Distance Education: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Today’s online and distance education programs are rooted in long-established practices created for individuals unable to relocate to centers of learning. Early distance education offerings included shorthand instruction and home studies, developed in the late nineteenth century (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2000). As new technologies became available, early programs evolved into radio and televised programs. Access to computers and the Internet moved distance education from the periphery of higher education to the mainstream (Johnson, Adams Becker, Estrada & Freeman, 2014).

The U.S. Department of Education (2014) reports that, in 2012, 5.4 million students who received federal financial aid were enrolled in distance education courses and that number is expected to grow. Today, students can choose from massive open online courses (MOOCs), competency-based programs, hybrid offerings, correspondence study in multiple formats (print, online, CD-ROM, etc.), subscription models, and typical asynchronous online offerings.

The future of distance education will be shaped by new models. The reshaping of distance education will include the blending of new technologies with pedagogical approaches resulting in lower costs and greater access for students. In this presentation, we will briefly review the history of distance education, examine today’s distance learning offerings, and propose three models for future distance education offerings including a new version of independent study, a community learning model, and an adaptive learning model.