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Earliest known reference of distance education
Caleb Phillips placed an advertisement in the Boston Gazette on March 20, 1728 offering shorthand lessons sent weekly to them (Kentnor, 2015). -
Distance education: Radio
The first federally licensed radio station
dedicated to educational broadcasting was created by the University of Wisconsin in 1919 called the WHA. -
Distance education: Television
FCC approval of reserving television channels for the exclusive use of education. -
Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations (PLATO)
PLATO was the first computer technology enhanced adaptive e-learning system. -
NSFNET was established
The National Science Foundation created a national academic infrastructure in the United States connecting university computers in a network called the NSFNET. -
First online education program
The University of Phoenix was the first to offer online educational programs by using CompuServe. -
Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN)
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation created the Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN) as an alternative to in-person education, and the foundation later began funding institutions providing online programs to improve education quality -
Course Management Systems: Blackboard
Blackboard learning system is a course management system used in higher education to manage courses, organize and distribute course content, and track and assess student progress -
First for-profit higher education online programs
New York University online, Western Governors University, and the California Virtual University were the first for-profit online education programs to make education more accessible. However, none of these institutions were able to compete with the University of Phoenix and eventually shutting down. -
Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)
SCORM 1.0 was created in 2000 by the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative established in a 1999 executive order signed by President Bill Clinton to address e-learning interoperability, reusability, and durability challenges across the federal government and the private sector. -
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
MOOCs are large-scale online courses created by George Siemens and Stephen Downe with the option of free and open registration, a publicly shared curriculum, and open-ended outcomes. -
Distance Education Accrediting Commission
DEAC has been around since 1926 accrediting distance learning education. Known as the National Home Study Council in 1959, it was listed by the U.S. Commission of Education as a recognized accreditor. It changed its name to the Distance Education Accrediting Commission in 2015. -
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is an AI-powered language model. Although in its infancy, has remarkable potential to challenge or revolutionize the future of online education and advance teaching and learning.