Distance Learning Has Worked for Almost 300 Years. The One Tip Most Parents Are Told to Follow Was Set Aside in 2008

Learning Success infographic titled The Evolution of Distance Learning. A timeline marks the birth of correspondence learning by mail in 1728, the broadcast era of radio and television in the 20th century, and today's digital online platforms. A science section notes that distance learning is a mature framework refined over nearly three centuries, that well-designed courses rival classroom learning for older students, and that the brain adapts to new ways of learning with practice. Three parent action steps cover observing how a child learns best, using digital tools as active supports rather than passive screens, and staying involved in the child's learning journey.

You set up the laptop, you printed the schedule, and somewhere along the way a teacher or an article handed you the secret to distance learning: find your child’s learning style. Are they a visual learner? An auditory one? So you sorted, you labeled, you rebuilt the lessons around it, and it still did not land the way you were promised. Then comes the quiet worry underneath, that this whole screen-based way of learning is second best, and that your child is missing something a classroom would have given them. If you have felt that, you are not doing it wrong, and you are not alone. You were handed a tip that researchers had already tested and set aside before your child was even born.

TL;DR

Distance learning is nearly 300 years old, beginning with mailed shorthand lessons in 1728 and corrected-feedback courses by 1840.
For older students using well-designed courses, online learning is about as effective as the classroom; for young children, fully remote learning tends to fall short without an involved adult.
The popular advice to teach to a child's "learning style" was tested and did not improve learning, in 2008 and in reviews since.
Teaching the same material in more than one way helps every child, not only one supposed "type."
The biggest factor in whether distance learning works is not the technology. It is a consistent adult who gives feedback.

Common questions from parents

Is online or distance learning as good as in-person school?

It depends on age and setup. For older students and adults with well-designed courses, research finds online learning works about as well as the classroom. For young children, fully remote learning tends to fall behind in-person school unless an involved adult is part of the day. The platform matters far less than the person guiding it.

Should I figure out my child’s learning style for distance learning?

Paying close attention to your child is always worthwhile, but the specific idea of sorting them into a “visual” or “auditory” learner and teaching only to it was tested and did not improve results. A better move is to teach important things in more than one way and aim extra practice at the exact skill that is breaking down.

How old is distance learning?

Nearly three centuries. A Boston teacher advertised lessons by mail in 1728, and by 1840 Isaac Pitman was running correspondence courses with corrected feedback. Radio and television carried lessons through the 20th century, and online platforms are the latest chapter, not the start of the story.

My child keeps falling behind with remote learning. What should I do?

Start by adding feedback and consistency: short, regular sessions where you look at the work and respond. If the same skill keeps stalling, reading, focus, math, no matter how the lesson is delivered, that is worth a closer look. A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations such as an IEP or 504 plan, or you suspect a vision, hearing, or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too, since that is the only route to those supports.

Distance learning is almost 300 years old, and it works. But the tip you keep hearing, teach to your child's "learning style," was tested and set aside back in 2008. Here is what helps instead. Tweet Now Follow Learning Success

What the timeline actually shows, in plain terms

Distance learning is not a pandemic invention or a modern shortcut. It is one of the oldest forms of teaching there is, refined for nearly three centuries. The infographic walks through that long road, and the honest takeaway is more reassuring than the panic that took hold when schools went remote. Here is the story it tells, in plain language:

The first lessons by mail (1728): A Boston teacher named Caleb Phillips advertised shorthand lessons sent by post. Over a century later, in 1840, Isaac Pitman added the piece that made it real teaching, corrected feedback mailed back and forth so a student heard how they actually did.
The broadcast era (1900s): Radio and then television carried lessons to children who could not sit in a classroom, widening who got to learn.
The digital revolution (today): Online platforms add live interaction and instant access to resources that earlier learners would have waited weeks for.
The honest headline: Across nearly 300 years, distance learning has held up as a workable way to teach, with one real advantage a classroom of thirty cannot offer, the freedom to fit the lesson to one child instead of the average student who does not exist.

Author Quote “

Distance learning did not fail your child. The advice to chase a “learning style” did, and researchers had set it aside before your child ever opened a laptop.

