Connected Education - also known as Connect Ed - was a pioneering

online education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

organization founded and administered by

Paul Levinson Paul Levinson (born March 25, 1947) is an American media theorist, novelist, singer-songwriter, and short story writer. He currently serves as professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University in New York City. His novels, sh ...

and Tina Vozick. Operating from 1985 to 1997, Connect Ed offered the M.A. degrees in

Media Studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

(through

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) and

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

(through the Bath College of Higher Education in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

). Connect Ed also worked with Polytechnic University in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and

Pacific Oaks College Pacific Oaks College is a private college with its main campus in Pasadena, California. The college draws on Quaker principles and focuses on social justice. It offers full and part-time undergraduate and graduate courses at Pacific Oaks' Califo ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. Technical services were provided by the

New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a Public university, public research university in Newark, New Jersey, United States, with a graduate-degree-granting satellite campus in Jersey City. Founded in 1881 with the support of local indust ...

on their "Electronic Information Exchange System" (known as "EIES") administered by Murray Turoff and Starr Roxanne Hiltz, and by the

Unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

Participate system. In an age before easy dissemination of images and sounds on the Web, Connect Ed classes were conducted entirely in text. Features of the electronic campus included the "Connect Ed Cafe," for casual conversation; an online book ordering service; the "Connect Ed Library"; and an e-text publishing arm, "Connected Editions". Courses included "Computer Conferencing for Business and Education," "Artificial Intelligence and Real Life," "Ethics in the Technological Age," "Science Fiction and Space-Age Mythology," "Popular Culture and the Media", "Book Publishing for the 21st Century," "Technological Forecasting," "Philosophy and Technology," and "Technology and the Disabled". Students were enrolled in online classes from 40 states in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and 20 countries around the world. Faculty and special lecturers included Michael A. Banks,

Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the department of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reason ...

, William Benzon,

Harlan Cleveland Harlan Cleveland (January 19, 1918 – May 30, 2008) was an American diplomat, educator, and author. He served as Lyndon B. Johnson's U.S. Ambassador to NATO from 1965 to 1969, and earlier as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International ...

, Ari Davidow, Sylvia Engdahl, Keith Ferrell, David Gaines (who taught the first online graduate music course),

David Gerrold David Gerrold (born Jerrold David Friedman; January 24, 1944)Reginald, R. (September 12, 2010)''Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2'' Borgo Press p. 911. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved June 23, 2013. is an American science fict ...

, Tom Hargadon, David G. Hays, Michael R. Heim, Nicholas Johnson, Lionel Kearns,

, Brock N. Meeks,

Frank Schmalleger Frank Schmalleger (born 1947) is an American criminologist, academic, and author. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Early life and education Schmalleger was born in 1947. He received his mas ...

, J. Neil Schulman,

Rusty Schweickart Russell Louis "Rusty" Schweickart (also Schweikart; born October 25, 1935) is an American aeronautical engineer, and a former NASA astronaut, research scientist, United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft, fighter pilot, as well as ...

, Donald B. Straus, Gail S. Thomas, and Harvey Wheeler among others.

References

Distance education in the United States Virtual learning environments {{US-edu-stub