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First School Musuem Established in Saint Louis
In 1905, the first school museum appeared in Saint Louis, Missouri which led to other cities following suit. This was the beginning of supplemental materials being distributed for instructional purposes (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
Viusal Education Movement
"Visual Education" was published by the Keystone View Company in 1908, which was a teacher's guide to stereographs and lantern slides. This marked the beginning of the visual education movement (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
Catalog of Instructional Films Published
In 1910, the first catalog of instructional films was issued in the United States. Schools then began to use films for instructional use regularly in the classroom (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
First Textbook on Visual Instruction
In 1928, Anna Verona Dorris authored "Visual Instruction in the Public Schools," which was the first comprehensive textbook on visual instruction. She defined visual instruction as a "seeing experience" that enriches education through the use of visual aids such as pictures, models, maps, graphs, charts, slides, and motion pictures (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
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Audiovisual Instruction
From the 1920s up until 1940, the field of IDT saw a shift from visual instruction to more audiovisual instruction. This was a result of advancements in technology such as radio broadcasting, sound recordings, and motion pictures with sound (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
The Department of Visual Instruction Established
In 1932, three of the national organizations for visual instruction merged to form the Department of Visual Instruction (DVI). The organization, now referred to as the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), has continued to play a major role in the field of IDT (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
Division of Visual Aids for War Training
In 1941, the Division of Visual Aids for War Training was established by the federal government. This organization oversaw the production of more than 400 training films and 600 filmstrips, in addition to many other audiovisual materials and equipment. These films also played a key role in preparing civilians to work in the U.S. industry (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
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Ford Foundation Funding
The large growth of instructional television in the 1950s and 1960s can also be attributed to funding provided by the Ford Foundation. It is estimated that the foundation spent an upwards of $170 million on educational television (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
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IBM Designs First CAI Programs
In the 1950s, IBM researchers developed one of the first computer-assisted instruction (CAI) programs that were used in public schools (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
Television Channels for Education
In 1952, the Federal Communications Commission designated 242 television channels for the purpose of education. This led to an increasingly large number of public educational television stations being developed (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
The Programmed Instruction Movement
In 1954, B.F. Skinner wrote an article entitled "The Science of Learning and the Art of Instruction," which sparked a new movement in the field of education. This article (among others) described his ideas regarding the process for developing programmed instruction and a new approach to solving educational issues. His ideas helped shape what is today known as formative evaluation of learning materials (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
Sputnik
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik which shocked the U.S. government. As a result, the government spent millions of dollars in an effort to improve the math and science education in the United States. The instructional materials that were developed using these funds, would prove to have a major impact on instructional design (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
Criterion-Referenced Testing
The early 1960s brought about the emergence of criterion-referenced testing. Rather than designing tests so that some individuals perform well and others don't, this new form of testing measured how well individuals can perform regardless of the performance of others. -
Robert Mager and the Popularization of Behavioral Objectives
In 1962, Robert Mager wrote "Preparing Objectives for Programmed Instruction" which describes how to write learning objectives based on the behaviors of the learners using the materials and what they would be expected to accomplish. His book went on to sell over 1.5 million copies, and highly popularized the use of behavioral objectives in education (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
The 1963 Definition of Instructional Technnology
In 1963, the Department of Audiovisual Instruction (now AECT) produced the first definition in the field of educational technology. This new definition differed from the traditional view in that it focused on the use and design of messages to control the learning process (Reiser &Dempsey, 2018). -
Robert Gagne and Hierarchial Analysis
In 1965, Robert Gagne wrote "The Conditions of Learning," which describes five basic types of learning outcomes and the different sets of conditions to promote learning for each of them. Gage's work regarding learning hierarchies proved to have a significant impact on the field of instructional design. The hierarchical analysis process he describes has remained a key component in several instructional design models (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
The 1970 Definitions of Instructional Technology
In 1970, the Commission of Instructional Technology produced a report entitled "To Improve Learning," which provided two new definitions of instructional technology. The first definition reflected the traditional view of instructional technology while the second definition described it as a systematic process (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
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Cognitive information Processing Theory
In the 1970s, the perspective of the information processing theory rose to prominence. This theory stresses the importance of the environment and role it plays in learning, but also identified an internal process within the learner (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
U.S. Military Adopts Instructional Design Model
In 1975, several different branches of the United States military adopted an instructional design model for the development of training materials. This had a major impact on the instructional design process of business and industry, the military, and also in the international arena (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
The 1997 Definition of Instructional Technology
In 1977 the Association for Educational Communication and Technology developed a new definition of the field. This new definition focused on a systematic, complex, and integrated design process. This new definition broke ground by incorporating terminology such as "human learning problems" and "solutions" which would become commonplace in the profession (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
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The Use of Personal Computers
In the 1980s, the increased use of personal computers had a major effect on instructional design practices. Many professionals focused their attention on developing computer-based instruction and the need to accommodate the interactive capacity of the new technology (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
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Human Performace Improvement
the 1990s brought about the emergence of new trends that had major impacts on the field of instructional technology. These trends focused on on-the-job performance and the importance of learning tasks that accurately reflect the difficulties of a real-world environment (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
The Internet
The Internet first went public in the 1990s which had one of the largest impacts on instructional technology. It's increasing popularity throughout the first fifteen years of the twenty-first century saw an exponential growth in online learning especially in higher education (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
The 1994 Definition of Instructional Technology
In 1994, the Association for Educational Communication and Technology published "Instructional Technology: The Definitions and Domains of the Field." This book described the field in terms of 5 domains - design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). -
Mobile Devices
Mobile devices such as smart phones, which first emerged in 2007, are an additional form of media that has had a huge impact on instructional technology. Each year, the number of learners using smart phones for their education increases and will most likely continue to play a key role in how instruction is delivered to learners in the future. -
The Latest AECT Deifintion of Educational Technology
In 2008, an AECT committee produced a book that contained a new definition of educational technology. This definition included words such as "ethical" and "facilitate" which focuses on professionals in the field maintaining professional conduct as well as the role that the learner plays in instructional interventions (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018).
