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1728: Earliest Known Correspondence Education
Correspondence education is a form of distance education given that the teacher and students are physically separated. On March 20, 1728, Caleb Phillips placed an advertisement in the Bosten Gazette offering shorthand lessons for any “Person in the Country desirous to Learn this Art, may be having several Lessons sent Weekly to them, be as perfectly as those that live in Boston.” -
1840: Isaac Pitman
Isaac Pitman, recognized as the pioneer of distance education, began teaching shorthand by correspondence in 1840 in Bath, England. Pitman mailed postcards to students and instructed them to transcribe passages from the Bible into shorthand and to return them, by post, for correction. -
1870's: Chautauqua Movement
The Chautauqua Movement of the 1870s is responsible for the onset and acceptance of correspondence education for adults. In 1874,
Lewis Miller and John Heyl Vincent heralded the movement in New York State as a training program for Sunday school teachers during the summer. Gradually, the program expanded to include general education and the arts, with supplemental readings and studies to be completed at home and through correspondence. -
1906: Radio Becomes Educational
It was not long before distance educators sought to explore new communication technologies as a means to reach more learners. In 1906, the University of Wisconsin-Extension was founded as a distance-teaching unit that is still in operation today. -
End of 1920's: Radio Education is Booming
In 1922, seventy-three other educational institutions received regular broadcast licenses, yet only half of those with such licenses had stations on the air. By the end of the 1920s, 176 educational institutions had broadcast licenses. -
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1932-1937: First Use of Television Broadcast for Education
Despite the availability of the technology, the first use of television broadcasting for education did not originate until between 1932 and 1937 at the University of Iowa. Even this was only an experiment into the use of television for educational purposes. -
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1948-1952: Struggle for Educational Television
1948: The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) put a freeze on granting new television licenses.
1950: Educational institutions began recognizing the potential of television as a medium of teaching and learning.
1952: The FCC answered educators’ requests to reserve television channels for the exclusive use of education. -
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
Following recommendations by the Carnegie Commission on Educational Television, the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The CPB’s mission was “to encourage the growth and development of public radio and television broadcasting, including
the use of such media for instructional, educational, and cultural purposes.” -
Video Signing of The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCDzHd1_NQk This link addresses the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 that was signed by President Lydon B. Johnson and the effect it had on our society for education through television. -
1970's: Modern Homeschool Movement
This first major push for homeschooling began when an educational theorist and school reform supporter, John Holt, argued that formal schooling was too focused on rote memorization and acclimating students to be efficient industrial workers rather than teaching them proper life skills. -
1977: Holt's Newsletter Founded
Those who chose to follow Holt's and his ideas stayed connected through his newsletter, Growing Without Schooling. -
1989: Online Education Emerged
Online educational programs emerged in 1989, when the University of Phoenix began using CompuServe, one of the first consumer online services. -
1991: World Wide Web Unveiled
In 1991, the World Wide Web was unveiled, and the University of Phoenix became one of the first to offer online education programs through the Internet. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a respectable philanthropic, not-for-profit grantmaking institution, developed the Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN) in 1992 to explore educational alternatives for those unable to attend traditional
classes in the classroom. -
2012: Online Education Growth
In the fall of 2012, 69% of academic leaders indicated online learning was critical to their long-term strategy and of the 20.6 million students enrolled in higher education, 6.7 million were enrolled in an online course. -
Is Online Schooling Right for You?
https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=is-online-learning-right-me_1 Above is a link to a quiz that will tell you if online school is ideal for you! -
University of Wisconsin Extension Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSs5VYLqkIM This video provides an inside look to the University of Wisconsin Extension and their values in educating students and citizens of the community. -
TED Talk on Online Education
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JKgUoY9pTg This link is to a TED Talk by Niema Moshiri talking about the era of online learning that we live in today. -
IXL: Interactive Learning Website
https://www.ixl.com/ This website is an aid that current online teachers can use to engage their students in a fun and interactive way. It has the levels of K-12 and multiple subjects to allow for multiuse. -
IXL.com Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW8yXFJkUyQ This video is a good source for teachers to show them how they can get the most out of IXL.com for their students. -
MindMap Information
https://www.mindmeister.com/1411369018/online-k-12-education-courses Above is a link to an interactive MindMap that is full of information pertaining to online K-12 education programs. -
Google Form Survey
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfq5M7yslzdrH8iOmbdppCVMStQrs9Wqe6Clq06NkdYb5ePRg/viewform Above is a link to a Google Form Survey that contributes to research about the public knowledge of online education. Feel free to fill it out! -
2020: Online Learning Statistics
https://techjury.net/stats-about/elearning/#gref This link gives information and demographics for the current use of online education in 2020.
