New Exhibit: 1920s Distance Learning

What's the first thing you think of when you hear "Distance Learning?" Zoom calls? That one time your kid was in class and another kid in another window ran unexpectedly pantsless through the video? By now, many students have been in virtual classes for a few months and the novelty of "pantsless Peter" has worn off. But, did you know that distance learning isn't a very new thing? Of course, it's internet iteration is relatively new, but distance learning as a concept dates to the earliest back to the 1700s, but came into vogue in the mid 1800s, around the same time that the postal service in the US was becoming modernized and when Humboldt County was being established.

1852 brought about the establishment of the Pitman Shorthand program that taught students via mail how to read and write shorthand (a way to quickly write in a code that could be retranslated into English for times when rapid transcription was needed). In 1890s, the Colliery School of Mines established a mine safety correspondence course in response to Pennsylvania's 1885 Mine Safety Act to ensure miners had the information needed to safely work in mines and reduce the chance of disaster or death. Over the course of a decade, this program, later known as ICS (International Correspondence School) had over 250,000 students from around the world participating in a variety of correspondence courses. This same company, now known and Penn Foster, began offering online courses in 2003 and continues to do so today.

An example of Pittman Shorthand

Thomas Foster,  who established the Colliery School of Mines Mine Safety Correspondence Course/International Correspondence School

Other iterations of distance learning included radio, in 1923 when 10% of operating radio stations were owned by educational institutions to educate students over the radio. With the widespread development and use of the television, institutions like the University of Wisconsin Madison pioneered televised instruction that was duplicated in other countries. In the 1980s, National Technological University used satellite television technology to broadcast live courses where students could ask questions on the air along with pre-recorded sessions. With the rise of the internet, the first all online accredited higher education institution began in 1993 with 5 bachelors programs and 24 masters programs.

The Display:

​Rural Humboldt County in the 1850s had no universities until Humboldt State Normal School was established in 1913, so  correspondence courses allowed local adults to educate themselves despite distance. Class materials were mailed to students, and they could practice and hone a number of skills from bookkeeping to workers safety.

​The materials on display, from 1928, were for a business course hosted by W.H. Goodwin. The ledgers, fake money, and invoices gave students a chance to work on their skills balancing books, keeping records, and doing transactions in the comfort of their own home. After completing the class, they would receive a certificate.

​Students received an envelope of materials including ledgers, receipts, stationary and more, along with bundles of envelopes containing a month’s worth of transactions for a fictional company. Following a pink sheet listing the businesses’ dealings over the month and reading included invoices and price lists, the student would process the transactions into provided record books and produce receipts to practice their bookkeeping and administrative skills. 

​Correspondence course materials courtesy of Joann Bauer, Humboldt County Historical Society. The materials are from her mother. Be sure to take a close look at the prices on the items!

Sources:
https://partners.pennfoster.edu/blog/2015/february/a-glimpse-into-the-past-penn-foster-celebrates-125-years-of-educating-the-non-traditional-learner
Distance Learning- From Correspondence Courses to Zoom
https://daily.jstor.org/three-centuries-of-distance-learning/