as a way to provide learning
opportunities for teachers who were unable to attend Montreal's
McGill University during the cold winter months to study for
their degree. Of course, technology has cranked distance
learning up to new levels of complexity never dreamed of by
chilly McGill students. While originally entirely paper-based,
distance learning evolved to include radio broadcasts, slow-scan
videos, audiotaped lectures, and satellite broadcasts. Today,
distance learning means different things to different companies,
but often involves stand-up instruction in combination with the
Internet, telephony, and videoconferencing technologies.
(E-learning, or "electronic learning," is simply the delivery of
these training opportunities strictly in an electronic fashion.)
It is fast becoming a viable alterna