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Fathom was an
online learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...
portal project, spearheaded by
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, that opened to the public in late 2000. Partners in the venture included the London School of Economics and Political Science, the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
,
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, and the Smithsonian Institution's
National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
. Failing to turn a profit despite a 2002 business plan change, Fathom closed in early 2003.


Early history

In the late 1990s, Columbia University, led by executive vice provost
Michael M. Crow Michael Maurice Crow (born October 11, 1955) is an American academic administrator and parking lot executive. He is the 16th and current president of Arizona State University, having succeeded Lattie F. Coor on July 1, 2002. During his tenure at ...
, sought a way to use the emerging
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
as a strategic tool for extending higher education's reach to the public. The university hired Ann Kirschner in late 1998 to help develop this plan. Over a one-year period starting in January 1999, Crow and Kirschner quickly drew up the blueprint for Fathom, hoping to gain a first-mover advantage over potential competitors. On April 11, 2000, The Fathom Network Inc. incorporated in Delaware, changing its name to Fathom Knowledge Network Inc. shortly afterward.Delaware Department of State
General Information Name Search
. Division of Corporations. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
New York State Department of State

Division of Corporations, State Records and UCC. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
On November 15, 2000, Fathom opened to the public as a "preview site".


Vision

Crow and Kirschner conceived Fathom.com as an
online learning community An online learning community is a public or private destination on the Internet that addresses its members' learning needs by facilitating peer-to-peer learning. Through social networking and computer-mediated communication, or the use of datagogi ...
for general audiences who desired the experience of "' ..being at a great university or a great museum'" without having to attend one in person. Concerned by the initial success of Microsoft's '' Encarta'' encyclopedia, they also saw Fathom as a proactive defense against losing valuable faculty members to other online education projects. As an Internet hub of educational resources and interactive learning activities, Fathom aimed to distinguish itself from other university-led online learning initiatives. Their plan called for a) a broad range of
multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...
educational content designed specifically for the website, not limited to course syllabi and resources (hence the partnership with archival institutions); and b) interactive features such as forums, collaborative learning tools and groups, and expert-led discussions.Hane, P
"Fathom This: Academic and Cultural Institutions Partner To Create Interactive Knowledge Company"
''Information Today, Inc.'', April 10, 2000. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
In these ways, Fathom's ambitions reached beyond the course-confined materials and limited interaction of more familiar online learning initiatives by universities, like MIT's OpenCourseWare. In regards to Fathom's ambitious scope of content, Fathom's CEO Ann Kirschner is quoted in a press release as saying, "Today, most initiatives by educational institutions are focused on courses. Courses are important, and courses for distance learning will be one of the offerings provided by some partners through Fathom. But learning is not limited to the classroom, and the many other types of content provided through Fathom will provide a more complete and accessible context for knowledge. We believe that Fathom will define the transformation of the online learning category into a broader interactive knowledge marketplace."


The consortium

As a for-profit
consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...
, Fathom could compete for highly skilled
Web developer A web developer is a programmer who develops World Wide Web applications using a client–server model. The applications typically use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in the client, and any general-purpose programming language in the server. is used f ...
s, offer students a wide variety of courses, and allow Columbia to cooperate with participating institutions rather than work against them.Walsh, pp. 30–31. Although members of the consortium were required to distribute their online content exclusively through Fathom.com, financial contribution was not a condition of membership.Walsh, p. 36. The London School of Economics and Political Science was Columbia's initial partner, followed by
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, the Smithsonian Institution's
National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
, and the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
.Fathom Knowledge Network
Fathom Poised to Redefine Scope of Online Learning
April 3, 2000. Archived from th
original
on January 23, 2003. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
Within six months, seven additional institutions joined the consortium: four US institutions (the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
, the
RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
, and the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...
)Fathom Knowledge Network
Four World-Renowned Educational, Research, and Cultural Institutions Join Fathom
August 9, 2000. Archived from th
original
on January 23, 2003. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
and three UK museums (the Natural History Museum, the
Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
, and the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
).Fathom Knowledge Network
Three Top Museums Join Fathom
October 3, 2000. Archived from th
original
on November 13, 2002. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
The final member institution, the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, joined on November 15, 2000,Fathom Knowledge Network
The University of Michigan Joins Fathom
November 15, 2000. Archived from th
original
on November 13, 2002. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
bringing the total number of member institutions to 14.Fathom Knowledge Network
Fathom: The Source for Online Learning
Archived from th
original
on May 24, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2013.


