With years of involvement in distance learning, author and professor, Jack Johnson describes this form of education as “a medium used to provide instructional programs to students separated by physical location from the instructor.” Now with a computer and access to the Internet, a student has the capability of a valuable education at anytime and from literally anywhere in the world. Teaching in a DL environment can take place in audio, video, or data exchange modes, which can be delivered in different combinations, depending on the needs and criteria of the DL course.

The two most common styles of DL are synchronous and asynchronous. A synchronous style allows participants to interact immediately and simultaneously with their classmates and/or the instructor. An asynchronous learning style delays that interaction. The data exchange modes most frequently used are online chats, e-mail, and discussion groups. These three modes can be used in any combination, or individually, during transmission. This transmission of information, from one instructor to a student, or to several students, takes place through mediums like telephone lines, cable, or satellites, which is ultimately broadcast over the Internet, cable television or some other transmission system.

McGraw-Hill’s PageOut DL system has worked with proven success for instructors and students at various educational levels. Three other common platforms for DL include WebCT, Blackboard, and FirstClass. All are formats designed to assist the instructor in presenting their class on the Internet. The platforms have pre-designed templates where common teaching tools such as syllabi, tests and lectures are defaulted on the screen. The teacher "uploads" their syllabi, lectures, and tests to the icon representing each of these activities and students can then view the content by clicking the appropriate icon.