History of Distance Education in the United States

By Maajiigwaneyaash

  • Sir Isac Pitman

    Sir Isac Pitmanhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjoigPf4IzE In 1840, an English educator, Sir Isaac Pitman, taught shorthand by mail. The Pitman Shorthand training program brought cutting edge stenographic practices to the United States in 1852 using the US Postal Service.
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    History of Distance Education in the United States

  • Ann Ticknor

    Ann Ticknor In 1873, Anna Ticknor established a society that presented educational opportunities to women of all classes to study at home.</a>In 1873, Anna Ticknor established a society that presented educational opportunities to women of all classes to study at home.

  • Thomas J. Foster

    Thomas J. Foster In the 1880’s, Thomas J. Foster started home-study courses in mine safety. In addition to providing instructions for women, early distance education provided the College Colliery School of Mines in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This endeavor eventually became the International Correspondence Schools (ICS).

  • Chataqua College of Liberal Arts

    In 1883, Chautauqua College of Liberal Arts in the state of New York granted degrees to students who successfully completed academic work through correspondence education and summer workshops.

  • University of Chicago

    University of Chicago In 1892, Distance learning achieved academic recognition when the University of Chicago created the first college-level distance-learning program.

  • Radio

    Between 1910 and 1920 the most promising new technology that emerged was instructional radio.

  • Broadcasting

    Between 1918 and 1946, the federal government granted over 202 radiobroadcasting licenses to educational institutions; however, the technology failed to attract a large audience. By 1921, the first educational radio licenses were granted to the University of Salt Lake City, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Minnesota.

  • Correspondence Reasearch

    In the 1950’s, a flurry of research conducted on correspondence study during this period and, later in the decade, facilitated growth of this medium's knowledge base.

  • Cable and Satellite Television

    n the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, cable and satellite television came into use.

  • Internet and Digital Application

    In the 1990’s, the advent of the Internet and digital applications combined with the changing demographics of the distance education learner, added a whole new dimension to distance education.