Timeline of Instructional Technology~In Education

Roaring Twenties Developments in film, radio, and sound

recordings created an environment where people began to perceive the possibilities inherent in audio-visual materials.

The 1900’s saw Edward Thorndike use of empirical investigation to bring instructional methods to education. His methods were more fully explored during World War II and prompted the systems approach to instruction which allowed for individualized learning.

World War II World War II saw the use of training

films as a means of instructing soldiers. Audio equipment was used to teach

foreign languages in the military and industrial complex. Flight simulators were used to train pilots. Use of audio visual materials for training was a factor in our ultimate victory (Reiser, 1987).

1970’s Interest in Instructional Design (ID) grew as it was shown

to increase employee effectiveness benefitting the organization (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2003).

The government continued to push Instructional Design particularly as it related to computer-based, individualized education (U.S. Department of Education, 2001).

Above right is an image of a technician next to a working model of the solid-state television set, designed with NASA assistance, for use in the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, a program using satellite television to educate peoples in impoverished areas.

1980’s Computers were used more in schools for

instruction. Cognitive psychological theory was used more in

Instructional design to enhance effectiveness. Technology and Instructional Design became

intertwined as Instructional designers moved to incorporate the added functionality offered by computers into their design plan..

New models of Instructional Design were developed to meet the challenge of incorporating technology into instruction (Reiser, 2002).

1990’s Distance enrollment in higher education

courses nearly doubled from 1994-95 and was offered by 78% of public four-year higher education institutions (Reiser, 2002).

Distance learning was seen as a way for people who could not move or stop working to continue their education (Hawkridge, 1999).

Rapid prototyping became prominent in the 90’s.

21st Century Social media and technological

interactivity proved to be tremendous tools for learning.

Information went from being a scarce resource to becoming overwhelming.

Critical thinking became a priority as teachers need to evaluate resources to ensure that the technology is meeting the educational need.

21st Century continued Our planet became small as we were able

to freely interact with people on the other side of the world.

Digital learning objects, e-learning, the need for media richness, collaboration, and a deeper understanding of adapting technology to support disabled and non-native English speakers became the focus of research and practice among educators.