Educational Technology Timeline

Created by C&I 335 / CS 317 students

University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign
Fall 1999

Year

Events

40,000 BC Paintings and drawings are a new means of communication.

1400 BC

First writing in China, on bones.

389 BC

The founding of the Academy by Plato begins a new movement in

education.

1453

The printing of the Bible with moveable type by Gutenberg transforms

society.

1564

Graphite is discovered.

1635

Founding of the first public school in the US.

1651

John Dury invents the modern library.

1654

The first slide rule in which the slide works between parts of a fixed stock is
made by Robert Bissaker.

1795

Nicholas-Jacques Conte of France discovers the process of mixing

graphite with clay.

1872

QWERTY: Christopher Sholes develops a machine to print the alphabet.

1878

Sales take off after the Remington No. 2 hits the shelf.

1901

Marconi sends a radio signal across the Atlantic.

1932

August Dvorak creates a keyboard that is easier to learn.

1944

Grace Hopper is responsible for the term 'bug' for a computer fault.

1960

An early CAI system, PLATO, was initiated at the University of Illinois at

Urbana-Champaign and later developed by Control Data Corporation.

1961

The emergence of an on-line community around PLATO.

1962

The PLATO instructional computing system is widely used in college and

K-12 classrooms.

1964

IBM brings out the MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter).

1967

--Logo is developed.
--Texas Instruments develops the first hand-held calculator.

1966

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is established as a

national information system

1968

Douglas Engelbart introduces a prototype of the computer mouse, the "x-y

position indicator for a display system."

1969

--The Arpanet is constructed. See also the Timetable of Internet Events.

--Scholar is developed by Jaime Carbonell, as the first Intelligent Tutoring
System (ITS).

1970

The Arpanet goes online.

1975(more) --The Altair 8800 leads the way for personal computers.
--Ray Kurzweil and company create the Kurzweil Reading Machine and the
first omni-font OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology.
1977

--Apple introduces the Apple II. View 1. View 2.

--Japan Victor Company (JVC) introduces the VHS format video cassette
recorder.
--Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80.

1978

HyperStudio, a multimedia authoring tool that allows people to

communicate ideas on diskette, CD-ROM or Internet.

1983

Apple introduces the Apple IIe.

1984

--Apple introduces the Macintosh.

--Commodore introduces the Commodore 64.
--CD-ROM players for computers.

1985

Aldus PageMaker is released for the Macintosh and desktop publishing is

born.

1987

Apple begins shipping Hypercard, a programming system and multimedia

authoring tool.

1989

The World-Wide Web begins at the Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche

Nucleaire.

1990

Texas Instruments creates the popular TI-81 graphing calculator.

1993

Mosaic Alpha 4.0 comes to Champaign Centennial High School.

1994

NJSTAR is created making it convenient to those who use Chinese,

Japanese and Korean to surf the internet.

1995

Classroom Connect offers educational WebQuests for classrooms all over

the world.

1999

--The CI 335/CS 317 classes at the University of Illinois create

the Educational Technology Timeline.
--The Advanced Cluster Computing Consortium introduces a super
computer built with off the shelf parts.

2000

NEATscape version 5.0 is released. Under the "decrypting wizard" button

anyone can use any computer to read their native language.

2001

Every museum and historical site sponsors its own online field trip.

2002

Apple releases its third generation iMac in teal with a built-in microphone.
Sudents take it to class, and it records the lecture so that the student can

organize the lecture to meet his/her learning style.

2003

--PaperGraderXPress, a wand-like, wireless device, which reads and

analyzes any type of student composition, typed or hand-written.
--A new PLATO satellite system, in which students have small handheld
devices which they carry with them to and from school.

2005

--Prometheus, the first virtual World University, opens.

--The laptop computer merges with the student's notebook and
textbooks to create the Interactive Textbook.
--Books are published in a dual format -- Opti-books --, which can be read
as print books, but they also have a CD-ROM embedded in the back.

2009

--Personal Access and Display Device appears.

--Introduction of the first fully automated classroom.

