Distance learning for teaching courses in remote areas of Greece

Abstract

The advance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the reduction of cost in digital applications motivate course designers to develop new application of distance learning programs so as to meet the increasing educational needs in the knowledgebased society. As a consequence, distance learning courses are increasing in number, credibility and acceptability all over the world. The question is whether these programs are efficient in terms of costs. The main theme of this work is to investigate cost behavior and estimate cost efficiency of distance learning courses applied in low-inhabited, remote islands. The target group consists of high school students of Grade I. The distance learning course that is designed uses several scenarios of the “what-if form” and reaches the conclusion that cost of such solutions is far lower than that of any traditional course, even at the absence of scale economies.