The Office of Distance Education (ODE) was founded in July 1998 on the campus of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts in Hot Springs, Arkansas and is now a part of the University of Arkansas System. Originally established to expand educational opportunities in Arkansas' rural schools, the Office of Distance Education uses H.323-based video conferencing to provide teachers to school districts nationwide unable to hire qualified faculty locally.
During its first year of operation, ODE enrolled 228 high school students from 23 school districts across Arkansas. For the school year 2010 - 2011, ODE's initial enrollment exceeded 3,600 students from approximately one hundred school districts in eight states.
ODE offers complete elementary, middle grades, and high school curricula as well as College Board-approved Advanced Placement courses and Concurrent Enrollment courses that allow students to earn college credit.
ODE also offers students and teachers nationwide training, including ACT preparation, using Wiki's in the classroom, teaching language with TPRS, and other programs.
ODE operates through a pay-for-service model, which allows instruction to be delivered with real teachers in real time at any location. The Office has partnered with St. George's Church of England Primary School in Birmingham, England, to share Spanish classes between British and Arkansas elementary students and the East Central Board of Cooperative Education and Swink High School in Eastern Colorado, providing Spanish, French, and German instruction.