2010

--The e-Trapper is introduced as the "all-in-one school tool."

--The Internet is accessed entirely through wireless, handheld, pocket
computers.
--Email is replaced by video letter systems.
--The first widespread use of electronic textbooks in US schools.

2015

--Trieger Industries announces TalkTech, a revolutionary, voice-activated

technical assistant that can troubleshoot any technology-related problem.
--Using BK3 Technology at speeds of 2.0 megs/second, consumers now
purchase and rent digital films and music solely through the web.

2017

--Macrohard releases Real Life, a combination wall-sized touch-screen

LCD display unit and wall-mounted DVD player to recreate your home or
classroom into any environment you choose.
--Houston ISD Opens Distance Education & Development Centers

2020

--Lamplighter School students use Logo to program a robotic teacher's

aide.
--AT&T introduces Desktop Learning.
--The Individual Student Computer Automated Desk is introduced.
--Virtual reality is the phase of the Internet.
--Students will learn about history via virtual reality.

2024

Most business and learning takes place in homes. The only large
gatherings are for arts, sports, travel, and vacations.

2030

Computers replace textbooks.

2033

Apple introduces the Granny Smith III, which is worn on the head.

2036

Virtual Classroom, an artificial teaching environment developed by the

Korean Artificial Intelligence System Research Institute, is displayed in a
public middle school for the first time.

2039

Jacking In becomes common and controlled. It is the act of leaving regular

conscious activity to join the Global Neural Network to access or control
data.

2040

--Students use the Power Pencil, which stores the information that is
written with it.
--Downloadable Consciousness Tutor

2050

Keyboards are now obsolete; the long-living QWERTY is extinct.

2065

Holographic teaching.

2077

A determination of the DNA Intelligence Potential is conducted before birth.

2084

Children are taught by robots.

2112

Virtual reality field trips are introduced to schools

2199

Using tissue from the brain and taking advantage of the speed of neuron
firing computers are now capable of thinking.

2203

Holographic Teaching Aids are introduced into classrooms.

First School Museum Opens in St. Louis

28 Sep 1905

Audio Visual Education in Action by Dorothy BlackwellSchool museums were portable museum exhibits
which included: stereographs ,slides, films, study prints, charts, and
other instructional materials"

Portable Movie Projector

30 Oct 1912
Herman DeVry's "Theater in a Suitcase"The portable movie projector was one of the first media devices
used in schools. (Reiser, R.A. 2001)
Edward L Thorndike Educational Psychology: The Psychology of Learning

1 Jan 1913
Educational Psychology
Through the use of animal experiments, Edward Thorndike theorized that students could have their
behavior changed, effecting learning through practice and more practice.

Department of Visual Instruction was created.

8 May 1923
The whole story of the DIVThe Department of Visual Instruction was created, which is currently called
the AECT. This organization was created to help promote instruction through media and technology.

Pressey Testing Machine

28 May 1928
Technology and CultureAutomation of the professions. Would allow teachers to save time in grading,
and allow for drill and practice. Only 160 of the 250 that were produced were sold
First Instructional Television Event - State University of Iowa
1 Jan 1932

First broadcast was for a World's Fair - the development of TV in education slowed due to the war.
By 1952 the Federal Communication Commission had allocated 242 non-profit frequencies for
educational uses.
John Dewey publishes Experience & Education
7 May 1938

John Dewey: Experience & EducationI take it that the fundamental unity of the newer philosophy is
found in the idea that there is an intimate and necessary relation between the processes of actual
experience and education."
Dewey, John, Experience and education, 1938 by Kappa Delta Pi
US Military Training Films
1 Jan 1942

Rifel Marksman Training

Mass quantities of soldiers needed to be trained quickly. Through video demonstrations, within all
areas of military needs, men were trained. Large models of small equipment were also used for training

purposes. US Airforce alone produces over 400 films and 600 filmstrips for training purposes. Federal
Government starts The Division of Visual Aids for War Training.
Rosie the Riveter enters the work force
8 Dec 1944

Teaching Safety
Training films were produced to train men how to supervise and train women as they entered the
workplace. Many of these same type videos are still used in companies today - the only difference is the
format in which they are presented. US Army using overhead projectors for training
1 Jan 1945

In 1945, the US Army began using overhead projectors to train soldiers.

