Distance Education 411 | A Short History of Distance Learning

Distance education history dates back to over 120 years ago, in 1883. At that time, obviously, the Internet did not exist. For the first 60+ years, a distance learning correspondence course was the only kind of instructional media one could obtain. Correspondence is printed material that distance education students receive and read at their own speed. Nowadays correspondence is still used and generally it's pooled with other types of instructional media.

Technology-enabled instructional media did not arrive until the midpoint of the 20th century. For 40 years, as technology expanded at a fast speed, so did the kinds of instructional media. The years 1950 through 1990 saw the emergence of television, audio tape, audio graphics and audio conferencing as the main methods of instructional media delivery.

Early audio conferencing technology used the phone and students were able to interact with their teachers. Audio tape was then and still is a self-paced form of distance education learning void of visual media or teacher interaction. Television presented students something to view, but the ability to interact with the instructor wasn't feasible for a few decades until satellite television was developed.

E-learning revolutionized instructional media delivery

The term e-learning emerged around 1995 and it was used to depict any instructional media that could be delivered electronically. Around this time, the Internet was really coming into its own and was literally altering people's lives. One of the most profound changes that occurred as an effect of the Internet was access to any and all information.

E-learning breaks off into 2 main directions: computer mediated online education and electronically assisted learning. The category of computer mediated learning includes computer-based schooling and online learning resources.

Computer-based instruction relies deeply on students' use of computers. It offers an interactive learning online environment between student and computer since data is stored on and accessed from the personal computer. With modern hardware, students could now watch high resolution graphics, listen to audio files and learn online.

Online teaching and learning helped carry distance learning schools into the 21st century. Internet-based services and online education software help create an interactive online learning environment in which students have access to chat, web conferencing, whiteboard presentations, audio and video files and more. This technology also allows students to share documents and applications.

Electronically assisted education is what most people think of when they think of distance education resources in the modern world of today. This area of the distance learning history family tree includes such instructional media as satellite, video conferencing, electronic whiteboards, video tapes, CDs and DVDs. Satellite e-learning allows students from all over the globe to take part in online education classes being taught from a single location. Audio teleconferencing equipment allows students to participate in the lecture in real time, allowing for an extremely media-rich, synchronous online interactive learning environment.

Today's many distance education programs incorporate the above instructional delivery methods to some extent. The methods selected however are not by chance. Much thought goes into this choice because ultimately, the success or failure of the course as well as its students depends upon choosing the most cost-effective and best distance learning instructional delivery method.

History Of Distance Learning

A Short History of Distance Learning

E-learning revolutionized instructional media delivery