Introduction

Abstract

Since the dawn of human history when humans began living and working together, training and education have played a critical part in the evolution of culture and society. One of the oldest forms of training is apprenticeship, where apprentices learned their craft by working for and being mentored by their masters, learning their craft until they achieved mastery of that craft. Before the era of writing, education involved teaching survival skills to youth such as gathering food, building weapons and shelters, and teaching social skills about behavioral norms in communities. Beginning in the middle ages, centers of learning developed around the physical location of the teacher and the library of books in the scholar’s possession. In the age of computers and networks, we have finally broken through these physical limitations of time and space.