Edgar Dale, Cone of Experience
8 May 1946

Edgar Dale "Cone of Experience" Outlines the hierachy of teaching strategies and the effects on
retention.
Television in Education
1 Oct 1952

Instructional TV LessonThe Ford foundation funds Educational Television. With the 1950's came the age
of televisions for instructional purpose. During the 1950's through the 1960's the Ford Foundation spent
over 170 million dollars on television instruction. (Rieser, R.A. 2001)
B.F Skinner
8 May 1956

Teaching MachinesB F Skinner Teaching Machine

artifact from Smithsonian Institution

Due to the increased number of people wanting an education, Skinner saw a need for more automated
ways for students to learn. The machine would enable students to have immediated feedback.
BF Skinner Teaching Machines
28 Oct 1958

Teaching Machines: Science

B F Skinner argues for the use of Teaching Machines to enable students to move at their individual pace.
This will make education more efficient; closer to the industrial model of educating more people. B F
Skinner felt that students were held to the speed of the slowest learners in the class
Robert Mager

(1962) Preparing Instructional Objectives. Palo Alto: California: Fearon Publishers

8 May 1962

"Before you prepare instruction, before you choose materials, machine, or method, it is important to be
able to state clearly what your goals are. This book is about instructional objectives. In it I will try to
show how to state objectives that best succeed in communicating your intent to others. The book is NOT
about the philosophy of education, nor is it about who should select objectives, nor about which
objectives should be selected." p.viii

Event
Date:

Event
Title:

28th Sep,
1905

30th Oct,
1912

1st Jan,
1913

Event
Description:

First School
Museum Opens
in St. Louis

Audio Visual
Education in Action
by Dorothy
BlackwellSchool
museums were
portable museum
exhibits which
included:
stereographs ,slides,
films, study prints,
charts, and
other instructional
materials"

Portable Movie
Projector

Herman DeVry's
"Theater in a
Suitcase"The
portable movie
projector was one of
the first media
devices used in
schools. (Reiser,
R.A. 2001)

Edward L
Thorndike
Educational
Psychology: The
Psychology of
Learning

Educational
Psychology Throug
h the use of animal
experiments,
Edward Thorndike
theorized that
students could have
their behavior

Event
Date:

Event
Title:

Event
Description:
changed, effecting
learning through
practice and more
practice.

Department of
Visual
Instruction was
created.

The whole story of

the DIVThe
Department of
Visual Instruction
was created, which
is currently called
the AECT. This
organization was
created to help
promote instruction
through media and
technology.

28th
May,
1928

Pressey Testing
Machine

Technology and
CultureAutomation
of the professions.
Would allow
teachers to save
time in grading, and
allow for drill and
practice. Only 160
of the 250 that were
produced were sold

1st Jan,
1932

First
Instructional
Television Event

First broadcast was

for a World's Fair the development of

8th May,
1923

Event
Date:

Event
Title:

Event
Description:
- State University
of Iowa

7th May,
1938

1st Jan,
1942

TV in education
slowed due to the
war.
By 1952 the Federal
Communication
Commission had
allocated 242 nonprofit frequencies
for educational uses.

John Dewey
publishes
Experience &
Education

John Dewey:
Experience &
EducationI take it
that the fundamental
unity of the newer
philosophy is found
in the idea that there
is an intimate and
necessary relation
between the
processes of actual
experience and
education."
Dewey, John,
Experience and
education, 1938 by
Kappa Delta Pi

US Military
Training Films

Rifel Marksman
Training
Mass quantities of
soldiers needed to

Event
Date:

Event
Title:

Event
Description:
be trained quickly.
Through video
demonstrations,
within all areas of
military needs, men
were trained. Large
models of small
equipment were also
used for training
purposes. US
Airforce alone
produces over 400
films and 600
filmstrips for
training purposes.
Federal Government
starts The Division
of Visual Aids for
War Training.

