History of Educational Technology

Christie HerreraThe University of Texas at Brownsville

EDTC 3310: Introduction to Educational TechnologyProfessor Matthew Crosslin, M.Ed

Spring 2014

Year: 1896

John Dewey founded the first lab school at the University of Chicago. Dewey focused on child centered education. He practiced interactive and hands on education.

Year: 1899

Edward Thorndike developed the theory of Connectionism. He believed that learning was based on practice, repetition, reward, and punishment. Thorndike recommended five principles of teaching and learning: self-activity, motivation, preparation, individualized instruction, and socialization.

Year: 1920

Individualized Instruction was developed by Mary Ward and Frederic Burk. They created Dalton and Winnetka plans that were self-instructed. This allowed learners to freely progress.

Year: 1920

Jean Piaget contributed his psychological studies to explain the cognitive development process of children. Piaget developed Stages of Intellectual Development.

Year: 1933

Ralph W. Tyler conducted the Eight Year Study to evaluate the curriculum of numerous secondary and colleges. He believed that behavioral objectives and formative evaluation should be used to revise alternative curriculum.

Year: 1939

Robert Gagne, Leslie Briggs, and John Flanagan joined forces to develop a training material for the United States military to use for instructional training. The US Government used these films and training materials to train millions of soldier’s different techniques, skills, and ideas in limited time.

Year: 1954

B. F. Skinner introduced the Behaviorism approach. He believed the environment we live in controls the way we learn. This theory led to the development of programmed instruction.

Year: 1956

Benjamin Bloom introduced a Taxonomy of Educational Objectives that divides learning into three domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor. These objectives help promote higher thinker for learners.

Year: 1958

The United States Congress passed a National Defense Education Act (NDEA) which allowed federal funds to improve math, languages, and sciences.

Year: 1960

Jerome Bruner wrote “The Process of Education” and influenced the way educators think and deliver content. He believed that children are active learners and problem solvers who learn through action and experience.

Year: 1962

Robert Gagne published “The Conditions of Learning” which helped outline the nine events of instruction and the five domains of learning outcomes.

Year: 1963

Robert Glaser helped create standardized testing were students were no longer tested on what they know but how they were learning. This known as “criterion” testing.

Year: 1970

The Department of Audiovisual Instruction changed its name to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) and The National Society for Programmed Instruction changed its name to the National Society for Performance and Instruction. (Instructional Technology Global Resources, n.d.a)

Year: 1970

Instructional design models and systems were appearing frequently to improve performance and organization.

Year: 1962

Computer Assisted Instruction began at the University of Illinois through a PLATO system.

Year: 1981

IBM develops the first PC. The first educational practice programs are developed for PCs.

Year: 1984

The first computer from Apple was introduced. This device became quite popular and gave hope of improvement of education.

Year: 1996

The Constructivist Theory became very popular and was used to measure activities effectiveness.

Year: 1999

Learning Portals are available for online courses. Online courses are beginning to boom.

Year: 1999

e-learning was made possible with the use of the internet.

Year: 2004-2014

Web 2.0 began. This is a useful tool to have in classroom settings to access information instantly and practice skills.

Resources• Clark, Don. "Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains." Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains. N.p

., 6 June 1999. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html>.

 • Edgar, Don. "Learning Theories and Historical Events Affecting Instructional Design in Education." Home

. Version 10.1177/2158244012462707. Sage Open Journals, 2 Oct. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/2/4/2158244012462707>.

 • Grossberg, Blythe. "University of Chicago Laboratory Schools." About.com Private Schools. N.p., n.d.

Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://privateschool.about.com/od/profiles/a/University-Of-Chicago-Laboratory-Schools.htm>.

 • "History of Computers in Education." History of Computers in Education. N.p., n.d.

Web. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://www.csulb.edu/~murdock/histofcs.html>.

 • "Instructional Technology: A historical view." Instructional Technology: A historical view. Pearson PSU, n.d.

Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.personal.psu.edu/wxh139/IT_history.htm>.

 

 • McNeil, S. "Individualized Instruction." Individualized Instruction. N.p., n.d.

Web. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://faculty.coe.uh.edu/smcneil/cuin6373/idhistory/individualized_instruction.html>.

 • Smith, Mark. "Jerome Bruner and the process of education." infedorg. N.p., n.d.

Web. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://infed.org/mobi/jerome-bruner-and-the-process-of-education/>.

 • "The history of e-learning." The history of e-learning. Epignosis LLC, n.d.

Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.talentlms.com/elearning/history_of_elearning>.

 • Ulich, Monica. "Edward Thorndike - Learning Theories ETC547 Spring 2011." Edward Thorndike - Learning Theories ETC547 Spring 2011. N.p., n.d.

Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <https://sites.google.com/a/nau.edu/learning-theories-etc547-spring-2011/theorist/edward-thorndike>.

 • VITELLO, Paul. " Robert Glaser, Who Shaped the Science of Student Testing, Dies at 91." The New York Times

. The New York Times, 15 Feb. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/us/robert-glaser-cognitive-psychologist-and-expert-on-student-testing-dies-at-91.html?_r=0>.