Distance education opportunities are all around us and growing in number as you read this page. A majority of colleges and universities are offering distance learning programs and courses and a rapidly increasing number say that they are planning to offer them in the near future. With personnel and clients scattered around the globe, business, industry and government are also using technology to hold meetings, train their employees more efficiently and effectively, and share instructors to meet the growing demands of training.

Although distance education is being considered a new phenomenon by many, it really isn’t new. It began with the development of correspondence study over 100 years ago. The University of Wisconsin was a pioneer in this field. In fact, the term "distance education" was first used in a University of Wisconsin catalog in 1892. Fourteen years later professors extended correspondence study to the use of "new media" as they began recording their lectures and sending the records to be played on phonographs by distant students.

Later, radio and two-way audio instruction were added to the growing list of distance education technologies. Extended Degree Programs followed. In more recent years, television, Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS), and audiographics played a role in reaching adult learners throughout the state. Currently, live interactive satellite capability, fiber optic networks, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and Internet Protocol (IP) videoconferencing, webconferencing, interactive computer networking, handheld wireless devices, the internet, the web, email, and distributed learning have emerged on the scene, providing an increasing number of options for more effectively and conveniently meeting a wide variety of communication, educational, and training needs.