Distance education, hailed as the solution to the problems faced by rural students, may not provide all the answers, says a senior academic.
David Barnard, president of the University of Regina, said in a recent interview that there is a trend to “a substantial disinvestment” in computer-based distance education.
He said the problem is that the machine doesn’t have an impact.
He said when people are asked about their most significant learning experience, “it’s not reading a web page. Probably it’s a teacher or professor or a group of people you argued with late into the night.”
Barnard, whose training is in computer science, said the university will continue to offer distance education, such as satellite links to Saskatchewan’s north or through community colleges. But the computer is only an augmentation, he said.
“We can offer specific courses, but we don’t think we can offer degrees that way.”
