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1439
Invention of the Printing Press
The printing press is introduced by Johannes Gutenberg, a German blacksmith. This invention enabled the recording and distribution of the written word a wider audience than ever before. -
The Steam Powered Rotary Press Invented
The steam rotary press was invented by Richard Hoe of New York. This press featured a drum driven by steam that could print millions of copies of a page in a single day. By 1870, Hoe had fine-tuned the machine to be able to print both sides of a single sheet of paper. This invention exponentially decreased the time and money needed to produce the written word and made this technology accessible to a wider audience than ever before. -
The Emergence of FIlm and Radio
Although the exact moment of the emergence of the Age of Film is not precisely known, by the early 1920's silent films had emerged as a form of expression. Somewhat parallel to the proliferation of film, radio began to also be utilized in education to transmit information. Combined, film, and radio were poised to become an effective and efficient way to transmit information from senders to recievers. -
World War II
Need for a skilled workforce pushed the boundaries of media used to educate a growing school base -
The Baby Boom
On the back of WWII, the U.S. birthrate exploded. Between 1944 and 1961more than 65 children were born. This applied pressure to an emerging public education system. The system responded by utilizing various visual, audio, and print mediums to educate the growing school-aged population. -
Emergence of Home Television
While the first television broadcasts in the U.S. happened in the late 1920's and early 1930's, widespread public consumption of television was not achieved until the mid to late 1940's. By 1947 there were nearly 45,000 household televisions in use in the US. The emergence of more compact sets, as well as color broadcast, would only broaden the appeal of TV in the coming years. This system of information dissemination was beginning to show potential for a mass audience. -
An Emerging Legitimate Practice
B.F. Skinner's work on teaching with machines is published and provides a much-needed psychological basis for teaching through mechanical devices. One might argue that this ignited a flurry of research on cognition that continues to flourish today. -
Soviets Launch Sputnik
The Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite may be one of the most influential moments in the history of education in America. It redefined paradigms in education across content domains as the U.S. raced to keep up with a (perhaps) perceived Russian technological dominance. This "nudge" by the Russians may have provided the impetus for America's push toward the Information Age. As technologies expanded, many have found their way into the classroom. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (AESA)
ASEA was originally enacted as part of President Johnson's broader "War on Poverty" initiative. In short, the AESA enabled the government to provide assistance to low-income districts. Much of this "Title 1" money was specifically earmarked for the improvement of technology in these schools. Like Sputnik, this event would have longstanding ramifications in education. Title 1 legislation continues to impact the day to day teaching practice of millions of teachers across the country. -
Jobs and "Woz" introduce the Apple 1
Whereas colleges and universities had been using "classroom" computers since the 1950's, computer technology continued to be out of reach for most k-12 school districts and their students. In 1975 Steve "Woz" Wozniak and Steve Jobs teamed up to create the economical Apple 1. Along with making computing affordable for the public Apple began donating their new computers to school districts nationally. By 1980, many students graduating high school had some experience with a personal computer. -
The Internet
The true dawn of the Information Age occurred in 1998 when an English scientist named Tim Breners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, a broad network space where documents and other resources can be shared and retrieved almost instantly. Like the steam-powered rotary press, the World Wide Web, potentially enabled media (audio and video as well as text-based) to be disseminated to a vast audience. -
Constructivism through the 1990s
Representing a major pedagogical paradigm shift, Constructivism began to take hold in schooling. This is an important shift in that it transferred the educational focus from teacher to learner. Whereas much research was previously devoted to theories of teaching, Constructivism is a theory of learning. Constructivism is steeped in the idea that learning is an inherently social practice that is often best achieved when students are situated together to solve real-world, authentic problems. -
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
In 2001 (It was actually passed in January of 2002), President Bush (43) amended Title 1 of Johnson's ESEA legislation (Section 1120, known as No Child Left Behind or NCLB). NCLB required that schools that received Title 1 funding from the government make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) towards improvement. This legislation effectively ushered in the Accountability Era in American education. Note: 25% of NCLB funds must be used for the training of staff on the use and integration of technology. -
Population Growth (again)
In 2010, the U.S. Government conducted a census that determined that the U.S. Population had grown to over 300,000,000 people. That number continues to grow (at a somewhat alarming pace). With this population growth, technology continues to evolve rapidly. If there is any hope for formalized schooling it will be to find ways to effectively harness media to effectively disseminate relevant information to a growing population.
