DISTANCE EDUCATION ARAB OPEN UNIVERSITY AS AN EXAMPLE

Distance education, or distance learning, is a field of education that focuses on the pedagogy and andragogy, technology, and instructional systems design that aim to deliver education to students who are not physically "on site". The types of available technologies used in distance education are divided into two groups: synchronous and asynchronous. Distance Education has traversed four to five ' generations' of technology in its history. These are print, audio/video broadcasting, audio/video teleconferencing, computer aided instruction, e-learning/onlinelearning, computer broadcasting/webcasting etc. The open learning platform employed by the Arab Open University (AOU), is a form of distance education with added enhancements to ensure a quality learning experience for students. Unlike education by correspondence, whose main drawback is the lack of faculty-student interaction and inadequate quality control systems, the AOU open learning model has robust quality assurance systems in place and offers its students blended learning through the provision of high quality learning materials, a dedicated tutor and other forms of support. Taken together, the various components offer a rich environment of supported open learning where students can rely on individual and individualized support.