-
500 BCE
It's All Greek To Me
From 500-380 B.C., the Sophists ruled the education system of Greece. Although there were other ideas - from Plato, who was no fan of technology - the Sophists would create what would be known as the "first recorded instance of mass instruction." With a focus on writing and speaking (a departure from the traditional oratory tradition in the Greek system), they would also use group discussions to solve problems. Saettler, L. P. (1990). The evolution of American educational technology, 23–52. -
500 BCE
Originators of Collaborative Learning? (additional material)
The Sophists focused on group discussion as a way to create knowledge. So maybe the Sophists were actually the originators of collaborative learning? Perhaps Vygotsky himself would have drawn inspiration from the Sophists as he "emphasized lan-guage as a mediational means above all others."
Duffy, T. M., & Cunningham, D. J. (1984). Constructivism : Implications for the Design and Delivery of Instruction. Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technology, 171(4), 1–31. -
Over to Germany for the "Orbus Pictus"
Johann Comenius proposed a system of education open to everyone from kindergarten to university. Technology played a major role in his principles of instruction, including the use of textbooks and the way in which they correlate with instruction. His development of the Orbus Pictus, a "visual aid" textbook, was an excellent example of his method in practice. Saettler, L. P. (1990). The evolution of American educational technology, 23–52. -
Kindergarten (it's a German word, you know)
Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) major contribution was his principle of learning disguised as play, which is the origin of our modern kindergarten system. One method in this kindergarten instructional method was the aspect of using the constructing of things as learning. In this sense construction is a form of technology, where students use drawing, paper-cutting, modeling, sewing and more to stimulate learning. Saettler, L. P. (1990). The evolution of American educational technology, 23–52.) -
Meet me in Saint Louis
1905 in St. Louis marked the opening of the first "school museums" which we would describe today as more like storage facilities for instructional technology devices and gadgets. These museums “served as the central administrative units" for equipment related to visual instruction. Saettler, L. P. (1990). The evolution of American educational technology, 23–52. -
New York, New York!
The Lancasterian Monitoral System was king in the New York school system from 1806-1853. Developed by Joseph Lancaster, he created a system of classrooms for mass organized, cost-effective instruction, which eventually led to free public schools. The technology in these rooms including special attention to writing, large rooms able to accommodate up to 500 learning, blackboards, slates and sand tables.
Saettler, L. P. (1990). The evolution of American educational technology, 23–52. -
Let's Go Out To The Movies!
First catalog of instructional films developed. Reiser, R. a. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part I: A history of instructional media. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 53–64. -
The U.S. Visual Instruction Movement
From 1914-1923, the US see's a huge growth in interest in the visual instruction movement. This includes the development of five professional organizations, five new journals publishing the field of visual instruction and more the 20 teacher training organizations begain courses in using visual instruction for education.
Reiser, R. a. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part I: A history of instructional media. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 53–64. -
We Can Do It
1943-1945, visual instruction is put to effective use in the World War II efforts. US Air Force creates over 400 training films and 600 filmstrips at this time and the training is seen as highly effective. Additional technologies used are overhead and slide projectors, audio equipment and simulators for flight training. Reiser, R. a. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part I: A history of instructional media. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 53–64. -
Period: to
Kill Your (educational) Television
The rise and fall of instructional television. The 1950's see's huge growth in education television stations, owing to FCC allocation of many channels just for educational purposes. By the mid-1960s there is a massive decline due to the expense in deploying these channels and equipment to schools, as well as to what is considered mediocre instruction quality.
Reiser, R. a. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part I: A history of instructional media. Educational Technology -
ARPANET, pre-cursor to the Internet (additional material)
ARPANET was developed by the United States Department of Defense. The networking technologies utilized in the ARPANET project formed the basis for the Internet we all know and love today. A Brief History of the Internet. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.internetsociety.org/brief-history-internet Photo credit: SRI International https://www.sri.com/ -
Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? (additional content)
The longest running children's educational television show premieres and continues to aid in teaching millions of children every year. The heavy use of songs and games help children to feel like they are playing rather than learning. There can be little doubt that Froebel's methods have played a major influence in the instructional methods employed by Sesame Street. -
Lev Vygotsky and Social Development Theory
Lev Vygotsky introduces the role that social interaction and collaboration play in knowledge construction and cognition. He theorized that there is a "zone of proximal development", where the learner, in collaboration with others, is in an optimal state to construct knowledge. Social Development Theory
http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-development.html -
Dawn of the Computer Age
The 1980s saw an increased interest in using computers in instruction, to mixed results. Over the next 30 years the ratio of computer to students would continually drop.
Reiser, R. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part II: A history of instructional design. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(2), 57–67.
