Eduction without physical classrooms aka correspondence education is a really old idea. Using the internet to host videos, is a take on using TV to broadcast videos to remote area, which is a take on doing the same with radio.
And as the name suggests before this people would get degrees via mail with known examples going back to 1728. Though coupling this with formal degrees only dates back to the 1840s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distance_education
Taking something that exists, and making it hugely popular or more accessible (think ride sharing or house sharing ala AirBnb) can be disruptive. I'm not talking about who invented it. I'm talking about how disruptive it is. Seems like others disagree which is fine, but for me personally, online education has been a game changer that I've greatly benefitted from.
The Open University was started in 1969 and is the largest academic institution in the UK. Undergrads used to receive course materials by mail and broadcast TV shows but since the web took off, much more is done via the internet.
It's free if you don't have a degree and you meet the means test. In 2000 they had virtual courses on Second Life. Since 2006 they joined the Open educational resources movement and begun offering courses that are free for everyone via the inernet.
More accessible seems seems like an good argument, but I disagree that more popular is a disruption as the option already existed.
Anyway, I was looking to get an online masters in 2000 and there where several to choose from. On the other hand Coursera was founded in 2012 so I fail to see the disruption. Better marketing?
I don't want to get into a debate about whether Coursera themselves are disruptive. My original question was intended to be more about online education as a whole, even if I didn't make that clear.
I do think popularity and marketing both matter. Amazon was not the first online store. Linux wasn't the first or only OS. Neither was Microsoft the first windowing OS, not even close.
Does popularity / marketing matter for education? It might. When someone says they took a course on Coursera, or at Oxford that means something to almost everyone. Very often education serves a dual purpose: 1. Actually learning the thing. 2. Being able to put a signal on your resume that gets you past certain barriers.
