M.Ed. (Media Studies) / The lack of guidelines for the use of the telephone in distance tuition often leads to either the indiscriminate use or underutilisation of the medium. It can cause the lecturer to be inadequate at the structuring of individual telephonic conversations or telephonic presentations such as telelectures, teleconferences and multimedia telephone usage. The aim of this study, from the context of distance tuition and the usage potential of the telephone, is to provide guidelines for the use of the telephone by both the lecturer and the learner. An effort was made to elucidate the uniqueness of distance tuition and the specific possibilities of the telephone by means of a literature study, supplemented by personal practical experience and that of colleagues and experts in the field of distance tuition. In order to get a perspective on distance tuition, the different components involved in the integration of the telephone were considered. Subsequently the potential of the telephone as a medium was discussed. The aspects above culminated in the provision of guidelines. The conclusion drawn from the study is that the average distance lecturer is not fully conversant with the possibilities of the telephone, with the result that the telephone is underutilised locally. The possibilities of the telephone as part of a multimedia package are often underestimated and warrant further investigation.

M.A. / The new democratic South Africa has opened up a number of unique opportunities and challenges for distance education at tertiary level. Tertiary institutions, however, also face several serious problems that must be addressed in order to rectify the educational imbalances in the country. Due to the policy of equal opportunities for all regardless of race, creed, colour and culture, tertiary education institutions are experiencing an unprecedented influx in student numbers. Residential universities and technikons can accommodate this influx only up to a certain point due to limited physical facilities such as residences and lecture rooms. For this and other reasons, distance education is rapidly becoming the primary means of education, not only in South Africa but also in many countries around the world. It offers an immediate and practical solution to the problem of high student numbers. Some of the advantages of distance education are: • greater numbers of students can be reached throughout the country • students in rural areas have the same opportunities for education as their urban counterparts • imbalances can be addressed more effectively on a wider scale, including the rural areas • courses are generally more affordable • because of their technical nature, courses are often more directly related to the requirements of industry than traditional courses • accommodation for students and physical lecturing facilities are not an issue. The disadvantages, however, are: 1 Chapter 1: Instructional Courseware Design: Introduction lack of direct contact with lecturers lack of student support systems, such as contact with other students and the availability o lecturers to help solve learning and other problems the fact that the primary means of communication and instruction is the written word with limited opportunities for direct verbal contact limited or inadequate administrative support To overcome these problems, the "distance" in distance education mu