Moving back in the time zone to a couple of decades earlier, how do you see a person who has earned a bachelors degree? He or she may be in their early twenties; staying in a hostel or near the university with parents sending the term fees. All the student had to do was go to the university every morning, attend classes all day, make projects and assignments, come back to their accommodation in the evening and prepare for the next day. Even this was only possible for those who could afford to pay the University dues in time and had some one back at home to do the earning. In earlier days student who didn’t have enough financial assistance had to give up school and earn their livelihood. Going to college and acquiring a degree turned out to be a dream that never seemed to be fulfilled. Once stuck into the fulfilling the needs of shelter and food, education never got its turn. Work and education could not walk side by side.
As time sped by, expenses got higher. It has now almost become impossible to run a family with one person working. Almost every member of the family after reaching age of maturity goes out into the practical field of life. Yet education always walks alongside career. The reason behind this great turnover is the evolution of a new concept known as “Online Education”. Online education came into the scene after the victorious advent of the internet and technology age. The complicated gadget named as “Personal Computer” had gained so much popularity with time that it had became a necessity in very house. That is when online education came into the scene. Although Online Education is still in its very early stages yet it has attracted a huge number of students.
Online Education can be termed as the most precious gift, the internet as given to a common man. E-learning, began when companies started to educate their employees about the further advancements in their work. Those were the times when computer had begun to popularize and were mostly found in offices of companies and organizations. There were some problems at those times, mostly related to the time co ordination between the instructors and students. However after a few years the multimedia technology came into existence and touched the height of fame in almost an instant. Then e-learning became even more convenient with the use of PowerPoint slides, educative games, and other programs. The process on online education was still quiet slow and restricted to only a few regions.
After the advent of the new millennium, technology came with new horizons which were accessible to all. The internet was streamed with institutions offering online courses and degrees. Students had found a way to continue there studies along with there jobs. Businessmen and professionals had found a way to further polish their skills. Web servers were much faster and could easily bear the load of videos and presentations. Lectures could be recorded and viewed any time the student wished. Solving queries became much easier. Learning had become easier and is still continuing to be.
The very first type of online education can be traced back to the end of 1980s or in the beginning of 1990s. This was when, as mentioned earlier, companies used e techniques to educate their employees. By the end of 1990s it started to spread over to the college students as well but was still restricted to a few regions only. Online education got its biggest boost in the new millennium and just shot to heights of success in almost a leap.
By: Keith Londrie
Posts Tagged ‘Brief History’
Online Education – A Brief History
March 24th, 2010A Brief History of Online Education
March 20th, 2010
The internet has given us many gifts throughout the years – from music and video game codes to not so G-rated material. Therefore, it is no surprise that e-learning has made such a big splash in the web world. Within the past ten years, online education and internet training has provided many people with a new incentive to learn.
During the early 80′s, e-training was just starting to become a potential creation. Companies and educational institutes were strictly hiring instructors to train their students. This was because computers were only beginning to grow, therefore making it difficult to come up with any other plan. These instructors were great at the time because it allowed training to be very hands on, especially since students were able to interact with their classmates and visually see the lessons. However, the problem with having just instructors was that there was a lot of blank time in between. Students were not being able to learn the material on their own time, thus difficulty set in when training with hoards of other people.
Luckily, as the computer industry started to expand, e-training was becoming a reality. For the next ten years, multimedia was at everyone’s fingertips. Companies were just starting to use PowerPoint; a program that allowed people to create visually enhanced presentations. Video games and other multimedia programs were also popping up, thus resulting in a technology overhaul. As these advances continued, online education was only a step away.
The first type of online education was in the mid 1990′s. This was when the internet was a great success, and multimedia was being taken to another level. The first few e-training companies dedicated their services to mainly businesses who did not want to hire trainers. Although the online education courses were great for new employees who needed training, it was only the beginning of an uphill process. Education online was very slow, as pictures were small and the entire course was text based. Nevertheless, it was beginning to catch the eye of many.
As the 1990′s quickly ended, the millennium marked an entirely new period for technology. E-learning was finally on the map as online education courses were now very popular at colleges and businesses. Great streaming media, online video access, and fast web site servers made it possible for online education to make quite a splash. Students were also now able to learn from their homes during their own time, since working a job and going to school was quite a difficult task.
Today, online education has come a long way. Instructors are now being hired to solely teach online, which usually consists of being filmed for lesson videos. Companies are also hiring these online education programs, since a training session can not only be quick, but also be accessed at any time of the day or night. For many, it is a great opportunity because it gives us all more knowledge. We not only are able to get college degrees through this type of e-learning, but we also can have a life, without having to stay at the office overnight just to learn some material.
By: Natalie Aranda
Online Education: A Brief History
March 11th, 2010
When the educational process takes place in an environment other than a live classroom, it is known as distance education. The idea of distance education can be traced by to the advent of the printing press. From the very earliest days of printing, it became possible to develop a learning method whereby the student learned at his own pace and without the aid of an instructor. The self help manual is one of the earliest examples of distance learning.
As each new technological advance was made, the possibilities of its adaptation for distance learning were explored. When radios came into common use, the possibilities of giving instruction via this medium were investigated. Television was a major advance that was used in distance training. The development of closed circuit television networks made it possible for classrooms to be spread out over great distances with the instructor in one location, and the students in another. The drawback to this method was that it still required the student to be actually present at the time the class was being held. It did not free him of that restraint.
It was the introduction of computers, and the wide spread growth of the internet that brought us to the current golden age of distance learning. Online education actually began with the introduction of the “Computer Assisted Learning Center” (CALC) in 1982 in Rindge, New Hampshire. This was the first actual online school in the United States although a similar program was being tested in Norway at around the same time. In was not until 1994-1995 when the internet became more widespread and available to the public from small and local internet service providers that online education really began to explode.
The first stage was the introduction of individual classes online. They were intended to supplement on campus classes and not replace them. There was a bit of reluctance in the educational establishment to change the traditional methods, and this reluctance still exists to some extend. It is fast fading, however, as the advantages of online education became apparent. Before long, you could find a complete degree program online. This was followed by online degree colleges. At the present time, online education opportunities increase with each passing day, and the status of online degrees and how they are received by employers is improving constantly as the internet becomes more integrated into daily life.
By: Natalie Aranda
