Hewett-Christina- History of Virtual Learning Environments

The History of Virtual Learning Environments was interesting more because it is like a Timeline and information is minimal but the good part is the facts of the time period. The question of is it reasonable to trace history from 1728, absolutely yes. The information is rich. History is the story of what has happened before. One of the major proponents of growth is learning what was done before and doing it better. Reinventing the wheel is not a good use of time when one has already started to create a plan that effective works. It was very interesting to find out the shorthand was considered a form of a virtual learning environment. 1728 : March 20, Boston Gazette contains an advertisement from Caleb Phillipps, "Teacher of the New Method of Short Hand," advising that any "Persons in the Country desirous to Learn this Art, may by having the several Lessons sent weekly to them, be as perfectly instructed as those that live in Boston."[1

I am a certified Smartboard trainer and I did not know that they are from 1991. Here it is 20 years latter and I ‘m still trying to show the benefits and the word is not spreading fast enough. People are afraid of what is new. To my surprise, the Smartboard is only new to education. It was and has been used in the industry since 1991. In Datacloud: Toward a New Theory of Online Work, Johndan Johnson-Eilola describes a specific computer-supported collaboration space: The Smart Board, which was introduced in 1991. According to Johnson-Eilola, a “Smart Board system provides a 72-inch, rear projection, touch screen, intelligent whiteboard surface for work” (79). The revisions to the system are indeed more user friendly but platform itself has been around longer than we/I knew.

The word popular in regards to distance learning is questionable. Distance learning has been termed many things just like the terms CMS for our purposes today. I took a class back in the 80’s and it is the same as what I am doing currently at Fullsail. It was not a degree but it was a class. However, the data presented did not include the students who have been sick and doing distance learning in the 70’s. All the data suggests the pilot programs have all mirrored the success of one another. The 1980’s was the first citing for k-12 distance learning but I know this source is not the only one but the vitality of the information is housed here. Successmaker is a K-12 learning management system with an emphasis on reading, spelling and numeracy. According to the Pearson Digital Learning website, the South Colonie Central School District in Albany, New York "has been using SuccessMaker since 1980, and in 1997 the district upgraded the software to SuccessMaker version 5.5."