DISTANCE EDUCATION AND E-LEARNING WITHIN A SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

The paper discusses the questions posed by Distance Education today, using the model of the All-Armenian Internet University (AAIU). This university is to serve the Armenians living all over Asia and the Pacific regions, by means of the Internet. Here Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) exemplifies the possible uses of emerging information and communication technologies (ICT) in education. The use of these technologies should support Distributed Cognitive Work in distance education leading to new Communities of Learners. At AAIU, instructional designers are presently in the early stages of exploring the common themes and differences between varieties of CSCL and ICT applications.