Uncovering the Ancient Roots of Educational Technologies - Essay Sample

Introduction

Educational technology, also known as instructional technology refers to the systematic and interactive process of redesigning training to achieve improved performance (Ertmer, 1999). Innovations in teaching and learning date back to the Greeks and Romans. Educational opportunities are available to those with particular social status (Ertmer, 1999). The primary goal of education is to disseminate ideas and knowledge. There seems to be an element of exploration as new theories, and plans are discussed and spread. Learning the historical development of education technology is a significant mind opener to understanding the existing technological innovations.

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Throughout history, technology has evolved, changed, and disappeared. Education has only become more valuable, and so has the technology which has made numerous advancements throughout history. Technology in the classroom has helped make teachers and students more successful than those before them (Bitner & Bitner, 2002). The only constant in technology is that it is always changing and to benefit, it is essential to stay up to date with technology. Some critical changes in educational technology include the chalkboard, overhead projector, pencil, computer, ballpoint pen, photocopier, scantron, and interactive whiteboard (Manguel, 1996).

History of Educational Technology

Early Years in the Field

The advancement in educational technology over the years have helped, or educators and students are successful. With technology continually changing daily, schools need to stay up to date with technology, so our students will be prepared after graduating high school. Some of the technological changes throughout history include the chalkboard, pencil, overhead projector, headphones photocopier hand-held calculator, hand-held graphing calculator, and the Apple iPad (Manguel, 1996).

1700’s To Late 1800s

Johann Comenius and John Locke were two philosophers who significantly contributed to the field of educational technology in the early- to mid-17th century (Saettler, 2004). Educational technology during this time was driven by the theory of cognitivism which was mainly brought forward by Comenius.

Comenius introduced radical ideas at the time. many of which are embraced by teachers today: instructional design based on the age, cognitive ability, and interest of the learners’ lessons which are relevant and meaningful to the child a suggestion that corporal punishment is not expertly sequenced lessons, which build upon one another (the modern concept of scaffolding) the use of visual aids, especially when learning a foreign language.

Late 18th century, the Lancasterian Monitorial System of education, developed by the Englishman Joseph Lancaster, was widely used in the United States in its infancy (Manguel, 1996). Schools began to create more systematic, streamlined approaches to educating hundreds of pupils at the same time. The instruction was highly-structured; peer learning and rote memorization were stressed. As American population centers industrialized, the primary goal of education was to prepare as many children as possible for adult life (in factories) as economically as possible.

One of the technologies that came into existence during this period was the chalkboard. It was created in 1801 in Scotland and was incorporated in every school in the U.S. by 1890 (Manguel, 1996). First, they were black, and then the green chalkboard was invented. The teachers shared the information using the chalkboard with the students so they can have important notes for future tests.

The demerits included that when the teachers had no more space to keep writing, they had to wipe off and start writing continuously. Also, the instructor used the chalkboard to interact with the students, for example, the instructor would write a question on the chalkboard, and one student had to go and write the answer. This kind of interaction was a success because the students were engaged in every class, and they were able to remember easier the information provided by the teacher through the chalkboard (Bitner & Bitner, 2002).

Another technology was the slide rule that was developed by the two ministers, William Oughtred and Edmund Gunther (Saettler, 2004). The slide rule has three parts which are the ambulatory center, base and a cursor made of two transparent faces. It was a primary analogue computer of the time. It was later used in the 19th century to calculate basic and complex math that included trigonometry and exponents.

Among the technologies that failed out during this period was the use of chalk slabs (Reiser, 2001; Saettler, 2004). It was overtaken by the Pencils that were introduced into schools in the 1900s (Saettler, 2004). Pencils help improve penmanship, affordable, and able to erase what has been written.

1900 Thru to the 1940s.

Dr Maria Montessori, in 1907, opened up a school in Rome which contains elements of a constructivist curriculum she developed for mentally disabled children and adults (Reiser, 2001). This aspect promoted the constructivism theory during this era. Her work would eventually be known as the Montessori Method of instruction for early childhood classrooms.

In 1913, Edison incorrectly predicted that motion pictures would, within a decade, usurp textbooks in the classroom (Reiser, 2001). Edison was only one of a long line of scientists and educators who inaccurately predicted radical changes to classes. After which, the newest technology was introduced such as stereoscopes, motion pictures, radio, and television.

Magic lanterns, stereopticons, moving pictures, the radio, training videos, and instructional television--each successive invention was predicted to have a significant influence on the modern classroom. Still, none of them was as impactful as the research and development of the personal computer. Computers have left an indelible mark on the face of modern education, and the era has only begun (Reiser, 2001).

