Expert views on the effects of industry 4.0 to the distance education

The main purpose of this study is to explore the effects of industry 4.0 on the open and distance learning area. For this purpose, within the framework of the elements discussed in Otto Peters' theory of industrialization, the study was tried to be determined based on the opinions of experts in the field of industry-related effects of open and distance learning. The study group consisted of 10 academicians working at Anadolu University Open Education Faculty as experts. For the determination of participants, purposive sampling was used. The purposes of selecting the Anadolu University in research are presenting open and distance learning services since 1982, having the only Distance Education master's and doctoral programs in Turkey and also having lecturers who give a lecture about digital transformation and industrialization. The research was a qualitative case study and the data were collected by a semi-structured interview form consisting of 6 questions by face-to-face interviews with experts. While analyzing the data, firstly coded, main themes and sub-themes were created by using the Nvivo11 application, the themes were reviewed and revised and reported. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the effects of industry 4.0 in the open and distance education system in terms of resources, instructional design, distribution, interaction, learning environment, and industrialization theory. In this direction, it is necessary to eliminate the lack of infrastructure for industry 4.0, increase digitalization studies and specialize in the context of technological competences. In addition, the lack of a standardized production concept in industry 4.0 emphasized personalization and individual production in distance education. The distribution of the course materials produced must be diversified and the post-fordist approach should be preferred in mass production. While industry-wide technologies that trigger Industry 4.0 make it easier to offer different areas through distance learning, it affects the centralization and concentration factors in management.