LONG DISTANCE EDUCATION IN BRAZIL

José Flávio Nogueira Guimarães, MA

It can not be denied that there has been enhancement in long distance education in Brazil in the last fifty years.

At first the work was performed through mail. Books and at last tests were sent to students who were enrolled in the program.

The growth and spreading out of radio transmissions brought up new opportunities to the success and development of long distance education.

In the seventies with the easier and less expensive access of great part of the Brazilian population to television sets, Fundação Roberto Marinho started a long distance education program for elementary and high school students. Classes were given via television and students also received books and were evaluated by tests.

With the rise of modern technology and internet in 1994, long distance education became quite popular and several universities started their own sort of programs aiming at likely students who lived far away from those educational centers.

Long distance education in Brazil has proved to be effective since there is no difference in the methodology used in classes students attend personally. Students are encouraged to build their own knowledge with the help of a mediator.

There is no doubt the future of long distance education in Brazil is a promising one.