By the 1920s, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had started broadcasting educational radio programs to facilitate education in schools (Robinson, 1982). This aspect introduced the theory of “schools in the air.” It was a milestone in the development of technology in education (Robinson, 1982). The film strips were incorporated in the classrooms in the 1920s and 1930s. Educators used to use to film strips to demonstrate the student’s pictures or videos of important events.

It was until 1940 when the Ballpoint Pens became widely used in classrooms Even though pens were invented long ago in the 1880s (Koh & Lim, 2008). These pens have continued to be part of the classroom to this day. The ballpoint pen specifically helped make writing more comfortable to read, but also allowed teachers to show what the students did wrong or correctly in different colored ink, which is more comfortable for students and parents to see (Jamison & Klees, 1973). The ballpoint pen will forever be used in education, even if it is a minimal amount compared to past years.

Using a film strip, helped the teachers to grasp the student’s attention and engage them in that topic. For example, the film of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln can catch some of the student’s interest, and they will want to learn more about that event.

1950 Thru to the 1970s.

Robert Mills Gagne, considered to be the “father of instructional design”, carefully and methodically laid out rules and considerations for effective lesson planning (Koh & Lim, 2008). He combined behaviorism (stimulus-response feedback loop) and cognitivism (scaffolding, intellectual skill set, superordinate skills sequencing) into his “9 Steps of Instruction.” Behaviorism and cognitivism were the most developed theories ding this period.

In the 1950s, behaviorists began the “programmed instruction movement”, which stressed the importance of planning lessons and writing learning objectives that adhered to specific standards, followed logical sequences, and criterion-referenced testing-a method of assessment which determined how students could “perform a particular behavior or set of behaviors irrespective of how well others perform” (Reiser, 2001).

In 1959, Russia successfully launched Sputnik, and the United States is sent into a frenzied “space race”, which ultimately affects the direction of education. More emphasis was placed on science, math, and engineering, and more money is devoted to newer technology in schools, proof of influence the international community (and historical events) have on our education system.

Various technological advancements occurred during this period. In 1969, the Children’s Television Workshop debuts “Sesame Street”, was part of the burgeoning interest in the possibility of television as an educational medium (Jamison & Klees, 1973).

Headphones were introduced in 1950 (Jamison & Klees, 1973). Theorist believed that it would be easier for students to learn if they heard the material over and over. With this theory in mind, they brought headphones into the class, so the students could listen to taped repetitiously (Jamison & Klees, 1973). Headphones are still used in the classroom today but with computers instead of tapes.

Xerox introduced a photocopier which made work easier for teachers and students (Russell, 2006). Information was delivered to the student at the same time since copies of one document could be made with ease for every learner. The technology also saved the amount of time that could be used writing. A hand-held calculator was first introduced into the classroom in 1970 and teachers were not fond of it at all (Russell, 2006). The teachers thought that if the students were using a calculator to solve a math problem, then they did not have to think about the issue, hence disable their learning abilities. However, today teachers like the calculators because the make math calculations quicker and help in solving more sophisticated math.

The overhead projectors replaced the chalkboard in the 1960s for some schools to try if they work correctly. In the 1970s, this device was in every classroom across the country. Therefore, the chalkboard fell out of popularity during this time but was still used by schools over time.

1980 Thru to the 1990s.

The company SMART were the ones who created the SMART interactive whiteboard, were incorporated in every classroom in the early 1990s (Hannafin & Savenye, 1993). This new and improved whiteboard replaced the chalkboard but did not replace the overhead projector entirely.

Smartboards are so technologically advanced that allows the students to interact with games. Also, students can take notes, watch movies, and can interact during the lessons with the teacher and classmates. Their high technology allowed the teachers to show the students the lessons, and the students were able to learn and see what is taught, and even they can interact with the smart-board (Hannafin & Savenye, 1993).

It is around this time that presentational software such as PowerPoint emerged and was used in class, conferences and in various training centers to help in demonstrating instruction. It was among the most used technologies at the time.

The first personal computer came out in the 1980s. According to (Russell, “the Plato computer was an early computer that was introduced to the education market” (2006). The Plato Computer allowed schools to use them for learning purposes, such as typing. Typing was previously done using a typewriter which was a part of the technological history in education. Computers will always be a part of technology in teaching and will remain to be for the foreseeable future.

The interactive whiteboar...