Distance learning isn't all that new, according to a recent article in Business TN. Here's how they explain it:

"Distance learning is hardly a foreign idea in the United States. In fact, scholars on distance education suggest that as early as 1873 efforts were sought to expand educational opportunities by corresponding via mail. And by the mid-twentieth century, with the help of advancing technologies in film and radio, the University of Wisconsin established a Correspondence Study Unit that helped boost confidence in distance learning across the country."

For a bit more distance learning history (particularly focused on the state of tennessee) see: Face-to-Screen Learning.