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In 1728, Caleb Phillips offered to teach students shorthand to anyone in the country by exchanging letters. He ran an ad in the Boston Gazette for this course and it is the first documented example of distance learning. -
In 1858, The University of London became the birthplace of distance learning by allowing students to study for degrees outside of London. -
In 1953, The University of Houston offered the first televised college credit courses on the first public TV station in the US, KUHT. -
Computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee is responsible for the invention of the World Wide Web. In 1993, four years after publishing a proposal for the idea, he released the source code for the world's first web browser and editor. -
WeBWorK, a system for delivering homework problems over the web was developed by Arnold Pizer and Michael Gage. -
Matthew Pittinsky and Michael Chasen founded Blackboard Inc. in hopes to provide a platform for course management and delivery of online courses and degree programs. It is one of the most widely used online education management systems today. -
By 2006, it was found that 89% of 4-year public colleges in the U.S. offered classes online and 60% of private institutions as well. -
President Barack Obama pledged 500 million dollars in federal funds for the creation of new online courses and materials. -
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) become available through Udacity. This free online course resource allows students to ttake classes asynchronously. -
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced nearly every level of education to switch to online learning rather than hold classes in person.