The progress of information technology in today's society has a great impact on the development of society, affecting all fields of society, promoting the rise of knowledge economy, the intersection of world cultures, the opening of politics in various countries and further democratization. The mode of production in society and people's lifestyle have undergone fundamental changes; More importantly, people's dominant position in social development has been determined, which is considered as a basic right for people to keep learning, develop their potential and choose their future. The importance of continuing education and lifelong education is more prominent, and the concepts of continuing education and lifelong education have been generally recognized. Information technology has changed the society rapidly, and at the same time, it has given education more room for development. Information technology with microelectronics, communication technology, computer technology and network technology as the core provides increasingly advanced technical support for education and learning to break through the limitations of time and space, and at the same time makes education more personalized and personalized. The concept and means of education are undergoing unprecedented changes, especially the changes in educational means, which make traditional education face fundamental changes. In the education revitalization action plan for 2 1 century announced by the Ministry of Education, developing distance education and building a lifelong learning system are regarded as one of the important contents. There are many ways and methods of continuing learning and lifelong learning. Modern distance education is a very humanized and personalized education by using the constantly developing information technology. Because modern distance education can break the limitation of time and space, rich educational learning resources, personalized learning materials design and effective learning support system, the cost is relatively low, making lifelong learning possible; Modern distance education is also the best choice for people's lifelong learning, because it keeps pace with the development of information technology in modern society, which can greatly improve people's learning ability and learn to keep learning in the ever-changing social environment, thus contributing to people's survival and development in the information society. The lifelong education system requires all kinds of education at all levels to break the state of isolation and division, communicate and expand with each other to meet the needs of people's lifelong learning. With the development of distance education, the functions of all kinds of education at all levels are constantly expanding and there is communication between them. The way of expansion and extension breaks the isolation of all kinds of education, thus gradually communicating with each other, making the goal of establishing a lifelong education system a reality. Modern distance education, as a new educational form different from traditional classroom education, is bound to be related to the necessity of cultivating students' ability. Mankind has entered the era of "knowledge explosion". The rapid development of modern information science and technology has completely changed people's way of life and work. The emergence of new disciplines, new majors and new fields forces people to continue lifelong learning, and the fast-paced life forces people to take distance education as the first choice for lifelong learning. In the new era, a person's learning ability is an important embodiment of his social viability. At the end of last century, UNESCO described the quality of modern workers as: learning to survive, learning to recognize and learning to do things in its famous research report "Learning to survive-today and tomorrow of world education". In the summary of the connotation of talent quality structure, many developed countries also put forward that it is necessary to cultivate people's ability of sustainable development, learning, quick response to the changing world, timely absorption of new knowledge and innovation and creation of knowledge. People who participate in continuing education and lifelong education constitute a group different from the traditional admission qualifications, and they have the following main characteristics: ① adults are the main body, and the age gap between students is large; ② On-the-job learners are the majority, and the contradiction between work and study is prominent; (3) Most of them have distinct industry and professional backgrounds, and they have higher requirements for major selection when they enter school; ④ There are various learning motivations and different learning stress factors; ⑤ Uneven educational level and relatively strong practical ability; 6. Strong independent thinking ability, not superstitious about teachers, able to accept learning critically; ⑦ During my study in school, I am sensitive and quick to social dynamics; ⑧ With the credit system management and registered learning according to courses, the students' learning process presents a personalized trend; Pet-name ruby learning means, way, time has changed significantly; Students and schools (teachers and administrators) are in a state of quasi-separation, and the campus atmosphere has little influence. In the implementation of modern distance education, how should we cultivate people's ability to master and use modern information technology to develop autonomous learning and self-improvement? Desmond Keegan, an internationally renowned distance education scholar, believes that there are two modes of distance education for lifelong education in 2 1 century: group-based distance education mode and individual-based distance education mode. The main characteristics of distance education are analyzed: distance education has the potential to provide global courses; Individualization of education and training; Individualization of teaching behavior and learning behavior; Distance education is very suitable for individuals to walk and study online. Can give quick feedback by email; Cheaper than other forms of running a school; Technology makes distance face-to-face teaching possible. He analyzed the characteristics of distance education from the use of educational technology and the reality and potential ability of distance education. Modern distance education is an educational form that takes learners as the main body and helps learners learn more conveniently and effectively by using various media and interactive means. For a long time, people have realized the importance of establishing students' dominant position in teaching activities, so they have been exploring in educational theory and put forward the idea of taking students as the main body in teaching activities. However, in the traditional educational practice, due to the reasons of form and method, it can not be fully reflected. The development of modern educational technology has changed the mode and concept of traditional education. In distance education, teachers and students are separated or quasi-separated, and the role of teachers has changed obviously, from the leader in traditional education to the available educational resources, becoming a combination factor in audio-visual teaching materials; Learners have also changed from the object of education to the selector and user of educational resources.