Courses offered

Fathom initially planned to offer only courses produced by its members, which failed to produce courses quickly enough to meet benchmarks set out in its original business plan. Consequently, as announced in September 2000, Fathom decided to allow non-member "content partners", including the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
and the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
, to sell courses through its website.Fathom Knowledge Network
Seven Premier Online Course Partners Join Fathom
September 12, 2000. Archived from th
original
on November 13, 2002. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
The specific types and styles of academic courses, marketed using the institutions' brands, varied widely. Courses were text-based yet included
primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...
documents, animations, interactive graphics, audio
slide show A slide show (slideshow) is a presentation of a series of still images (Presentation slide, slides) on a projection screen or electronic display device, typically in a prearranged sequence. The changes may be automatic and at regular intervals o ...
s, and
streaming video Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
s. Although Fathom offered many free seminars, some courses cost over $500 and offered credit toward a degree. For example, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reported an "Introduction to Macroeconomics" course from the University of Washington cost $670.Hafner, K
Lessons Learned At Dot-Com U.
''The New York Times'', May 2, 2002. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
In 2002, Fathom tweaked its business model to generate additional revenue. Specifically, Fathom began to develop non-academic courses in collaboration with organizations as MasterCard International and
AARP AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons) is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. The organization said it had more than 38 million members in 2018. The magazin ...
. Fathom also expanded its focus from degree programs to
corporate training Training and development involve improving the effectiveness of organizations and the individuals and teams within them. Training may be viewed as related to immediate changes in organizational effectiveness via organized instruction, while devel ...
and
continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United ...
.


Demise

Columbia University closed the for-profit corporation on March 31, 2003,Hane, P
"Columbia University to Close Fathom.com"
''Information Today, Inc.'', January 13, 2003. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
keeping the web site's free content online until mid-2012. Although Columbia invested $25 million in the venture, and 65,000 people created accounts, Fathom failed to turn a profit,Phillips, S
Bilitzing the Glitz
''Times Higher Education'', May 16, 2003. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
partly because few customers paid for any of the courses.
Educational technology Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...
scholars Bush and Mott cite Fathom as an example of a handful of "very thoughtful educational technology 'solutions,'" including the University of Illinois's Global Campus, which "failed to meet their stated goal of expanding educational opportunities, most likely because they did not align with student needs, and, hence, were not financially viable."Bush, M. & Mott, J. "The Transformation of Learning Technology: Learner-Centricity, Content and Tool Malleability, and Network Effects". ''Educational Technology Magazine'', vol. 49, no. 2, p. 3-20, March–April 2009.


References

* Arenson, K
"Columbia's Internet Concern Will Soon Go Out of Business"
''The New York Times'', January 7, 2003. Retrieved September 18, 2012. * Carlson, S
"After Losing Millions, Columbia U. Will Close Online-Learning Venture"
''Chronicle of Higher Education'', January 17, 2003. Retrieved September 18, 2012. *

''Columbia University Record'', vol. 25, no. 19, April 7, 2000. Retrieved September 18, 2012. * Walsh, T. ''Unlocking the Gates: How and Why Leading Universities Are Opening Up Access to Their Courses''. Princeton University Press, 2011. {{ISBN, 978-0-691-14874-8. Education companies established in 2000 Internet properties established in 2000 2000 establishments in New York City 2003 disestablishments in New York (state) Columbia University Defunct websites American educational websites