A Brief History of Instructional Design

  • First Correspondence Schools

    First Correspondence Schools
    The first correspondence schools in the United States were founded, called The Society to Encourage Studies at Home (Miller).
  • Hermann Ebbinghaus

    Hermann Ebbinghaus
    1885 Ebbinghaus is the first psychologist to study learning. The doctrine of association stated that ideas become connected through experience. Ebbing house felt that if this is true then learning should be predictable and he set out to see if this was indeed true.
  • Visual Education published

    Lantern slides and stereographs were amount the first technologies used in education. The Keystone View Company published Visual Education, a teacher’s guide to lantern slides and stereographs. This catalog promoted the Keystone company's collection of educational slides and stereographs (Allen, Clark, Reiser 18)
  • Instructional Films

    Instructional Films
    In the early 1900's, the film projector began to be used for educational purposes. In 1910 the first catalog of instructional films was published (Allen, Reiser 18).
  • Radio Learning

    Radio Learning
    the technology of radio broadcasting had become a viable means of transmitting information. Pennsylvania State College took advantage of this by broadcasting courses over the radio (Miller).
  • The First ID professional Association

    The First ID professional Association
    The NEA creates the Department of Visual Instruction (Clark).
  • Consolidation of ID associations

    the Department of Visual Instruction (DVI) merged with two other audio visual associations which is now called the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)
    (Clark, Reiser 18)
  • Division of Visual Aids for War Training established

    Division of Visual Aids for War Training established
    1941 – The federal government established the Division of Visual Aids for War Training - From 1941 to 1945, this organization oversaw the production of 457 training films. (Reiser 19)
  • Introduction of Computers

    Introduction of Computers
    In the 1950s Computers begin begin to be applied to education
    (Reiser 20). It would take another 50 years before computers began to have the education that was predicted (Riser, 20).
  • Interest in TV Education

    Interest in TV Education
    In the 1950’s there is increased interest in television as a medium for delivering instruction (Reiser 19).
  • TV College Classes

    Broadcast television was becoming more prevalent, and the University of Houston responded by offering televised college classes for credit (Miller).
  • B. F. Skinner

    B. F. Skinner
    B.F. Skinner publishes Science and the Art of Teaching, Skinner promotes the idea that behavior is influenced by the consequences, whether they are rewards or punishments. (Ferriman)
  • Benjamin Bloom

    Benjamin Bloom
    Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues published the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Reiser 24). Blooms taxonomy establishes levels of cognitive outcomes, from low to higher order. The five levels are: Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and Evaluation. Blooms taxonomy is still widely used (Driscoll, 357)
  • First IDT Definition

    The Department of Audiovisual Instruction published the first definition of instructional design. This definition focused on “the design and use of messages which control the learning process”
    (Reiser 2).
  • 1977 IDT Definition

    The 1977 Definition was over 120 pages long but this definition can be summarized as stating that IDT "is a complex, integrated process involving people, procedures, ideas, devices, and organization, for analyzing problems and devising, implementing, evaluating, and managing solutions to those problems, involved in all aspects of human learning."
    (Reiser 3)
  • Robert Gagne

    Robert Gagne
    Robert Gagne Publishes his 9 Events of Instruction (Ferriman). Gagne believed that information passed through a serious of transformative stages. Gagne felt that learning takes place when these stages are activated and that the goal of instruction was to activate these stages.
  • Education Models

    In the 1970's that was an interest in systems approaches which lead to the creation of numerous design models (Ferriman). Some of these models are Instructional Systems Design, ADDIE is an ISD model, was introduced in 1975 and the Dick and Carey model appeared in 1978 (Clark), there is also the Kemp model which came out in 1977.
  • 1970 IDT Definition

    Two definitions for instruction design are produced. One focuses on the technology used in IDT, and the other focused on the processes used to create effective instruction (Riser, 2).
  • First Virtual College

    First Virtual College
    The first "virtual college" with no physical campus was in operation. This virtual college, called Coastline Community College, offered a wide variety of telecourses (Miller).
  • The First Online Classes

    The Western Behavioral Sciences Institute's School of Management and Strategic Studies started an online program (Miller)
  • First Online Degrees

    Nova Southeastern University was offering accredited graduate degrees through online courses (Miller).
  • The World Wide Web

    The World Wide Web
    In 1990 the internet that we are familiar with first appeared. The world wide web would become an important medium for education (New Media Institute).
  • 1994 IDT Definiton

    The 1994 definition of !DT states, "Instructional Technology is the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning,"
    (Reiser 3).
  • First Web-based University

    First Web-based University
    The Jones International University became the first accredited fully web-based university (Miller). This university university ceased operations in 2015
  • Standardized Online Platform

    Standardized Online Platform
    Blackboard Inc. developed a standardized platform for course management and delivery that enabled many more institutions to come online (Miller).
    [Link text (http://www.blackboard.com)
  • 2008 IDT Definition

    The 2008 IDT definition states "Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources,"
    (Reiser 4).