This article refers to the evolution and conceptual perspectives of instructional theory (it) and Distance education (ed). What is observed in the historical development of concepts is that the field of educational technology has overlapped with that of distance education and still, particularly given the conceptual differences remain ed to cause confusion. This is seen in the definitions cited by Schlosser and Simonson (2006): For Manfred the ed is an activity, for Perraton (1988) the ed is an educational process, for the Department of Education United States, the ed is the application of telecommunications; Rumble (1989) defined as a process and method, the French government as a education that involves no physical presence, for Peters (1995) is a method, for Holmberg, the ed covers various forms of study, for Moore (1994) is a family of instructional methods and Edwards defined as an approach. In Colombia, the Higher Education Act (Law 30 of 1992) defined it as a methodology and the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (unad) the conceptualized as a modality. At the end of the article, in the conclusions I propose a reflection on the debate in Colombia between the ed as a form design, methodology or method.
