EXPLORE POSSIBILITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION IN ARCHITECTURE (LESSONS FROM INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES)

Abstract

Rapid evolution of communication and Internet technologies has great impact in the development of distance education methods. Also, increasing demand for higher education and the inability of traditional educational institutions to keep pace with this growing demand has led to increased demand for this type of education. Despite of widespread availability of programs and degrees introduced and granted through distance education, academic programs in the field of architecture is still limited. This is probably because the uniqueness of architectural education, which relies on direct interaction between students and professors at studios of design. Thus, a problem happens when transforming architectural curriculum from traditional education to distance education. So, this research tries to explore possibilities and opportunities for distance education in architecture. Analytical methods, both qualitative and quantitative were used to analyze several international experiences of distance education in the field of architecture. Many questions of research were answered that concerning with stating definitions and clear boundaries for different methods of distance education, figuring out the most appropriate methods for architectural education, shedding light on many of technologies used, describing statistically many of academic programs, and finding methods of overcoming problem of physical separation in teaching courses of design studios. Thus, results of this research support directly process of designing educational technical plans in architectural institutions