According to another definition of distance education, it is a process to create and provide access to learning when the source of information and learners are separated by time and distance and both.  Certain distance education courses that requires a physical on-site presence for any reasons involving the taking of examinations are hybrid or blended course of study.

Historically, University of London was the first institution to offer distance learning degrees, starting their programs in 1858. The proliferation of education by distance learning is not only governed by government educational bodies as well as there  institutions are like private and public, non–profit, for profit institutions providing courses and programs though distance education.

Starting in ninetieth century, twentieth century saw employment of radio, television and internet for the proliferation of distance learning education. Computers and internet have made distribution of distance education easier and faster. The University of Phoenix that prominently is an online university now has 500,000 students on its roll due to expansion of distance education by internet and computers. According to latest estimates for distance education in US there are nearly 5 million students that are learning through distance education.

Technologies Employed in Delivering Distance Education

In providing distance learning, primarily, two types of technologies are used: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous technology is mode of learning when all the participants remain present at the same tine according to an agreed time schedule. Web conferencing is an example of Synchronous mode of learning. Asynchronous technology is mode of online delivery of education material where students are not needed to present at the same time. Message board forums, e-mail, and recorded video are example of asynchronous technology.

• Synchronous Technologies: Web based VoIP, Telephone, Videoconferencing,Web Conferencing, Direct-broadcast Satellite, Internet radio, Live Streaming.
• Asynchronous Technologies: Audiocassette, E-mail, Message Board Forums, Print Materials, Voice Mail/fax, Videocassette/DVD.

There are also Learning Management Systems or Learning Content Management Systems which combines both Synchronous and Asynchronous learning.

Various Distance Education Programs

• Correspondence conducted through regular mail
• Internet conducted either synchronously or asynchronously
• Telecourse/Broadcast, in which content is delivered via radio or television
• CD-ROM, in which the student interacts with computer content stored on a CD-ROM
• PocketPC/Mobile Learning where the student accesses course content stored on a mobile device or through a wireless server.
• Integrated distance learning, the integration of live, in-group instruction or interaction with a distance learning curriculum.

1. The Alumwire: It is a professional social networking site which is an open, internet based professional platform individuals, schools and corporations to interact. It features including job search, recruiting and career enhancement and other business pursuits. It also helps alumni, schools and corporations through virtual career fairs resume databases, job postings, online chat, video posts and its other important features.
2. Campusbug: It provides educational and social networking tools to students all over the world as to remain well connected with each other. It is very popular among students for completing homework and other important assignments. More you can share photographs and post blogs.
3. College Medium: It is classified listings for college students across North America. At the site you can post a free ad with pictures to a single college campus, 1,000 colleges, an entire state or the entire country. From here ads are fed up to a quality classified systems on line for even greater results as well as indexed by all major search engines.
4. Gradautes: It is a social networking site that helps young people especially students to remain connected with each other. This site lists nearly 250,000 schools over 200 countries. It is site with a very less advertising and is completely free. It is run on donation as similar pattern like wikipedia.
5. Library Thing: It is a website that let students to catalog their books online and can be accessed from anywhere. Even, through mobile phones too. Library Things connects people with the same books and come up with suggestion and ideas about reading the next thing. More you can catalog books from Amazon, the Library of Congress and 690 other world libraries. Can meet with similar tastes, find new books to read.
6. Rate My Professor: It is the internet’s largest listing of collegiate professor ratings as over 6.8 million student ratings for over 1 million professors is stored in its database. It is used by millions of college students to plan their class schedules and rate their current as well as past professors on attributes like helpfulness and clarity. Presently it offers rating around for 6,000 schools across the United States, Canada, England, Scotland and Wales.
7. Scholar: It is a book marking services website especially customized for educational purposes. It provides an exciting way for students as well as instructors to find out educationally valuable resources on the Web. With the help of network of scholar students can search out relevant resources on the Internet on course and research. It is also directly integrated within the Blackboard Learning Systems.

1. University of Wisconsin U.S.A: This University has many degree programs to offer. Among the numerous majors on offer, there are the Public Affairs and a degree under this is Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. In this degree option, the learner is taught different aspects of criminal justice including psychology, law, community relations, and investigations. The duration of the course is the regular four years ceteris paribus but with credit transfers and the like, it could take a shorter period.

2. University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: It allows for the transfer of credits from other universities. It also allows for students in other universities to take some of the courses available online even if they are visiting the said university. This requires a letter of permission and must be approved by the faculty before classes can begin. An example of a course on offer here is Bachelor of Arts, English option. It takes four years to compete on the regular distance-learning schedule.

3. Bedford University: The classes are conducted at the pace of the online student. There is easy access to information and course content and the schedule is flexible and convenient. It is an accredited university. Among its many courses, it offers Bachelor of Science Marketing option among many other bachelors and masters degrees.

4. Rockville University: Here there are degrees that are available in 14 days. There is no need for attendance, no exams and it is affordable. The degrees are accredited and are awarded on the basis of job experience, work and life experience. The person pursuing this degree should have basic to expert level exposure and experience in a certain field. An example is the M.B.A in Healthcare Management.

5. M.B.A University of Wales: An M.B.A is one of the world’s most recognizable post graduate degrees and is seen as a stepping stone to the next level of one’s career, whether in the corporate world or in business. It is good for those in management and for leaders whether in business or government. In this University, the course blends business and corporate needs into the curriculum and adds to the job experience. The course content moves from introduction to dissertation. The students learn by incorporating real business situations into their projects and analyzing them. The case studies are done using material that was or is being developed in business school.