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From Chautauqua to the Virtual University: A Century of Distance Education in the United States

Information Series No. 393
by Michael Grahame Moore, with Von Pittman, Terry Anderson, and Cheris Kramarae
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If a century of experience of teaching at a distance using earlier technologies is overlooked, it is very likely that knowledge that is very relevant to our efforts to take advantage of new technology will also be overlooked. This paper is a contribution to adjusting the widely lopsided view that distance education began with the invention of the computer. It reviews the history of distance education in the United States beginning with the early years of correspondence study, radio, and television. It chronicles the rise of distance education universities internationally, the impact of the Internet and Web-based education, and the emergence of virtual universities. The paper discusses the emergence of theory in the last 30 years and provides a history of its scholarship, including tools such as publications, conferences, professional development, and professional associations. The concluding chapter addresses the question of whether and how distance education has changed over the last century, examining the issue in terms of technology, pedagogy, organization, policy, and scholarship.

The monograph ends with three reaction papers in which invited scholars provide additional perspectives on the history: "The Best Place to Start: Moore and ‘From Chautauqua to the Virtual University'" (Von Pittman); "Critically Examining Distance Education Practice" (Terry Anderson); and "Redesigning Distance Education to Deal with Equity Problems" (Cheris Kramarae).