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Correspondence Courses
Being able to send letters over any distance led to the formation of the mail system. The ability to communicate over vast distances was paramount in establishing the first type of distant learning. Correspondence courses used the mail system as the medium for people to attended classes. -
Radio
The radio not only was used to entertain but was an effective way to transmit news and other information. It didn’t take long for educators to realize this was also a good way for students that couldn’t attend their institutions to attend courses. They could use the radio to transmit course information. Transmitting courses via the radio started in 1922 -
Television
Once the television was invented it quickly replaced the radio as the centerpiece in each home where families received their entertainment and news. The education system was not long in using this new communication medium to transmit courses over long distances. It could bring a course right into your living room. -
Cable and Satellite Television
With the invention of cable and satellite television, viewers could now watch shows that originated from even farther away, to include from other countries. Again, this new technology enabled distant learners to take course from institutions that were out of their reach based on limited television viewing areas in the past. It provided more choices of universities that offered telecourse. -
Internet and Computer-mediated and Two-way Video System Distance Education
The advent of the computer and the internet took over the main job of communication from the television. Individuals now had access to an unlimited supply of resources and information from around the world at their fingertips. The internet allowed for the first time two-way communication between the student and the education institution. Communication between student and teacher just became easier and almost instantaneous. -
Creation of the Internet and World-Wide Web
The world-wide web made the internet better. It had a huge impact on how individuals worked and played. Of course, it also changed online learning by making it easier for students to access courses and how courses were presented. “Educational institutions used a variety of both real-time and asynchronous online technologies, leading to rapid growth in distance learning universities” (Miller, 2014).
