History Of Educational Technology

Use of abacus

500 BCE

Abacus was invented by Chinese in 500 BC but it is also believed that the abacus was first used by the Babylonians as early as 2,400 B.C. It was both used in education and trading.

Invention of paper

105

Paper as we know it, was invented in China, AD 105, by the Chinese Eunuch Ts'ai Lun. It was, thin, feted, formed, flat made in porous molds from macerated vegetable fiber.

A Swiss naturalist named Conrad Gessner created the first depiction of a pencil in 1565.

1564

When a deposit of graphite was discovered near Grey Knotts of Seathwaite in Cumbria, England in 1564 it didn't take long for the invention of first graphite pencil one year after.

First public school opened.

Apr 23, 1635

The Boston Latin School, established in 1635, was the first public school opened in the world and it was a boys-only school.

Horn Book

1650

The horn book was a wooden paddle with lessons printed on it. It generally has an alphabet and biblical writings on it for children to study. It was from late 16th century to late 18th century.

Slide Rule

1654

At first it was invented to used by scientists to do math, but then in 1950s' it started to being used in schools.

Slate and chalk

1801

In the 1800s, paper was still too expensive for many families and school districts. So, people needed a less costly way to write. Personal slates and chalk was more useful as children were able to erase their mistakes easily. Also a wide slate we know as blackboard was first used by James Pillans when he hung a slate on the wall in his classroom.

Magic Lantern and slides

1870

First attempt to create and use a projector. The magic lantern used a concave mirror behind a light source to direct the light through a small rectangular sheet of glass—a "lantern slide" that bore the image. It remained in popular use up until the early 1950s when it was replaced by the electric slide projector. By the end of WW1, public schools in Chicago had about 8.000 magic lanterns.

Typewriter

1873

Although the patent was not issued until June, 1868, the first typewriter was invented in September, 1867. It was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first commercial model was manufactured in 1873 and was mounted on a sewing machine stand. But it took public schools until 1915 to begin teaching typing as a high school occupational skill.

Stereoscope

1905

Virtual reality and VR glasses credit the stereoscope, they were made by the Keystone Viewing Company. When they got into schools they helped teachers use images to illustrate points during lectures. They were among the first teaching technologies to use visual instruction methods other than printed cards. They are used till 1920s'.

Videos

1940

The concept of an image alongside audio over wire is actually from 1870s' but people invented the term 'video' in 1935. It is also said that educational films were first used in 1920s'

Overhead projector

1950

Overhead projectors were widely used in education and business before the advent of computer-based projection in the late 1950s' and early 1960s'. They allowed teachers to write specific points on reusable transparency sheets while facing the class, invented by Roger Appeldorn.

Hand held calculator

1971

It became popular in 1970s' due to dropping prices and was a common use in education.

Personal computer

1981

At first, the personal computer was a step past the type writer but today's online education technology is hinge upon this.

CD ROM Drive

1985

With a CD ROM Drive, people were able to save a whole encyclopedia on one disk. And we still use them on computers today, not just in education area but for many more things.

First online course

1986

Through the ’80s, software titles expanded from classroom applications to grade books and first online course was offered in 1986 by the Electronic University Network.

Interactive whiteboard

1999

The interactive whiteboard is a digital tool that many school systems use today. They use a touch sensitive screen, projector, and computer, and with that it resembles the chalkboard and overhead projector. Teachers also could use them to give feedback.

First Laptop With Wifi

Jul 21, 1999

Apple launches the first Wi-Fi-enabled laptop ever in New York City on July 21, 1999.

Moodle

2002

Martin Dougiamas came up with Moodle. It is free software that allows teachers to build their own learning website.

Tablets

2010

Tablets came after the smartphon and unlike mobile phones, their use as a learning tool was more useful for teachers. Above all since there are educational apps that engage and motivate learners, including teachers bring able to track students improvement.

Google Classroom

Aug 12, 2014

Today, Google Classroom has approximately 150 million users around the world.

Education technology Apps

2020

Apps like Kahoot, Google classroom, Teams, Zoom, Twinkl and Buncee are used in many areas including education.