Emerging Technologies in Distance Education

Distance education is the fastest-growing mode of formal and informal teaching, training and learning.Its many variants include e-learning, mobile learning, and immersive learning environments.The series presents recent research results and offers informative and accessible overviews, analyses, and explorations of current issues and the technologies and services used in distance education.Each volume focuses on critical questions and emerging trends, while also taking note of the evolutionary history and roots of this specialized mode of education and training.The series is aimed at a wide group of readers including distance education teachers, trainers, administrators, researchers, and students. Part 1 Foundations of Emerging Technologies in Distance EducationThis chapter benefited greatly from the contributions of numerous people, most of whom I have never met.I would like to thank George Siemens for posting my question on searching for a definition of emerging technologies on Twitter and on his blog.I am also deeply thankful to all the individuals who answered that question.I also want to recognize the contributions of a number of authors whose work appears in this edited collection: Elizabeth Wellburn, B.J. Eib, and Alec Couros, who encouraged me to explicitly state the implications of "context" on the proposed definitions; Hagit Meishar-Tal and Andrew Whitworth, who highlighted the sociological aspect of the proposed ideas; and Bob Heller, who