This paper presents a definition of distance education and a rationale for it both in pragmatic, problem-solving terms and in relation to a larger view of society. The geographic, political, educational, and technological context of distance education in Canada is then discussed. Traditional correspondence courses, satellite-delivered credit and non-credit courses, teleconferencing, and computer networking/electronic mail for the continuing professional education of teachers in British Columbia are described. A course on the study of exceptional children, which was broadcast live via satellite, is used as a case study to illustrate issues in course production and design, production standards, and cost. The results of pre- and post-course questionnaires covering participant characteristics, attitudes toward exceptional children, attitudes toward telecourses, program quality, live interactive television versus passive viewers, course requirements, and preferred viewing time are summarized, and telecourses are compared with traditional classroom instruction. A discussion of future directions for distance education concludes the paper. (29 references) (MES)