A Century of Continuing Education

Abstract

2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the American Optometric Association’s first Department of Education and the launch of its first distance learning program. This article traces the evolution of the AOA’s distance  continuing education strategy over the last century, highlighting three generations of educational technology and modes of delivery the association has employed: textual materials by mail, audiovisual media through library loan, and interactive digital modules over the world wide web. The author also explores the relationship between the warfare and the development of educational technology and pedagogy at each stage of development and introduces the reader to the AOA’s newest iteration of its distance learning web portal,EyeLearn.™