Modern-day online school courses have their roots in the early distance education programs of the early 1880s. In those years, publicly funded programs for distance learning were set up by land-grant universities in the United States. The first students of these long-distance courses were farmers. The objective of the program then was to teach farmers more scientific and more efficient means to boost their harvests.It was not easy to convince farmers to leave their fields while they left to study, so instead of students coming to the colleges, the college would find ways to go to their new students. Textbooks and learning courses were designed for these pioneering distance learning students to be able to pick up and study. They learned at their own pace, and some even went on to take on higher education.From these simple beginnings, the concept of studying remotely has evolved. Modern-day distance education programs still make use of learning lessons and programs delivered direct to the student’s address. Advances in technology have opened this to the use of video recordings, computer programs, and even the Internet, with online courses made available for inquisitive minds.Studying through online schooling programs affords students a certain flexibility in studying, as they may easily pick their schedules and even the location of their classes. These feature online lessons, where a teacher and a student link up with one another through a live online teaching session, and they may communicate using voice conversations to better facilitate discussions, or to be able to get a closer, more personal approach to learning.The development of online school courses has reached a level of sophistication where the students can earn their degree online. Professionals have taken to the Internet to earn an MBA, as well as other degrees that help them take on professions such as nursing and entrepreneurship.