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First Distance Education Course
The first distance education course was the Pitman Shorthand training program (Casey, 2008). This is important because it made the shorthand more widely spread beyond the UK. -
Establishment of the Society to Encourage Studies at Home
Over a 24 year period, 10,000 members, mostly women, took correspondence classes with the Society to Encourage Studies at Home (Casey, 2008). Importantly, this gave women educational opportunities they may not have otherwise had (Casey, 2008). -
The International Correspondence Schools (ICS) are Established
The ICS was created to help train iron and railroad workers as well as coal miners (Casey, 2008). By 1923, more than 2.5 million students had been enrolled in the program (Casey, 2008). -
University of Chicago Extension Department Opens
The University of Chicago becomes the first university in the United States to offer correspondence courses. This makes them the first university to have a distance learning program (Moore, 2003). -
First Educational Radio Licenses Granted
In 1921, the first educational radio licenses were granted and by 1923, over 10% of all broadcast radio stations were owned by educational institutions (Casey, 2008). -
The National Home Study Council was Created
In 1926, the National Home Study Council was created to monitor and ensure quality control (Casey, 2008). This is important because the nature of distance learning can create problems with the quality of learning (Casey, 2008). -
39 American Universities Offer Correspondence Teaching
Correspondence education became increasingly popular in the early 1900s (Moore, 2003). By the 1930, 39 American Universities offered correspondence education (Moore, 2003). Plenty of universities in other countries offered it as well (Moore, 2003). -
The State University of Iowa Broadcasts Educational Television
The State University of Iowa becomes the first university to broadcast educational television programs (Moore, 2003). They continued to transmit over 400 programs only 5 years later (Moore, 2003). -
The University of Iowa Starts Broadcasting Courses over TV
The University of Iowa was the first American university to broadcast a course over television (Casey, 2008). This paved the way for the expansion of similar distance learning opportunities. -
The United States Armed Forces Institute Starts Providing Correspondence Courses
USAFI started providing correspondence courses in 1943 and throughout WW2 and other wars, until 1974 (Moore, 2003). Millions enrolled in high school courses, and over 200,000 in college courses before its closure (Moore, 2003. -
Charles Wedemeyer and AIM
Charles Wedemeyer, the "father of distance education", obtains his grant to study the theory and practice of distance education (Moore, 2003). His AIM project invented the idea of the course design team (Moore, 2003). -
Open University in the UK Opens
The Open University opens, allowing both undergraduate and graduate students from around the world to study from afar (Moore, 2003). They offer both degrees and non-degrees, as well as certificates (Moore, 2003). -
First Fully Televised College Courses Published
In 1970, the Coastline Community College, the first American college without a campus, made and broadcasted the first fully televised college course (Casey, 2008). After that, other schools started doing the same. -
PLATO Project
The PLATO system was the first generalized computer-assisted instruction program (Moore, 2003). The PLATO system paved the way for an electronic network form of instruction (Moore, 2003). -
The Microprocessor is Made
In 1972, the first microprocessor was made, which was extremely pivotal to the distance learning wave, because it allowed for the creation of the computer (Casey, 2008). The computer would allow teachers and learners to communicate a lot easier than before (Casey, 2008). -
The National Technology University (NTU) Offers Online Classes Using Satellite
Using satellite transmission, the NTU was able to offer classes to working people all throughout the United States (Casey, 2008). Growing technology and the instructional needs of working professionals kept the field moving (Casey, 2008). -
The Worldwide Web Was Created
In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee created the worldwide web, which dramatically increased the possibilities for distance learning (Casey, 2008). -
Emergence of Testing and Training Companies
In the 1990s, many companies were established for the purpose of selling online training services and/or testing services (Moore, 2003). -
Blackboard Merger
In 2005, Blackboard and WebCT, two online course management systems merged (Casey, 2008). This is important because Blackboard then became the leading online course management software, which is still heavily used today.