Distance Learning History Goes Back Farther Than You Think
In this current Information Age, it's difficult to imagine that distance learning history could extend far into the past. But the internet has merely been the next step in a rich distance learning history, standing on the shoulders of past educators.
Correspondence. Instruction through correspondence (written letters, mailed or hand-delivered) has probably been a part of formal education for centuries, although several documented correspondence-only university programs sprung up in the late 1800s. Yale and Cornell were among the universities that attempted correspondence-based education.
Instruction Radio. During the early to middle part of the 1900s, many college programs were offering radio-based instruction. In fact, between 1918 and 1946, the federal government granted radio broadcasting licenses to 202 colleges, universities, and school boards.
Television. The invention of television revolutionized distance learning history. In the late 1950s, 17 programs used television in their instructional materials and by 1972, this number jumped to 233 stations devoted to educational academic instruction. Educators began to see TV as primarily an instructional tool.
Computer-supplemented distance learning. In the 1980s and 1990s as computers became available to the masses, distance learning history shows the use of floppy-discs, CD-ROMS, and other computer-based audio-visual learning aids to supplement distance learning education.
The Internet. The current internet revolution has redefined distance education dramatically, and is arguably the most important development in the entire distance learning history. Web technology combines the visual success of TV distance learning with the convenience of electronic correspondence.