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Caleb Phillips advertises shorthand course in Boston Gazette to be taught through postal service.
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Lund, Sweden: postal-based writing classes
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Bath, England: Sir Issac Pitman offers mail-based shorthand classes with returned, graded work
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England: Penny postal rates permit ease of mail; popularity of distance learning grows
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Univ. of London: Queen Victoria chartered the External Programme which offered degrees earned through distance learning
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Boston: "Society to Encourage Studies at Home" was founded by Anna Eliot Ticknor
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Illinois Wesleyan University provides bachelor and graduate degrees 'in absentia' through postal service. Offered to mature students, 24 yo+
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University of Wisconsin-Madison created pamphlet to advertise their distance learning programs.
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University Wisconsin records and mails lectures to students in phonograph form.
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Pennsylvania State College offered first radio course. In mid-late1920s, almost 200 US radio stations offered distance education.
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University of Iowa's fledgling TV channel, W9XK, broadcasts educational courses twice weekly.
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Cleveland, Ohio: Western Reserve University becomes first US university to offer a series of courses for credit, combining TV broadcasts with home study.
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University of Illinois: PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) was the first computer-assisted learning system. PLATO was visionary, offering an interactive teaching machine with educational courseware. Thousands of machines were set up in learning stations around the world. Beginning of social networking.
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University of Wisconsin offers telephone based program for physicians.
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UCLA releases a statement, introducing the public to the Internet. Communication is now easily exchanged electronically, opening educational opportunities online.
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United Kingdom: The Open University (OU) provides television-based courses broadcast by the BBC. Appeals to variety of students, including many in prison. First courses for credit offered in humanities, science, social sciences, and mathematics.
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UNESCO creates PEACENET, a peace-building organization, in the Pacific Basin to provide first-ever satellite delivered learning programs. PEACENET's goal was to provide quality distance education to developing countries.
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Ed Roberts invents first microcomputer and coins the term 'personal computer'. Educators recognize the potential for in-home learning.
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Apple II introduces first educational computer game, Lemonade Stand. Integrates learning with fun in virtual environment.
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The IBM Personal Computer, known as the IBM PC, is introduced. IBM becomes trailblazer in educational games.
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Computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web (WWW), an Internet-based information system. Learners are now able to share and gather info remotely through hyperlinks
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New educational tools become popular, providing platforms that allow easy exchange of ideas and feedback for higher education.
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Moodle is released as a free Open Source software package; empowers educators to create effective private and collaborative online learning curricula. By 2015, translated into over120 languages.
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Khan Academy introduced as a non-profit organization that provides quality, expert-level education online to anyone globally.
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Number of students learning online soars to 5.5 million.
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YouTube offers free instructional lectures and the ability to personally upload multi-media videos which can be shared online.
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Introduced in 2006, MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, are free online non-credit courses as part of open educational resources. They allow unlimited participation to anyone. NYT named 2012 was the Year of the MOOC due to their increased popularity.
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Distance learning courses from accredited universities gain popularity with active troops abroad, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. Courses are often free to military veterans or active troops.
