Early 20th Century The field of instructional design and technology (IDT) has its roots in the early 20th century. Instructional media in the 1920 were mostly films, slides and photographs housed by school museums. The next phase was the audiovisual instruction movement which was promoted by various textbooks by authors such as Hoban, Hoban and Zissman.
World War II The field of instructional design and technology really began to take shape during World War II. During the war, the US military needed to train millions of soldiers quickly and efficiently. This led to the development of new instructional design methods and technologies, such as programmed instruction.
1950s and 1960s After the war, IDT continued to grow and develop. In the 1950s and 1960s, behaviorism was the dominant learning theory, and IDT was heavily influenced by behavioral principles. This led to the development of instructional design models that focused on breaking down learning tasks into small, manageable steps and providing immediate feedback.
1970s and 1980s
In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a shift towards more cognitive-based theories of learning. This led to the development of IDT models that were more focused on the learner's thought processes and how they constructed knowledge.
1990s and 2000s
In the 1990s and 2000s, the rise of technology had a major impact on the field of IDT. Modern technologies, such as computers, the internet, and mobile devices, created new opportunities for designing and delivering instruction. IDT practitioners began to develop new instructional design models and technologies that took advantage of these new possibilities.
Currently
Today, the field of IDT is more diverse and dynamic than ever before. IDT practitioners use a wide range of theories and methods to design and deliver instruction. They also use a variety of technologies to support learning.
Online instruction is the area of most growth in the last fifteen years, from k12 through university. In industry and business online training has been augmented by other recent technologies such as video, satellite, CD-ROM, and mobile devices.
Learning via mobile devices has shown an exponential growth in recent years in all fields of education and training.
The internet is used for interactive learning as it provides multiple platforms for interactions between learners and instructors and learners, such as email, chat room and bulletin boards.
Social media (i.e., blogs, wikis ,YouTube, Twitter) and social networking ( i.e. Facebook and LinkedIn) have become more pervasive in recent years, and they are used to spread information and acquire new skills and knowledge.