A Semantic jungle: distance/virtual/online/digital/ electronic education/teaching/learning?

Abstract

Since its inception, distance education has had underlying theoretical weaknesses. This problem grew with the integration of advanced technologies in the educational processes. Since then, a “semantic jungle” has emerged in a way that has increasingly entangled the entire theoretical framework of this educational modality. During the last decade of the previous century, denominations have proliferated around the concept of distance education, growing even more with the arrival of digital technologies. In our task of reviewing these multiple denominations of the non-face-to-face educational phenomenon, we begin by selecting what seems to be the most appropriate to us, “distance education”. We analyze the two terms that make up that the concept, “education” versus teaching, learning or instruction, and “distance” versus electronic, online, virtual or digital, arguing in each case its total validity in today’s society. Finally, we try to offer a definition of this concept that we intend to integrate with other current ways of educating via digital support, highlighting the ideas of dialogue (educational communication and interaction), didactic (pedagogical vision of the acquisition of valuable learning) and mediated (necessary technological component when there is a physical separation during the educational act). Finally, we define distance education as a mediated educational dialogue between teachers of an institution and students who, located in a different space from those, can learn independently or in groups.