8th Dec,
1944

Rosie the Riveter

enters the work
force

Teaching Safety
Training films were
produced to train
men how to
supervise and train
women as they
entered the
workplace. Many of
these same type
videos are still used
in companies today
- the only difference

Event
Date:

Event
Title:

Event
Description:
is the format in
which they are
presented.

1st Jan,
1945

8th May,
1946

1st Oct,
1952

US Army using
overhead
projectors for
training

In 1945, the US
Army began using
overhead projectors
to train soldiers.

Edgar Dale,
Cone of
Experience

Edgar Dale "Cone

of
Experience" Outline
s the hierachy of
teaching strategies
and the effects on
retention.

Television in
Education

Instructional TV
LessonThe Ford
foundation funds
Educational
Television. With the
1950's came the age
of televisions for
instructional
purpose. During the
1950's through the
1960's the Ford
Foundation spent
over 170 million
dollars on television
instruction. (Rieser,

Event
Date:

Event
Title:

Event
Description:
R.A. 2001)

8th May,
1956

28th Oct,
1958

B.F Skinner

Teaching
MachinesB F
Skinner Teaching
Machine
artifact from
Smithsonian
Institution
Due to the increased
number of people
wanting an
education, Skinner
saw a need for more
automated ways for
students to learn.
The machine would
enable students to
have immediated
feedback.

BF Skinner
Teaching
Machines

Teaching Machines:
Science
B F Skinner argues
for the use of
Teaching Machines
to enable students to
move at their
individual pace.
This will make
education more
efficient; closer to

Event
Date:

Event
Title:

Event
Description:
the industrial model
of educating more
people. B F Skinner
felt that students
were held to the
speed of the slowest
learners in the class

8th May,
1962

Robert Mager
(1962) Preparing
Instructional
Objectives. Palo
Alto: California:
Fearon
Publishers

"Before you prepare

instruction, before
you choose
materials, machine,
or method, it is
important to be able
to state clearly what
your goals are. This
book is about
instructional
objectives. In it I
will try to show how
to state objectives
that best succeed in
communicating
your intent to
others. The book is
NOT about the
philosophy of
education, nor is it
about who should
select objectives,
nor about which
objectives should be

Event
Date:

Event
Title:

Event
Description:
selected." p.viii

30th Aug,
1969

13th Jun,
1976

1st Apr,
1977

ARPANET

On August 30th,
1969 the
ARPANET, which
was originally
developed for the
military quickly
became adopted by
major institutes of
higher learning for
file sharing. The
ARPANET would
later evolve into
todays world wide
web.

TI-30 Scientific
Calculator

TI-30 Scientific
Calculator The
scientific calculator
revolutionalized the
way math was used
and taught.

Apple II personal
computer

The Oregon
TrailThe Apple II
was the first
personal computer
to be sucessfully
mass-produced.
This computer was
found in several

Event
Date:

Event
Title:

Event
Description:
schools and even
offered students the
opportunity to play
educational
videogames.

1st Dec,
1990

4th Feb,
2004

Tim Berners Lee

- developed
HTML

Tim Berners-Lee
Biography The
beginning stages of
the World Wide
Web. Developed
HTML code, which
led to the internet,
currently work on
making information
more open.

TheFacebook.co
m is born

Mark Zuckerberg
launched
Thefacebook, which
changed to
facebook.com on
February 4th, 2004.
This collaborative,
online web tool has
changed the way
many people
interact. This and a
large collection of
Web 2.0 tools are
constantly changing
the shape of

Event
Date:

Event
Title:

Event
Description:
educational
technology.

8th May,
2011

Going Forward

A brief history

Timespa
n Dates:

Timespan Title:

Timespan
Description:

Historical
Timeline Range

How technology has

influenced
education over the
last century to
present time.

1st Jan,
1900
to
30th Dec,
2010