Origins and Evolution of Distance Learning
The origins of distance education appear to date back to the eighteenth century. In 1728 an advert published by the Boston Gazette referred to a self-instructional guide for students with the possibility of corresponding with a tutor. Some people even argue that such a mode of learning can be traced back to biblical times with a pseudonym for distance learning even being mentioned in the epistles of the apostles!
Distance education, as we know it today, did not really begin to develop until the 1980s. Despite this, it wasn’t until the early 2000’s, with the advent of and widespread use of computers, when distance learning truly began to expand.
Since then the number of schools and educational institutions that offer distance learning via online courses has exploded. Typically in these cases it is a combination of classroom education and distance learning. However, universities and schools such as the Open University, have emerged which offer distance learning exclusively.