How did this all get started?

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Article: Online Learning 

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Author: Olusola David, Ayibiowu

Edition : 11

Year : 21 August, 2017

Published: Online by Creative Arts Solution Foundation

How did this all get started?

1960 – The University of Illinois

While the Internet would not be created by the Department of Defense for another nine years, the University of Illinois created an Intranet for its students in 1960. It was a system of linked computer terminals where students could access course materials as well as listen to recorded lectures. This would evolve into PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations). At its height, PLATO operated on thousands of terminals across the globe. More interestingly, PLATO would be used to create many of the concepts of social networking that we know today: message boards, chat rooms, screen sharing, and even MMORPGs (source). 

1979 – Lemonade Stand

Arguably the first massively played educational computer game, Lemonade Stand was released in 1979 for Apple II, and the game was included with Apple software packages throughout the 80s. The concept was simple, create a successful lemonade stand, but the impact was great. It introduced a generation to the idea of learning with computers and, more specifically, to the idea of learning in virtual environments (source).

1984 – Electronic University Network (EUN)

Established with the mission of helping colleges and universities expand the availability of online courses, EUN offered its first online course in 1986 for use with DOS and Commodore 64 computers. However, this was before the invention of the World Wide Web, and students had to use proprietary software and communicate over telephone lines. The EUN began collaborating with America Online in 1992, serving as its higher education coordinator (source). 

1994 – CAL Campus

This was the year when access to the Internet was exploding with companies such as America Online, Delphi, CompuServe and a host of other local Internet providers transforming stand-alone desktop computers in people’s homes into windows to the world. The greater number of people with Internet access allowed what was formerly a small, offline adult learning center, CALC (Computer Assisted Learning Center), to evolve into CALCampus, which offered the first courses that we would recognize as ‘online’ with real-time instruction and interaction (source) over the Internet.

1997 – California Virtual University (CVU) and the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN)

CVU was established in 1997 as a clearinghouse to provide information about all online courses available from accredited California colleges and universities. While it would ultimately fold in 1999 for political reasons, the concept spurred numerous online resources providing students with information about online education opportunities, such as California Virtual Campus (source). Despite the rather confusing title of the publication, the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) was a watershed moment in online education. Created by the prestigious Sloan Consortium, JALN is a peer-reviewed journal that provided a dedicated space for academic research focused solely on online education. This made it distinctive from other publications that also included research on other types of distance learning (source).

1999 – Accreditation for Jones International University

North Central Accreditation is offered to Jones International University in 1999. This marked a turning point for online education, taking it from the sidelines of college education and improving its image as a legitimate alternative to traditional, classroom-based college instruction (source).