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Foundations
of Distance Education
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History
of Distance Education
(continued)
Many early distance education courses were not affiliated with institutions
of higher learning. However, some higher education institutions offered
correspondence courses or extension courses through the continuing education
branch of the university. The University of Chicago, Iowa
State and the University of Iowa were early adopters of Distance Education
in the United States. The University of Iowa's current Center
for Credit Programs web site states,
"Correspondence study courses, the oldest form of distance education, were offered by the University of Iowa beginning in 1916."
Early distance education courses employed First and Second Generation communication technologies. First generation (1850s to 1960) was predominately one technology and consisted of print, radio, and television. As new media emerged such as radio and television, these new technologies were integrated into distance education delivery methods.
Second generation (1960-1985) distance learning courses utilized multiple technologies without computers. The media used to deliver distance education within the second generation included audiocassettes, television, videocassettes, fax, and print.
The establishment of the British Open University (1969) marked a significant development in the delivery of distance education by offering a mixed-media approach to distance learning technologies. Learning materials (text, audio & visuals) were sent to students by mail and supplemented by broadcast radio and television (Matthews, 1999).