This document provides an overview of online courses, including definitions, types, history, advantages, disadvantages and considerations. It defines asynchronous vs synchronous courses and different types like blended, free vs cost, academic, K-12, college, etc. The advantages include flexibility of time, location and pace. Disadvantages could include cheating, less social learning and teacher interaction. It provides examples of online courses created with tools like Moodle and Flash. In closing, it notes that online college enrollment increased 17% in one year and K-12 online enrollment is projected to increase to over 10 million students in the next five years, demonstrating the rapid growth of online education.