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500 BCE
The Elder Sophists
The Elder Sophists operated as freelance teachers competing with one another. The Elder Sophists were responsible for the first recorded mass instruction. -
Comenius
Comenius viewed education as a means to prepare men for lives as human beings rather than training for an occupation. Comenius believed the goals of education were knowledge, morality, and piety. -
Pestalozzi
Pestalozzi believed that instruction should align with natural human development. Pestalozzi recognized that individual learners had differences and that instructional methods should function with the learner as a whole. Pestalozzi believed that content should begin at its simplest form and gradually advance. -
Froebel
Froebel created Kindergarten and designed it to appear to the children as play. Froebel believed education should consist of three key components: free self-activity, creativity, social participation, and motor expression. Froebel believed readiness for learning was inner nature and individual activities should only occur when learners felt it was needed. -
Herbart
Herbart believed learning was a process of assimilating new ideas with previously understood concepts. Herbart believed learning occurred in three levels: 1) predominantly sensory, 2) previously formed ideas are reproduced, and 3) conceptual thinking and understanding have occurred. -
Lancaster
The Lancastrian approach for education saw the evolution of instructional materials. Students used sand and sticks to practice writing, books printed large enough to display to the entire class, and slates to practice spelling and writing. Teachers in Lancastrian classrooms led up to 500 students at one time; this was done by instructing a small group of students that could instruct their own groups of students. -
Visual Instruction Movement
School Museums, containing portable museum exhibits, stereographs, slides, films, and study charts began to open. These museums were designed to hold visual instructional materials that could supplement curriculum. -
The Audiovisual Movement
An increase in radio broadcasting, sound recordings, and sound motion pictures led to an increased interest in instructional media. The added auditory component transitioned society from Visual Instruction to Audiovisual Instruction. This led to the development of the DVI, which goes on to become the AECT. -
World War II
In addition to materials already in use (such as radios and instructional films), WWII saw the creation of overhead projectors, and the use of slide projectors, audio equipment, and training simulators. WWII renewed the interest in educational technology, as technology used in the war effectively and efficiently trained a large number of soldiers from varying backgrounds. -
Computer Assisted Instruction
Researchers at IBM, Richard Atkinson, and Patrick Suppes began designing programs for Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) in public schools. -
Learning Management Systems
With the increase in internet access, schools began using Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Blackboard to organize course materials and facilitate e-learning. -
Chromebooks in Classrooms
Google created the Chromebook, a fast, simple, and secure device for students. Google released the Chromebooks in a pilot program with a few chosen schools. -
Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT
ChatGPT, an Artificial Intelligence chatbot, released to the public. ChatGPT can hold conversations, respond to prompts, and (unethically) write entire papers.