One of the ways of looking at ICT use in teacher training is how it is used in distance education (DE) modes of training. DE has been employed by various government and non-government agencies so as reach the unreached. With the concept of providing credits and certificates  distance education started and progressed over a period of time with the  establishment of open universities with the main aim of providing learning opportunities for those who could not continue education due to various reasons. Also in a broader sense the focus of DE in the teacher training context is not necessarily the certificate based programmes. It aims to reach the nooks and corners of a country so as to meet the training needs of teachers through the use technology.

As Burns (2011) rightly said distance education, at its very essence has always been about helping individuals fulfil their professional dreams and aspirations-whether to be an office worker or a para-teacher or a certified teacher.

DE has taken the advantage of tradition and emerging technologies to reach learners and provide cost effective quality education. The main technologies which is being used in distance education include print, radio, television, web based technology, and mobile technologies. Basing on the case studies of various distance education programmes of various countries and regions such as United States, Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Australia, Mary Burns has identified the potential role of technology in teacher professional development, its strengths and limitations. While the technologies used to support distance learning are important for a well-functioning distance education programme, more critical for teacher learning are the type and quality of instruction offered with and through these technologies (Jegede, Fraser and Fischer, 1998). Let us look at the three key technologies which are being used predominantly in DE programmes of most of the courtiers. They are: print, audio and televisual.

1. Print

Print-based correspondence courses used in upgrading the skills of unqualified or untrained teachers. The print is least expensive but probably only feasible in some countries like Ghana (ex: Untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education) and  in Tanzania's National Correspondence Institute, combined print study guides with radio broadcasts, with residential programme. It is the same in  India (IGNOU), where teachers content and skills are upgraded through print materials as main stay with some additional support through contact programme and school based activities.

2. Audio

It includes radio broadcasts; Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI); one- and two-way audio instruction. In many programmes of audio, the teachers are secondary target group. It has the advantage of being affordable, being capable of reaching any part of the country and capable of focusing on issues perceived as difficult by teachers to handle.

3. Televisual

Televisual methods include visual broadcast media as television, video, and videoconferencing. It provides opportunities to see trainers and trainees in action and leads to credibility as it is said seeing is  believing. Actual classrooms could be created. It can provide models. It also has the potential to explain the difficult concepts to make an individual understand.

The choice of technology in DE is required to be based on learners' needs, nature of curriculum content and student support system, which leads to the consideration of certain factors. The eight factors listed in the book Distance Education for Teacher Training: Modes, Models, and Methods by Mary Burns is given below in the box for your reading.

Support the goals of the instructional program. Distance learning programs should not start with the question, "How can we teach teachers using online learning?" Rather, the first question should be, "What should teachers know and be able to do as a result of this instructional program?" The second question should be, "How best can we do this: face-to-face, via distance, or both?" Select the instructional system-distance or non-distance. Once these programmatic goals have been defined, policymakers and planners should consider the delivery system that can best help teachers attain these knowledge and skills. The technology or technologies selected must serve as the best vehicle to address the needs and goals of the teachers the distance education program is designed to serve. Facilitate learning. The technology/technologies selected must be appropriate for curriculum delivery and support teacher effectiveness (Farrell and Isaacs 2007). Initial development of distance learning programs should begin with two fundamental questions: What should teachers know and be able to do as a result of this distance program? What is the best possible way to help them attain that knowledge and those skills? Neither of these questions have anything to do with hardware, software, or connectivity-nor should they. Support best practices in instruction. The technology or technologies selected must support best practices in learning: learner-centred instruction, interactivity with content and people, communication, collaboration, reflection, accessing and constructing information in multiple formats, exposure to new opportunities and practices, and assessment (Farrell and Isaacs 2007; Kleiman 2004; Capper 2003; Mayer 2001). Include backup and support. Technology breaks down. When computers lie unused because of unavailable tech support, when television broadcasting ceases because of storm damage to a broadcast tower or satellite dish, when IRI broadcasts stop because of broken radios, education and professional development efforts are lost and money wasted (Gaible and Burns 2007). Any technology-based distance education system must plan for such contingencies and eventualities. Build on existing infrastructure. The technology or technologies selected for distance learning must build on a country's available communications, networked or broadcast infrastructure,395 available equipment, physical infrastructure, and human infrastructural supports-content developers, instructional designers, and instructors within that particular distance education medium-as well as distance technology-specific assessment systems. Design with ease of use in mind. Different distance technologies require different technical skills and dispositions on the part of potential users. The existing skills and readiness of distance instructors and learners is a critical consideration in selecting a particular mode of distance education delivery. The technology medium identified must be easy enough for instructors and learners to use so that technology-and difficulties operating it-do not obscure the focus on teaching and learning. The use of any technology will obviously and necessarily involve some form of technology training. But fluent technology skills do not guarantee fluency in teaching and learning with technology (McGhee 2003; Dimock et al. 2001). Any distance learning program must devote less time, effort, and resources to teaching about technology and more time, effort, and resources to helping its teachers and learners teach and learn with and through technology. An eye to the future. New technologies offer options to expand educational opportunities and improve educational quality. In selecting, designing, and making technology-related decisions, no entity should begin planning a distance\education program without thinking very carefully about the convergence among technologies, trends in technology (hardware, software, types of computing, use, and digital content), and how they impact teacher training programs.

Figure 2.7 Factors to be considered while selecting a technology
Source: Mary Burns (2011, 270)

The role of technology in the new distance education model has changed from broadcast, information delivery, static media presentation to interactive, explorative and information exchange. Likewise other aspects relating to role of instructors and learners, learning, assessment has changed. For details on this refer to Figure 8.1 (p. 123) Paradigm Shift in Distance Learning Models (Adapted from Naidoo and Ramzy 2004, 96; Trilling and Hood 1999) in the book Distance Education for Teacher Training: Modes, Models, and Methods.