Analysis of Distance Learning in Smart Schools in Iran: A Case Study of Tehran’s Smart Schools

Abstract

In the paradigm of information society the structure and facts have become flexible and subjective. In the recent social - economic order, IT and communication have taken over the leading role. Distance learning in smart schools is one of the flexible realities in the education field that has crossed the format of the hard and inflexible traditional schools such as boundaries of time and place and has provided educational content by using multimedia and networking software and computers. This study analyzed distance learning in smart schools within the regions of education of Tehran. The subjects for study were teachers and administrative staff of Tehran's four smart schools. Survey research method was used. Then using a questionnaire, smart school teachers’ comments were collected and analyzed. Using a Likert 5 spectral pattern in the form of questionnaire, indicators were identified. The population of this research was the smart schools in Tehran. Given the widespread pattern of Tehran, four top smart schools in Tehran were identified as sample. Our sampling method involved two-stage cluster sampling and census. At first among smart schools in Tehran, four clusters were selected with indicators such as history, area of education, student population, and gender. Data collection was conducted in two phases and with two methods. Then an attempted was made to test the hypothesis using Pearson's correlation and regression testing. Results indicated that there should be an emphasis on systematic approach in distance training and also that one-dimensional view lead to failure to achieve distance learning objectives. There was a significant relationship between elements of software and hardware infrastructure and distance learning in smart schools and also between the ability of teachers and the establishment of distance education.