International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Distance education refers to teaching and learning that occurs when students and teachers are in different physical and/or geographic locations. Although many people believe that distance education is a recent development made possible by the →  Internet , it actually began in the late 1800s. Distance education has its roots in correspondence courses, which began around 1870. In fact, the first home study division of an American university was established in 1882 at the University of Chicago. Home study programs flourished in the early 1900s, and the National University Extension Associated established a Correspondence Study Division in 1915. Correspondence programs provided written educational materials leading to the completion of programs, certification, and college degrees to students via mail services. Generally, early distance education programs were targeted toward adults living in rural areas who did not have access to education otherwise. During the 1930s, →  radio broadcast became a popular medium for providing distance education in the US, and by 1952, the →  Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had established public broadcasting with the primary objective of providing instructional television ( Portway 1992 ; →  Educational Media ; Instructional Television ). Telecourses became a mainstay in distance education throughout the latter half of the twentieth century. ... log in or subscribe to read full text