History of Educational Technology and Information and Communication Technology in Education

ADP (Automated Data Processing)

A term used in the early 1980s that teachers taught in class

Analytical Engine

A computing machine designed by Charles Babbage, used in calculating complicated problems by following instructions. It served as the basic framework for modern computers.

ARPANET

The first internet, an interconnected network of computer networks.

Audio-visual education

A term associated with educational technology starting in 1873, when an international exhibition in Vienna showcased American maps, charts, textbooks, and other equipment.

Ballpoint pen

A useful tool in the classroom.

Blogs

Simple tools for personal notes that are easily accessible and editable by peers and potential peers, marking a breakthrough in educational technology in the late 2000s.

Bronze Age

A period that saw the development of agricultural technology, fishing techniques, domesticating animals, establishment of permanent homes, and metal technology using copper and bronze.

Camera obscura

Also known as a "dark room," this principle was part of the history of photography.

Chalkboard

One of the biggest inventions in educational technology, still in use today.

Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI)

An important component of instruction where both students and teachers used computers to surf for topics and research.

Stanford University introduced this in mathematics and reading, offering individualized and self-paced learning for drill-and-practice.

O.K. Moore developed a talking type tutorial _____ in 1966.

Difference Engine

A computing machine designed by Charles Babbage used in calculating and printing of simple math tables.

E-learning

Improvements made on Internet-based training in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The pedagogical thinking behind ______ is closely related to computer-based training, with the aim of delivering courses for students, and later becoming aware of the need for social activities among learners.

Educational technology

A multifaceted and integrated process that applies and uses people, procedures, ideas, devices, and organization, utilizing varied technologies from different fields of science based on specific educational needs and requirements to address problems and facilitate the implementation and evaluation of programs about human learning.

ERIC search

A system used to review research on specific topics, typically for a fee paid in the library.

Film projector

Also called a movie projector, used for projecting moving images from film.

Filmstrip viewer

A device that allows individual students to watch filmstrips at their own pace.

Filmstrips

Developed from photographic processes, these were a common form of still picture instructional multimedia used by teachers in primary and secondary schools. They provided an easy and inexpensive alternative to 16mm educational films, leading to programmed instruction in slide or filmstrip versions.

Handheld Calculator

Entered the classroom for quick mathematical calculations.

Headphones

Used in schools for listening skills and individual listening for audio files.

Hieroglyph/Hieroglyphics

Pictures making up the ancient Egyptian language, representing real things like birds, animals, and tools; the language was composed of over 500 such _____.

Horn Book

A wooden paddle with printed lessons used during the colonial era, containing the alphabet and a religious verse for children to copy for learning to write.

ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies)

A term used by UNESCO to describe "the tools and the processes to access, retrieve, store, organize, manipulate, produce, present and exchange information by electronic and other automated means". These include hardware, software, and telecommunications such as personal computers, scanners, digital cameras, phones, faxes, modems, CD/DVD players/recorders, digitized video, radio/TV programs, database programs, and multimedia programs.

Interactive Mobile Apps

Became the center of effective classroom learning around 2015.

Interactive Whiteboard

An instructional tool that allows computer images to be displayed on the whiteboard, which can then be manipulated by teachers and students.

Internet-Based Training (IBT)

The third wave of using computers in education, emerging with the adoption of the World Wide Web, addressing the challenge of updating content found in CD-ROMs due to rapid information changes.

Iron Age

The period when people progressed by using iron smelting technology, as iron was cheaper than bronze. It was the last period before the discovery of writing.

PowerBook 100

First laptop

Magic Lantern

A primitive version of a slide projector that projected images printed on glass plates

Micro Teaching technique

First adopted in 1961 by Dwight W. Allen and co-workers at Stanford University in the USA.

Mimeograph machines

Machines that made copies for distribution.

Montessori Method

Introduced by Maria Montessori (1870-1952), this method involved graded designed activities to properly sequence subject matter for individual learners, marking the beginning of dynamic educational technology.

Mouse

A pointing device invented by Douglas Engelbart, still in use today.

Multimedia computers

Computers with advanced graphics and sound that improved upon drill and practice exercises by incorporating colors and animation, motivating students.

Overhead projector (OHP)

Initially used by the U.S. military for training purposes in World War II, it quickly spread to schools and organizations. It was widely used for lecture presentations in the late 1950s and early 1960s until replaced by electronic projectors.

Paper and pulp papermaking process

Developed in China in the early 2nd century AD, it was carried to the Middle East and spread to the Mediterranean by Muslim conquests

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)

Released by Apple Computer Inc. in 1993, used for computing, storing information, and keeping schedules.

Phonograph cylinder sound recording machine

The first mechanical device for sound recording and reproduction, invented by Thomas Edison in 1877.

Pictographs

A form of sign writing where people draw their ideas like houses, fruits, vegetables, events, and other thoughts. The Harappan people used a pictographic script with 400 basic signs, written from right to left on seals.

Plato Computer

One of the most-used early computers.

Pencil

Usually found in classrooms, offices, and homes.

Printing press

Invented in approximately 1450 AD by Johannes Gutenberg, a German inventor, this was a prime developmental factor in educational technology for conveying instruction.

Programmed instruction

Emerged from filmstrips, providing a version of programmed instruction in slides or filmstrips. It was part of the fourth stage of educational technology, exemplifying individualized teaching and learning through self-learning and self-instructional materials.

Reading accelerator

A simple device designed to help students read more efficiently.

Scantron Systems of Testing

Introduced by Michael Sokolski, allowing teachers to check and grade tests more quickly and efficiently.

School Slate

Invented around 1890, though they were in use in India in the 12th century A.D. and gained school use by the 18th century.

Skinner Teaching Machine

Developed by B.F. Skinner, a behavioral scientist, as one of a series of devices that allowed a student to proceed at their own pace through a regimented program of instruction.

Slide rule

Developed by William Oughtred and others, it was the most commonly used calculation tool in science and engineering before the advent of the pocket calculator.

Social software

Along with free and open content, this marked a real breakthrough in educational technology in the late 2000s, rooted in social constructivist theory and cultural-historical psychology. Examples include blogs and wikis.

Spinning wheel

Its discovery greatly increased the productivity of thread making and, combined with printing technology development, led to the production of cheap paper, a prime factor in printing technology.

Stone Age technology

Characterized by the ignition of fire by rubbing two stones, handmade weapons, utensil making using stones, use of clothing from animal skin and fur, and the development of canoe-ship technology. People informally learned about ocean currents, weather, sailing, Astro-navigation, and star maps. It also included producing polished stone tools, which was a prelude to the mining industry.

Stereoscope

A three-dimensional viewing tool used for entertainment and in schools to illustrate points during lectures.

Television

First used practically for regular broadcasts in Germany in 1929, then for the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, began broadcasting entertainment in 1950, and was used in education starting in 1960. Its use for education was first recorded in the 1970s and spread globally

Transistor

Invented by the Bell Telephone Company, it is one of the vital components of the computer.

Video Tapes

Used as an exciting method of instruction starting in 1951.

Wikis

Simple tools for personal notes that are easily accessible and editable by peers and potential peers, marking a breakthrough in educational technology in the late 2000s.

World Wide Web (WWW)

Tim Berners Lee "gave life" to _____, which is an interconnection of hyperlinked documents. Its adoption marked the third wave of using computers in education.

Xerographic office photocopying

Introduced by Xerox in 1959