In 1728, an ad for lessons via weekly correspondence appeared in a Boston paper. By the nineteenth century, the advances in the postal service allowed established universities to offer distance learning degrees through the exchange of mail.
When TV became a normal part of the American household, the FCC assigned specific public broadcasting frequencies that were required to provide educational content. College credit for courses delivered via TV was first offered in 1951 by the City Colleges of Chicago.
Educators tend to initially use new technologies as an extension of their traditional classrooms, so the computer became part of learning through computer-assisted learning centers. These emerged as early as 1982.
By 1994, the first fully online courses emerged. Students participated in discussions, projects and lectures entirely through the computer.
Course management systems such as Blackboard and WebCT entered the picture in 1997. The ease of using such systems has allowed almost every college to offer online courses.