The people who give out the Webby Awards posted their “The Ten Most Influential Internet Moments of the Decade” list the other day, and they included some pretty momentous occasions. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used Craigslist–but only because I’ve never tried to count that high. Its outside-of-SF expansion in 2000 made the list. The launch of Google AdWords, another favorite of mine, also made it on there. Several other occasions, launches, and auspicious beginnings–and even an ending–got nods, but it was CNET that brought online education to the Internet fore. CNET’s Lance Whitney posted another list, one that included online education.

Something to Be Thankful For: Online Ed.

Online education is definitely something to be thankful for. Without this great new medium for education, a great many people would be missing out. From the ever-so-busy parents to the myriad others who simply don’t fit into the traditional classroom mold, online education has helped millions.

A friend of mine with Asperger’s syndrome isn’t really cut out for campus life. Thanks to the online offerings of a few local institutions he’s almost done with his degree–a work in progress that spans three states, five schools, and nearly a decade. Without the opportunity to study at his own pace and in his own environment, even he doubts that it would have been possible to finish up his bachelor’s.

We’ve come quite a ways from when online degrees were thought of as diploma-mill byproducts. Today, there are hundreds of fully accredited schools with online programs, and many don’t have a campus-based counterpart. Things are changing, and I, for one, am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!