This book, which is an introductory-level textbook for preservice or inservice teachers, examines the foundations and practice of distance education (DE) and explains how to determine when DE is appropriate. The following are among the topics discussed in the book's 12 chapters: (1) foundations of DE (DE today and tomorrow, media in education, status of DE, characteristics of DE); (2) definitions, history, and theories of DE; (3) research and DE (the focus of DE, learner outcomes, learner perceptions, learner attributes, interaction); (4) DE technologies (a model of communication, the cone of experience, a taxonomy of DE, correspondence study, prerecorded media, one- and two-way audio and video); (5) copyright and DE (exclusive rights of copyright holders, fair use, public domain); (6) instructional design for DE (principles of instructional design systems, issues to address in the planning process); (7) the DE student; (8) teaching at a distance; (9) handouts, study guides, and visuals; (10) DE, the World Wide Web, and the Internet; (11) assessment for DE (assessing learning gains, traditional assessment tools, alternative assessment); and (12) evaluating teaching and learning at a distance. Each chapter includes a summary, self- test questions, answers to the self-test questions, references, and suggested additional readings. (MN)