Submitted by Frank Fuller
1996-2000:
This is the period where distance education has started to come together more. Many universities are starting to offer distance education via the Internet. More prestigious school are beginning to add distance-learning programs, particularly online programs, in conjunction with their regular curricula:
The US Department of Education establishes the Distance Learning Education Demonstration Program, which will serve as a pilot program of 15 post-secondary schools, systems and consortia permitted to offer federal financial aid for distance learning programs"
Citation: "A History of Distance Learning." (2007). http://virtual.cpcc.edu. Retrieved from http://virtual.cpcc.edu/support/faq/details.asp?faq=whatdistancelearning on Jan. 23, 2007.
In fact, the first graduate distance education programs have started to become introduced into the mainstream, especially a new PhD program with no residency requirements:
Touro University International receives Middle States Accreditation of the first accredited, American, 100% no- residency Ph.D. program -- a Ph.D. in Business Administration.
Citation: Baker, Jason. (2007). "Distance Education Timeline." www.bakersguide.com. Retrieved from http://www.bakersguide.com/Distance_Education_Timeline/ on Jan. 23, 2007.
Some efforts are conjoined relationships between several schools for online degree programs, and more for-profit universities have also expanded to reach a greater population of potential users. In fact, many online classes have become routine as part of an ordinary degree program, and instructors begin to use chat rooms and other media to supplement their classes at all education levels as technologies continue to merge:
(tv) 1998- PBS affiliate WNEO/WEAO (also known as PBS 45 & 49) broadcasts ITV directly to classroom computers in seven Ohio counties. Users can select and play clips via web browser and can also author, digitize, and publish their own video clips and Web materials on a server maintained by the station.
Citation: Miller, Mary, and Teresa Cruce. (2005). "1990s Timeline of Instructional FIlm, Radio, and Television." http://mlmiller.myweb.uga.edu. Retrieved from http://mlmiller.myweb.uga.edu/timeline/ on Jan. 23, 2007.
1996-2000:
This is the period where distance education has started to come together more. Many universities are starting to offer distance education via the Internet. More prestigious school are beginning to add distance-learning programs, particularly online programs, in conjunction with their regular curricula:
The US Department of Education establishes the Distance Learning Education Demonstration Program, which will serve as a pilot program of 15 post-secondary schools, systems and consortia permitted to offer federal financial aid for distance learning programs"
Citation: "A History of Distance Learning." (2007). http://virtual.cpcc.edu. Retrieved from http://virtual.cpcc.edu/support/faq/details.asp?faq=whatdistancelearning on Jan. 23, 2007.
In fact, the first graduate distance education programs have started to become introduced into the mainstream, especially a new PhD program with no residency requirements:
Touro University International receives Middle States Accreditation of the first accredited, American, 100% no- residency Ph.D. program -- a Ph.D. in Business Administration.
Citation: Baker, Jason. (2007). "Distance Education Timeline." www.bakersguide.com. Retrieved from http://www.bakersguide.com/Distance_Education_Timeline/ on Jan. 23, 2007.
Some efforts are conjoined relationships between several schools for online degree programs, and more for-profit universities have also expanded to reach a greater population of potential users. In fact, many online classes have become routine as part of an ordinary degree program, and instructors begin to use chat rooms and other media to supplement their classes at all education levels as technologies continue to merge:
(tv) 1998- PBS affiliate WNEO/WEAO (also known as PBS 45 & 49) broadcasts ITV directly to classroom computers in seven Ohio counties. Users can select and play clips via web browser and can also author, digitize, and publish their own video clips and Web materials on a server maintained by the station.
Citation: Miller, Mary, and Teresa Cruce. (2005). "1990s Timeline of Instructional FIlm, Radio, and Television." http://mlmiller.myweb.uga.edu. Retrieved from http://mlmiller.myweb.uga.edu/timeline/ on Jan. 23, 2007.
Comments:
DistEd (January 24, 2007. 09:34pm)
Submitted by: Frank Fuller
The difference between the online era from 1996-2000 and the earlier eras is that technology developed gradually, over time, with one innovation, and then the next seemingly decades later. The information was processed somewhat faster, but it did not nearly rival the explosion in distance education programs from the late 1990s, when programs began to expand rapidly. More universities added more programs quickly, and the fusion of technology occurred in a faster time period. Phones, cable TV, and computers were all merged with technology to the point that they became interconnected in the last ten years. The distance education increased as technology started to become more advanced, with faster bandwidth and more efficient means of file-sharing and merging technologies together, which has changed education in many ways: "New methods in educational technology provide the opportunity to change...the structure and content of courses...Exponential growth in...these digital technologies is expected, as these new tools are...effective for teaching and become easier for instructors to use."
Citation: "Educational Technology/Distance Education." (1999). www.provost.umich.edu. Retrieved from http://www.provost.umich.edu/reports/educational_technology/ on Jan. 23, 2007.
The universities caught on and started adding more programs. No longer was just the fringe university offering programs, but legitimate, established schools were adding distance education to the mix. Technology and education are not separate in development now. They are one: "The thoughtful integration of digital technologies into the traditional scheme of education and their use to develop new ways of learning is necessary to ensure students have the tools to thrive in a complex and rapidly changing technological society."
Citation: "Technology and Distance Education." (2006). www.ed.gov. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/tdlearn.html on Jan. 23, 2007.
Teachers expect students to keep up, and teachers need to know the technology to stay on top of the demands of the current system: "Certainly the advent of new technologies has enabled institutions to think quite differently about distance education."
Citation: Oblinger, Diana G. (2000). "The Nature and Purpose of Distance Education." www.technologysource.org. Retrieved from http://www.technologysource.org/article/nature_and_purpose_of_distance_education/ on Jan. 23, 2007.
Both areas, technology and education, are inevitably linked, and there is almost no separation anymore. They depend on each other, and this will only be more of the case in the future. As we move towards a paperless society, we realize that there is a push to keep up with current trends, and as the element of convenience increases, the digital divide lessoning, we see that there is no direction but forward in the path of knowledge for all.