Institutions dedicated to distance learning: past or future of education?

Abstract

This introduction to the "Testimonies and interviews" offers a cross-analysis of the five interviews that constitute the section and presents well-known distance learning institutions. It highlights how these institutions, despite their differences, present similarities that underline essential elements in the history and current status of distance education. Three of these elements are discussed here: the response to educational and socio-economic needs, the importance of developments in learning design and the questioning of the future of specialized institutions in the light of the multiplication of actors and the widespread use of distance in times of a pandemic.