EdTech Timeline

The creation of Wikis changed how information could be shared online. It set up a way for anyone to publish their knowledge in order to share it with the world. While it initially was slow to fact-check the posted information, it has since become a fairly reliable source of information about nearly any topic thanks to its collaborative aspect of publishing.

E-learning gain popularity as the use of the internet increased. Educational institutions began to use this term to describe their distance education courses that used online learning and instruction. Some of the motivation behind using e-learning was the theory that it would reduce the cost of education; this was not the case, however. A decrease in costs of production was coupled with an increase in presentation costs and technology support.

This movement to create free, open-sources and open-programs for anyone using the internet was started by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It began with the creation of a website called "OpenCourseWare" where MIT shared learning materials via the internet, free of charge. This led to others creating the same approach to software (open source software) and even educational licenses.

The creation of bogging is considered a natural extension to the web. Now that literally anyone could publish on the internet, people began to post diaries and journals of their life experiences they wished to share with the world. These were regularly updated and users had the ability to subscribe and get updates from their favorite writers. Blogs also began to be used for instructional purposes, allowing students and teachers to create portfolios of their work.

Learning management systems were a useful solution for educational institutions providing e-learning. This tool allows educators to create their own educational web-pages and assignments that can be viewed and completed by their students.It provides an organized way for teachers to present information or instructions, and can be as detailed or creative as an instructor wants it to be. These programs are easily and quickly implemented across institutions because of the uniformity it offers.