Text version of PBS series on distance learning: http://www.pbs.org/als/dlweek/history/ Long article on the history of on-line learning by Ken Freed, based on his book on the topic http://media-visions.com/ed-distlrn1.html I haven't yet seen anyone either dispute or promulgate the claim of the oft-criticized Vancouver University Worldwide that they were the first educational institution to go 'on line' -- which I believe was on Arpanet in the early 1970s.
This site may be helpful to you: http://www.media-visions.com/ed-distlrn1.html If you'd like to see a whole bunch of sites related to distance learning, you may want to check out this search results. You'll have to weed through it a bit, of course, but some should be helpful nonetheless. http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Distance+Learning%22+%2BHistory+of&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Take several incomplete histories, merge them, and then you'll have a complete history. This timeline, and the 2 other timelines it links to, are a good place to start: http://www.degreeinfo.com/timeline.html
Take several incomplete histories, merge them, and then you'll have a complete history. This timeline, and the 2 other timelines it links to, are a good place to start: http://www.degreeinfo.com/timeline.html