”

The one distance-learning tip worth letting go of

The infographic’s first parent step says to find how your child learns best and tailor everything to it. That instinct to pay close attention to your child is right. The version of it most parents are sold is not. The idea that a child is a fixed “visual” or “auditory” learner, and that matching lessons to that label lifts results, was put to the test and did not hold up, first in a 2008 research review and again in studies since. A 2020 survey of educators across 18 countries found nearly 9 in 10 still believe it. That is not a science problem. It is a systems problem, and it has been running for almost two decades while parents take the blame for advice that never worked. Read more on why “personalized learning” was never about your child’s learning style.

Here is what the evidence actually supports doing at home instead:

Teach the important things more than one way. Say it, show it, and let your child do it. Multiple paths help every child hold onto an idea, not one “type” of child.
Follow what the work tells you, not a label. Notice where a specific skill breaks down, reading, focus, memory, then aim practice there. A closer look at where learning stalls tells you far more than any style quiz.
Keep the Pitman ingredient. The thing that turned mailed lessons into real teaching in 1840 was feedback, a person looking at the work and handing it back with guidance. That has not changed.

Key Takeaways:

Distance learning is not new: Mailed lessons date to 1728 and corrected-feedback courses to 1840, so remote teaching has worked for almost three centuries.

"Learning styles" is the tip to drop: Matching lessons to a visual or auditory "style" was tested and did not improve learning. Teaching in several ways helps every child.

You are the deciding factor: For young children, an involved adult who gives feedback matters more than the platform, the app, or the subscription.

Is learning at a distance as good as a classroom?

The honest answer depends on two things: your child’s age, and how the learning is set up. For older students and adults using well-designed courses, research finds online learning works about as well as sitting in a room. The U.S. Department of Education’s review of the evidence concluded online instruction was not a superior method, and not an inferior one either. For young children, the picture is different. Studies of fully remote schooling, including the stretch when classrooms closed, point to real ground lost when a child learns alone at a screen, on the order of months of progress. The variable that closes the gap is not the platform, the app, or the subscription. It is an involved adult.

That is also where the infographic’s last point holds up. A child adapts to a new way of learning at all because the brain keeps rewiring with practice, building the pathways a skill needs when that skill is worked at the right level. Neuroplasticity is not a guarantee or a magic switch, but it is the reason the brain you are worried about today is not the brain your child will have after a season of the right kind of effort. If you want the deeper version of how that change happens, our piece on why your child’s brain is not fixed lays it out.

“Across the studies, online and blended instruction is not a superior method to classroom teaching, and not an inferior one. What it depends on is design, and on the adult guiding it.” Adapted from the U.S. Department of Education review of online learning, 2010.

Author Quote “

The thing that turns a screen into real teaching is the same thing that turned mailed lessons into real teaching in 1840: a person who reads the work and hands it back with feedback.

”

Here is what nobody tells the parent setting up the laptop: the problem was never your child, and it was never the screen. It was a stream of advice that sounds scientific and was quietly retired years ago, then handed to you as if making it work were your job to figure out. Researchers showed “learning styles” do not improve learning back in 2008, and a 2020 review found nearly 9 in 10 educators still teach to them. That is not a science problem. It is a systems problem, and you do not have to wait two more decades for the system to catch up. You are already the most important teacher your child will ever have. The only question is whether you have the right tools.

That is what All Access is built to give you: the methods that actually move the needle at home, grounded in how children actually learn rather than in labels that did not survive testing. And because struggles at a distance rarely travel alone, often tangled up with focus, reading, or a child’s shaken confidence, All Access hands you the full library in one place, so you are ready for whatever shows up next instead of hunting for the right program after the fa

References

Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest.
Newton, P. M., & Salvi, A. (2020). How Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth? A review across educators in many countries. Frontiers in Education.
Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2010). Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning. U.S. Department of Education.
Betthauser, B. A., Bach-Mortensen, A. M., & Engzell, P. (2023). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence on learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Human Behaviour.
Holmberg, B., and history of correspondence education: Caleb Phillips, Boston Gazette (1728); Isaac Pitman shorthand correspondence courses (1840).
Shaywitz, S. (Yale) and Temple, E. (Stanford): brain-imaging studies showing reading pathways develop with appropriate instruction.