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First School Museum
The first school museum was opened in St. Louis. The museums were central hubs for a more visual instruction unit, allowing for supplemental teaching within the curriculum. This serves as a starting point to instructional media in the United States (Reiser, 2001a). -
First Catalog of Instructional Films in the U.S.
As the motion picture projector gains popularity in schools, the need for instructional films becomes more apparent. This advancement seemed to change the course of supplemental teaching by introducing a media that could replace books. Though it did not, it did add to the instructional design field through an innovative method of supplemental teaching (Reiser, 2001a). -
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Visual Instruction Movement Takes Significant Strides
During this time frame, multiple professional organizations and academic journals began the process of professionalizing instructional technology. In doing so, legitimacy was given to the field, allowing for further development within it. With professional organizations and journals, the transmission of ideas became far easier (Reiser, 2001a). -
National Professional Organizations for Visual Instruction Merge
Leadership within the field became more centralized with the merging of the national professional organizations. From this event, AECT was formed and continues to lead the field into modern times. This event provided a one-stop-shop for innovative leaders to share ideas (Reiser, 2001a). -
Visualizing the Curriculum (Hoban, Hoban, Zissman, 1937)
The publication of this work set out in establishing a hierarchy within instructional media, determining how materials could be presented. The authors wrote on the value of audiovisual media, breaking down functionality within the classroom. This served as one of the more significant textbooks of its time (Reiser, 2001a). -
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Onset of WWII and Military Application of Audiovisual Technologies
This time period introduced the use of audiovisual technologies as mass training instruments for military personnel. The ability to utilize audiovisual technologies to quickly and efficiently train soldiers proved to be instrumental in the US war efforts. In reducing the training times of military personnel, the US military could ready troops quickly and more efficiently than the enemy (Reiser, 2001a). -
US Federal Government Established Division of Visual Aids for War Training
As a more specific example of war time efforts toward efficient training, the US federal government established a division specifically focused on training military personnel with audiovisual material. These films helped reduce training times without sacrificing effectiveness of the training programs. This division produced 457 films during WWII to assist in these efforts (Reiser, 2001a). -
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Psychologists Develop Innovative Analysis, Design, and Evaluation Procedures
This time period marked a moment in the history of instructional technology rooted in intense research in the audiovisual space. Psychologist began viewing training as a system and developed means for analyzing, designing, and evaluating those systems. This led to further exploration of how to solve instructional problems (Reiser, 2001b). -
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Instructional Television Gains Major Traction in the US
During this time frame, there was an increased interest in the use of television as a medium for instruction. While television had been used prior to this time period, federal and private funding led to an increased focus on the medium. This marked yet another step forward for the instructional technology field (Reiser, 2001a). -
FCC Sets Aside 242 TV Channels for Educational Purposes
This action led to the major development of public education television stations focused on presenting instructional programs. This allowed for a teaching role within public broadcasting that was relatively inexpensive. This allowed for quick and efficient instructional programming to the masses (Reiser, 2001a). -
B.F. Skinner writes The Science of Learning and the Art of Teaching
This article laid the foundation for Behavioral Learning. Skinner delves into the ideas of what is required to increase learning and what the desired characteristics of instructional materials seem to be. This led to further developments in the programmed instruction movement (Reiser, 2001a). -
Benjamin Bloom writes Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
Bloom lays a foundation for instructional design with Bloom's Taxonomy. This generated further exploration of hierarchical relationships among various learning outcomes. This piece called for tests that were designed to measure the outcomes laid out within the work (Reiser, 2001b). -
Soviet Union Launches Sputnik
When the Soviet Union launched the first orbiting space satellite, a series of events erupted pertaining to the processes of instructional design. Spurred by this event, the US government allocated immense funding toward improving math and scientific efforts. Through this funding, new instructional materials were developed and implemented within those fields (Reiser, 2001b). -
Robert Mager writes Preparing Objectives for Programmed Instruction
Mager produced a work focused on how to write objectives that are poignant in their descriptions of the desired behaviors of the learners. It set forth a basis by which these behaviors were to be performed and judged. This text maintained such influence, the methods are still used today (Reiser, 2001b). -
Ford Foundation Focuses Support on Public Television Instead of In-School Applications
This shift in funding marked an important movement from in-school instructional television to a more widely accessible version, available to the masses. Partially due to this decision, instructional television in the school setting decreased dramatically. This did not put a halt on using television as an instructional device however, as the mission of the medium became more focused on cultural and informational in its programming for public consumption (Reiser, 2001a). -
Robert Gagne writes The Conditions of Learning
Gagne establishes five domains of learning outcomes. Within each of these domains, different conditions were required for the promotion of learning. This work established cornerstones by which the instructional design process functions (Reiser, 2001b). -
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Systems Approach Gains Major Interest
The 1970s marked a time in which instructional design models greatly increased, specifically in regards to systematically designing instruction. The focus was on adopting new methods for instruction that built upon the works from predecessors such as Skinner and Bloom in a systematic manner. This proved significant in that the advances in the field sought to establish means of instructional design which could walk a design through the learning process (Reiser, 2001b). -
Computer Use for Instructional Purposes Establishes itself in Elementary and Secondary Education
By this time, computer use in the classroom reached 40% in elementary schools and 70% in secondary schools (Reiser, 2001a p. 59). This marked a philosophical shift in instructional technology, embracing the use of the computer as it became more mainstream. This increased enthusiasm led to use of a new technology that can still be found in classrooms today (Reiser, 2001a). -
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Interest in Constructivism Grows Rapidly
Constructivist thinking and instructional design rapidly grew throughout the 1990s. This view took an approach focused on authentic learning and marked a further shift from the "Sage on a Stage" method of instruction. With a focus on allowing learners to solve complex problems and the implementation of computers in the classroom, Constructivist methods became commonplace (Reiser, 2001b). -
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Internet Advances Enter the Classroom Setting
Rapid advances in digital technology, specifically the internet, led to its use in the classroom setting. As a Constuctivist approach to instruction became more acceptable, internet use served as a supplemental learning tool, providing greater access to information for learners. Such advances also led to new instructional designs focused on teaching from distance and reaching more learners from decentralized classrooms (Reiser, 2001a).
