The History of Educational Technologies

  • 30,000 BCE

    Oral Communication and Pre-Historic education

    Oral Communication and Pre-Historic education
    Oral communication is thought to have started long before today. At the aforementioned times, the education took place outdoors and the teachers were older than the students, thus experienced individuals. Also the education was empirical. This education method, based on observation and imitation, taught learners how to survive, how to build shelters and how to hunt.
  • 3500 BCE

    The invention of writting

    The invention of writting
    As in many other fields, the invention of writing by the Sumerians was a major milestone in education. In addition, clay tablets related to education from the Sumerians are known as the ancestors of modern books. Not only tablets, but also papyrus in ancient times were the tools that people used to write.
  • 1100

    The Use of Boards

    The Use of Boards
    Slate boards were in use in India in the 12th century AD. This was an important step in education for demonstration and instruction.
  • 1436

    The Invention of the Printing Press

    The Invention of the Printing Press
    Although the printing press is thought to have been invented by the Chinese in 593 BC, Johannes Gutenberg's first printing press in 1436 led to the printing of the Gutenberg Bible in 1455.
  • Postal System

    Postal System
    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. This first formal distance degree program still exists today in the form of the University of London International Program.
  • Educational Films

    Educational Films
    The first official educational films are controversial. Some researchers suggested that the first educational films were shown in St. Petersburg in 1897, while other studies believed that the first educational films were inspired by the newsreel in 1913.[1] Regardless, the increasing number of educational film could prove that the population of educational film was started in the early 1900s.
  • Radio Broadcast

    Radio Broadcast
    On 31 August 1920 the first known radio news program was broadcast by station in Detroit, Michigan. In 1922 regular wireless broadcasts for entertainment began in the UK.
  • Television

    Television
    At the end of the 1960s, television was first used for educational purposes. It is considered the ancestor of today's online courses.
  • Using Computer for Educational Purposes

    Using Computer for Educational Purposes
    The computer was first used for educational purposes in 1960. With the emergence of microcomputers in 1975, the use of computers became widespread. In parallel with the developing technology, radical changes are experienced in the traditional education approach, and the traditional education approach is replaced by the constructivist education approach, where the students themselves reach the information and structure it in their minds, and the teacher guides them.
  • Presentation Tools

    Presentation Tools
    PowerPoint was released in April 1987. With its release, use of PowerPoint spread rapidly among Macintosh users. In the first month, the Microsoft generated $1 million in revenue from PowerPoint sales. Since then, it has been one of the most used programs in education.
  • Online education

    Online education
    In 1995, the Web enabled the development of the first learning management systems (LMSs), such as WebCT (which later became Blackboard). LMSs provide an online teaching environment, where content can be loaded and organized, as well as providing ‘spaces’ for learning objectives, student activities, assignment questions, and discussion forums.
  • Advanced mobile phones / social media

    Advanced mobile phones / social media
    Especially since 2000, both the development of mobile phones and the spread of social media organs have made it easier for people to access information than before. Educational channels such as youtube and blog sites have an important place in educational technology today.