Diffusion of Web-Based Education in Singapore and Australia

Abstract

The Internet has transformed the way education is delivered in the 21st Century. Web-based education has been developed on the basis of the capability and potential of the Internet. The idea of Web-based education was first developed about 15 years ago from a simple form of online learning, using mainly e-mail as a form of communication and consisting of mainly text, with no multimedia. Soon after, a variety of new software and services were developed to support Web-based Education. In late 1990s, the development of new technologies for this purpose accelerated. They gradually transformed the way by which distance education was delivered. Today, it is common for both private and public educational institutions to offer Web-based courses. However, only a few virtual universities exist today with all of their courses and activities Web-based.