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An ad was published in "Boston Gzette" by Caleb Phillips offering Shorthand art lessons sent by parcel post for those who are interested. Some argue that there was no record of two-way communication in this distance learning.
Evolution of Distance Learning -
Isac Pitman from England pioneered teaching shorthand by mail. He sent postcards to his students with instructions to transcribe Bible passages and return it to him for corrections by mail. -
Anna Eliot Ticknor starts the Society to Encourage Studies at Home, an early form of correspondence education in the U.S. -
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle in Chautauqua, New York became first correspondence school in US to offer adult programs. -
It was not too long after the invention of Radio in 1894 by Guglielmo Marconi that universities started exploring opportunities to deliver educational content over the radio. The University of Wisconsin Extension's WHA radio station became first federally licensed radio station for educational broadcasting. -
Educational broadcasting via radio expands but struggles due to regulatory issues and the Great Depression. -
Television broadcasting for educational purposes began between 1932 and 1937 at the University of Iowa (Koenig & Hill, 1967). However, this initiative was merely an experiment to explore the potential of using television in education. -
In 1952, the FCC designated specific television channels solely for educational use in the Sixth Report and Order Federal Communications Commission, 1952 -
The application of computers for educational purposes emerged in the corporate sector during the 1980s, as companies began utilizing computer-based programs to train new hires (Rudestam & Schoenholtz-Read, 2002). -
The University of Phoenix started utilizing CompuServe, one of the earliest consumer online services (The University of Phoenix, n.d.). -
When the World Wide Web was launched, the University of Phoenix became one of the pioneers in providing online education programs via the Internet. -
NYU became the first major nonprofit university to establish a for-profit online education division, NYU Online -
While some colleges like the University of Phoenix strived by continuously increasing their enrolment numbers, others struggled and even shut down their programs primarily because they entered this segment by targeting profits and not necessarily understanding the online learning format. -
It is essential to prioritize the quality of education delivered in both physical and online settings, utilizing contemporary technology and innovations to engage and educate 21st-century learners.