Leveraging distance learning tools for broadbasing education in construction industry disciplines: The importance of a continuous social discourse

History of distance learning dates back to the late 1960’s. However with the advent of the Internet it was repositioned as a major tool for course delivery so that students who are physically prevented from attending class room settings can undertake learning within a setting of their choice aligned with a pace that they can easily cope with. Marketing of distance learning programmes is a diversified business activity in many universities and the School of Construction and property Management (SCPM)utilises the tool predominantly in delivering Masters Courses and PhD sessions over the Internet. Although structural and organisational aspects of DL courses facilitatedby computer mediated communication (CMC) have been dealt with in literature, the degree to which these tools satisfying social aspects of a classroom setting (e.g.guidance and support, body language, feedback, interactions with other learners etc.,)has not received adequate consideration in existing literature. This paper therefore investigates the extent to which the distant learning tools address the wider aspects of supporting a classroom situation during its operation so that appropriate improvements can be made in utilising these tools to attract more students for the relevant construction disciplines. The objective of the paper is to disseminate the preliminary findings out of literature review based on a Teaching and Learning Quality Improvement Scheme (TLQIS)project at SCPM.