Historical Review of Distance and Online Education from 1700s to 2021 in the United States
cation through radio , television , and telephone , researchers pioneered and conducted work on computer-based education , later known as the “ Internet .” The University of Illinois launched the first generalized computer assisted instruction program , Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations ( PLATO ), in 1960 ( Bari et al ., 2018 ). PLATO was a pioneering platform for computer-based learning . Features such as PLATO Notes included one of the first online messaging boards , which supported online community ( Mitrakos , 2020 ). During this same time , research led by J . C . R . Lickliderof at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) on his “ Galatic Network ” concept provided the foundation for what would later become the Internet ( Leiner et al ., 2009 ). Lickliderof worked with researchers and teams at MIT , the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ), and RAND Corporation to develop a computer network . According to Leiner et al . ( 2009 ), “ By the end of 1969 , four host computers were connected together into the initial ARPANET , and the budding Internet was off the ground ” ( p . 24 ).
Satellite Technology and Personal Computers
During the 1970s and 1980s , satellite technology and personal computers transcended boundaries within and across education , supporting both asynchronous and synchronous instruction . This decade included experimentation with transmitting educational programs via satellite by colleges and universities . Coastline Community
College was the first college to license and offer fully televised college courses in 1970 without a physical campus ( Casey , 2008 ). The University of Alaska and the University of Hawaii were among the first educational institutions to use satellite technology for delivering educational programs with a focus on rural areas and underserved populations ( Gedney et al ., 2000 ). Statewide satellite-based education , exemplified by those in Maine , Virginia , and Alaska , paralleled university- driven efforts . These initiatives were supplemented in 1981 by Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS ) Adult Learning Services , which brokered courses offered by local colleges and universities ( Walther , 1991 ). Students increasingly received instructional materials disseminated through audio and video cassette players ( VCRs ) through the 1970s and 1980s due to convenience and affordability ( Moore & Kearsley , 2012 ). In 1985 , the National Technological University ( NTU ) began offering online degree courses via satellite , with all of the instruction distributed through real-time broadcasting or video ( Casey , 2008 ).
In 1987 , Glenn R . Jones launched the cable television network Mind Extension University ( ME / U , later Knowledge TV ), which enabled 30,000 students to take courses from more than 30 colleges and universities via satellite and pre-recorded video , plus pre-internet communications networks ( Colorado Business Hall of Fame , 2013 ). Glenn R . Jones ’ efforts evolved into Knowledge TV , and then Jones International University ( JIU ), which in 1995 claimed to be the first university anywhere to func-
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