Distance education can be reformed to be more accessible and engaging. This includes bridging the digital divide, offering diverse learning materials, fostering interaction, and personalizing learning paths. Additionally, faculty development, quality assurance, and student support are crucial. Blended learning models that combine online and offline elements can be effective.

Finally, new technologies like VR and AI can further enhance the learning experience. Student feedback and collaboration among educators and policymakers are essential for continuous improvement.

This is a complex topic that requires a lot of thought. First, we must understand the phenomenon of distance education from its origins as an effort by public institutions to provide educational possibilities to the most disadvantaged social classes who, for reasons of their economic condition, cannot access in-person higher education. It is commendable to recognize that countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina in Latin America have been precursors of this model from public policy. In other latitudes there have been similar efforts for more than a hundred years. Then, it is necessary to understand that as a system, distance higher education has been adapting its public policies and its model to the response of the subjects towards whom it is directed. Additionally, efforts have emerged from private higher education to respond to different audiences with the distinction education model, in some cases not being the most successful. For example, in the case of Costa Rica, private universities have emerged with a virtual higher education model for a social class that has connectivity and its own computing equipment, and they hire teachers who have connectivity and their own computing equipment; With this, they eliminate classrooms and the maintenance of university facilities, resulting in a reduction in operating costs and transferring this savings into career offers that are quite competitive in terms of cost-benefit for the student. Now, the third reflection is to ask ourselves if distance higher education requires a reform, or does it occur as a response to the modeling of the social behavior of the actors involved in the phenomenon.

The initial academic exercise requires understanding the evolution of the phenomenon as such through time, place and context. For example, has the phenomenon of distance education evolved in the same way in Europe, as in Asia, or as in Latin America? What influence has Public Higher Education and Private Higher Education had in the redirection of Distance Higher Education from its origins to today? For example, in the Costa Rican context, the precursor of Distance Higher Education is the UNED (State Distance University), which operates from public policy as the university for the most disadvantaged social classes. This university has historically been the lowest cost for students. They enrolled in person, they did not take an admission exam and on the day of enrollment they took the textbooks and audiobooks or videos to study at home. They followed the tutorials on national television and showed up to take the exams on the agreed dates. Nowadays, with the development of ICT, students enroll online, download digital books and tutoring can be done online via Microsoft Teams, Zoom or the UNED Moodle platform. On the same platform there is a virtual classroom where they upload their work, research, projects and where they take exams without having to leave their homes.

However, in the Private Higher Education market there are many universities without regulation by the National Council of Private Higher Education CONESUP in our country and with this there are many students whose dreams are cut short due to the sudden closure of virtual or distance courses. and the sudden closure of these universities, without being able to do anything more than present the demands in the corresponding legal instances. It is very likely that this happens in all countries, or some countries have managed to make progress in this matter, so it is interesting to analyze what that experience has been like.

I think that the evaluation techniques and instruments should be improved in order to have more control over the quality of the students' learning.

De acuerdo con las anteriores contribuciones, complemento con unas sugerencias aprehendidas y vivenciadas en las diferentes etapas de evolución de la educacióna distancia, hoy altamente permeada por la gestión de la tecnología y la información en esta la sociedad del conocimiento, el contar con un metódo de diseño instruccional pertinente, una ruta virtual de aprendizaje, aulas virtuales de apoyo con proptotipos propios de la universidad, han permitdo navegar en estos aprendizajes virtuales con un poco más de tranquilidad, igualmente se le ha dado bastante soporte teorico y epistemologico a dicho metódo de diseño instruccional, EXINDE, es el norte de nuestra aventura de aprendizaje virtual, agrego un documento de la Unidad Central del Valle del Cauca, Tulua, Colombia, que nos puede servir para enriquecer el debate.

When I taught for a while in distance education, I realized the immense potential and unique challenges this mode of learning presents. To bring meaningful reforms to the distance education system, several key areas need attention. Robust technological infrastructure is essential, ensuring all students have access to reliable internet and up-to-date hardware. For instance, providing subsidized laptops and internet access to underserved communities can bridge the digital divide. Pedagogical innovation is necessary; instead of replicating traditional methods online, we should leverage digital tools for interactive and personalized learning experiences. AI-driven platforms, like adaptive learning systems, can tailor content to individual needs, enhancing engagement and effectiveness. Educators need comprehensive training in both technical skills and online pedagogy, with continuous professional development to stay updated with best practices. Student support services, such as virtual academic advising and mental health resources, are vital to address diverse needs and foster a sense of community. Innovative assessment strategies, like project-based learning and real-time feedback, can provide a more accurate measure of student progress.

Emmanuel, according to you, it is also very significant to take into account the management of academic credit, management of times, spaces, strategies, etc., given that they mark the roles of the actors who participate in the training process under the modalities a distance and virtual, that is, teacher time, student time, direct support in real time, synchronous, support in asynchronous times, autonomous work independent of the student, all of this allows giving greater confidence and reliability to these learning modalities.