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100 BCE
How It All Started
One of the earliest means of formal teaching was oral – though human speech – although over time, technology has been increasingly used to facilitate or ‘back-up’ oral communication. In ancient times, stories, folklore, histories and news were transmitted and maintained through oral communication -
7 BCE
Written Communication
he role of text or writing in education also has a long history. According to the Bible, Moses used chiseled stone to convey the ten commandments in a form of writing, probably around the 7th century BC. Even though Socrates is reported to have railed against the use of writing, written forms of communication make analytic, lengthy chains of reasoning and argument much more accessible, reproducible without distortion. -
15
The Invention Of Printing
The invention of the printing press in Europe in the 15th century was a truly disruptive technology, making written knowledge much more freely available, very much in the same way as the Internet has done today. As a result of the explosion of written documents resulting from the mechanization of printing, many more people in government and business were required to become literate and analytical, which led to a rapid expansion of formal education in Europe. -
18th Century
Improvements in transport infrastructure in the 19th century, and in particular the creation of a cheap and reliable postal system in the 1840s, led to the development of the first formal correspondence education, with the University of London offering an external degree program by correspondence from 1858. -
19th Century
With the rapid creation of books, and therefore the rapid sharing of knowledge, it was suddenly considered an incredibly important scholarly pursuit for the noble classes to learn Latin, until the 16th century the language of religion, politics, and other scholarly pursuits. -
Technology Enhances Distance Education
In 1934, Bolinger described the success of the University of Wisconsin’s first radio-broadcasted beginning Spanish course. Among the benefits, Bolinger lists many of the attributes that have made distance education remain a viable alternative for foreign languages: increased accessibility, geographical convenience, and great appeal for students who work best independently. -
Useful or Not ?
As early as the 1930s, however, the literature warns of the same perils that are still brought forth when arguing against transforming face-to-face language courses for fully online delivery. Cabarga described excessively high attrition rates (1937, p. 191), a long-lasting challenge of non-face-to-face instruction in any of its forms (correspondence, radio, television). Seven decades later, researchers had yet to find a set of indicators that predict student attrition in distance learning. -
Doubts About Instructional Technologies
Although time availability can only be solved with technology to a certain degree, many non-traditional learners still feel technology-mediated instruction is the answer to their lack of time for studying. Unrealistic expectations about technology are aggravated by the fact that, to this day, the high drop-out rates are used as evidence of the poor quality of distance programs. -
Tape Recorders, Computers and Smartphones
The rapid spread of them consequence of increased governmental support for language instruction and the expansion of the Audio Lingual Teaching philosophy. This teaching method emphasized the role of aural input and oral imitative practice in language acquisition. When listening and repeating were considered the optimal exercises to learn a foreign language, extensive oral drilling with tape recorders first and computer software later seemed appropriate. -
20th Century
The technology allows students to view or review lectures at any time and place with an Internet connection. YouTube started in 2005 and increasingly being used for short educational clips that can be integrated into online courses. The Khan Academy started using YouTube in 2006 for recorded voice-over lectures using a digital blackboard. Apple in 2007 created iTunesU to became a portal or a site where videos and other digital materials on university teaching could be collected and downloaded. -
