Journal of Online Learning Research and Practice Volume 8, Number 1, 2020/1 | Page 18

Journal of Online Learning Research and Practice
tion completely online . By 1999 , JIU became the first fully online university member of the North Central Association in the U . S . accredited by the Higher Learning Commission ( Chaung , 2015 ; Colorado Business Hall of Fame , 2013 ).
As satellite technology continued to expand educational opportunities nationally , personal computers came onto the market . In 1974 , Dr . Henry Edward Roberts developed the MITS Altair 8800 , which was the first personal computer using an Intel 8800 microprocessor ( Ceruzzi , 1998 ; Miller , 2014 ). In January 1975 , the Altair 8800 microcomputer appeared on the cover of Popular Electronics with the heading , “ World ’ s First Microcomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models ” ( National Museum of American History , n . d ., para . 1 ). This publication inspired many developers who went on to be pioneers in the personal computing revolution , including Bill Gates and Paul Allen , who “[ wrote ] a version of the new BA- SIC programming language for the Altair ,” which MITS agreed to distribute and market under the name Altair BA- SIC ( Bellis , 2020 ). This deal inspired the founding of Micro-Soft , now known as Microsoft , in 1975 ( Bellis , 2020 ). Inspired by Altair 8800 , Steve Wozniak and Steven Jobs founded Apple in 1976 . They began by “ building Apple I in Job ’ s garage and sold them without a monitor , keyboard , or casing ( which they decided to add on in 1997 )” ( Terrell , 2008 , para . 1 ). The contributions of Roberts , Gates , Allen , Jobs , and Wozniak greatly influenced and expanded distance education in ways that are present worldwide today .
American Center for the Study of Distance Education and Terminology
Distance education in the United States received increased national attention in the mid-1980s . In 1987 , the American Journal of Distance Education , the first scholarly journal in distance education , debuted . In 1988 , Dr . Michael Moore established the American Center for the Study of Distance Education ( ACS- DE ) at The Pennsylvania State University ( Diehl , 2019 ). That same year , ACSDE hosted the first Distance Education Symposium focused on research in distance education ( Diehl , 2019 ). In 1991 , ASCDE launched the Distance Education Online Symposium listserv ( DEOS-L ), “ one of the first online databases of information , ideas , and discussions ” ( Black , 2013 , p . 15 ), reaching 4,000 participants in 60 countries by 1996 .
During the mid-1980s , the term “ online education ” became more prominent within academic literature . In 1986 , Dr . Stuart Umpleby published On-line Educational Techniques . Between 1987 and 1990 , Dr . Linda Harasim published one article and two chapters about online learning , which brought increased attention to this term . Harasim ’ s publications included the article , “ Teaching and Learning Online : Issues in Designing Computer-Mediated Graduate Courses ” ( 1987 ) and a book chapter titled “ Online Education : A New Domain ” ( 1989 ). Harasim then published “ Online Education : An Environment for Collaboration and Intellectual Amplification ” ( 1990 ) as a chapter in Online
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