• Independent study of course materials and resources—the courseware that makes up the physical, mediated content of the course
• Interaction with other course participants (tutors, instructors, other learners, resource people).

Different devices may be used for courseware delivery and for interpersonal interaction, but the backbone technologies along which the signals travel are often the same. With the continuing trend toward widespread use of electronic, or digital, media—and toward the convergence of broadcasting, computing, and telecommunications technologies—more and more types of information are transmitted using the same backbone technologies. Digital systems, which transmit all information as bits (BInary digiTs), can send different types of information (text, numerical data, sound, images) down the same channel at the same time, or across networks that use several different communication channels. (In order of increasing bandwidth, or "pipe size," these channels include ISDN, fiber optics, cable, and communications satellites.) As communication between computers grows, so does the role of the Internet—the backbone of the worldwide computer communication network, with signals passing through several of these channels. The Internet's role is growing no less in distance education.

• Integrated services digital network (ISDN)
  
• Microwave
  
• Coaxial
  
• Communications satellites
  
• Fiber optics
  
• The Internet  

More resources:

¦N¥Ð¡@¤å 1999 "»·¹j±Â·~の¤â¬qとしての±¡³ø³q«H§Þ³N",°ªµ¥敎¨|¾÷Ãöにおける マルチメディア利¥Î¹êºA½Õ査 (pp. 10-22). メディア 敎¨|¶}µoセンタ¡Ð, ¤d¸­¥«: ¤é¥», pp.10-22.
Yoshida, A. 1999. "Information and Communication Technology as a Means for Distance Instruction," A National Survey of Multimedia Utilization in Higher Education in Japan (pp. 10-22). National Institute of Multimedia Education, Chiba: Japan.

¦N¥Ð¡@¤å 1999 "インターネットの§Q¥ÎÀô¹Ò", °ªµ¥敎¨|¾÷Ãöにおける マルチメディア利¥Î¹êºA½Õ査 (pp. 10-22). メディア 敎¨|¶}µoセンタ¡Ð, ¤d¸­¥«: ¤é¥», pp.23-31.
Yoshida, A. 1999. "The Use of the Internet Technology," A National Survey of Multimedia Utilization in Higher Education in Japan (pp. 23-31). National Institute of Multimedia Education, Chiba: Japan.

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