ANALYSIS OF IRAN'S FIRST EXPERIENCE IN DISTANCE EDUCATION, FREE UNIVERSITY OF IRAN

Distance education developed due to the growing needs of societies for education. Delivery of this type of education was originally done via mail services and later through multi-medias, such as radio, television and recently cell-phone and internet. The first formal distance education in Iran began in 1972 with establishment of the Free University of Iran. This university started its activity with two under graduate programs: teacher training and health sciences. Teacher training focused on interdisciplinary teaching and health sciences were designed to educate individuals in order to offer crucial health services in remote areas. Skill-based training was the prominent feature of these educational programs. The Free University of Iran registered the first group of students in 1977, and stopped working soon after the Cultural Revolution of 1979. This paper presents the vast experiences gained from this short lived educational activity. Soon after the revolution, Payam-e Noor University started the second generation of distance education.