IT History

The field of instructional technology is vast, rich, and full of interesting milestones throughout its decades-long history. Generations have seen the creation and advancement of material items, such as radio, TV, computers, and software, as well as fundamental methods, models, and theories that have driven the approach so many educators have taken in the classroom and beyond. Below, you will see just how much the field of IT has morphed and evolved over the years as it has solidified itself as a needs-driven presence in so many lives.

Early on in the field of instructional technology, there were few electronic devices to rely on as we have come to expect in today's society. Plus, many of the structured approaches taken today to designing instruction were lacking in uniformity at the turn of the 20th century. One of the earliest inventions that found its way into the classroom was none other than the radio. During the first few decades of the 1900s, the use of radio as an instructional media gained enough of a foothold to be considered a pioneering instrument of success (Williams, 2017).

Leading and advocating for the field of IT today is the AECT, or the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Though not originally referred to as such, the organization has been around for awhile, since 1923 (Williams, 2017). The AECT, since its inception, has been a mainstay in actively supporting the use of technology and practical design methods in efforts to greatly improve education and learning.

A couple of other notable tools of technology that served as a platform for what we have today are the inclusion of television and other audio-visual media (such as films, photography, and slides) during the pioneering years of the early-mid 1900s. These tools did find their way into the standard classroom, but it is important to note that they also saw widespread use in government, military, and business industries as well. For example, numerous military trainings were dependent upon the use of films for education during World War II (Reiser & Dempsey, 2017). Even after WWII ended, the German Chief of General Staff remarked that his nation was not prepared for "the speed with which America was able to train its people" (Reiser & Dempsey, 2017, p. 10).

With the approach of the middle decades of the 20th century came a swarm of new ideas and technologies. Computers were beginning to be used more in government and business settings, with private use in education (such as CAI, or computer-assisted instruction) just on the fringes of development. However, revolutionary approaches in how to apply the use of these rapidly advancing tools also rose to prominence. For example, Robert Gagne's "The Conditions of Learning", which focused on five domains of learning outcomes, was released in 1965 (Prickett, 2017). In addition, several other approaches to the design of instruction, many of which remain popular today, emerged from the mid-1900s. Benjamin Bloom's taxonomy, which neatly structured educational activities with their concurrent rigor on the psychological scale, was one of these, in addition to B.F. Skinner's work, which we now know as formative evaluations (Prickett, 2017).

As the years wore on, we saw the continued improvements and addendums of emerging instructional tools. For computers, engineers began developing smaller, more mobile devices and methods of mobile storage (such as floppy disks). More work was being done with computer-generated programs that had educational and instructional value, and the first cellular devices came to market towards the latter half of the 20th century (Homer, 2017). However, not only were these new technologies finding their way into schools, businesses, and government, but also theories for how to best apply their use to education. For one, the military officially accepted the use of the instructional design model in 1975 in order to direct the creation of training materials for personnel (Reiser & Dempsey, 2017).

Across the turn of the 21st century to present day, there continues to be the advancement of both tools and teaching methods. Most recently, online learning and MOOCs (massive open online courses) have become very popular, allowing for educational growth and discussion among diverse groups of learners from almost anywhere in the world (Song, 2017). Not only has distance education been seen in colleges and universities, but also at the public school level. In addition, businesses and government interests are able to offer employee and customer training via online platforms. Of course, all of this is possible due to one over-arching tool of grand importance: the availability of the internet to users (Homer, 2017).

We've seen the creation of Web 2.0 tools, which have been extremely popular among teachers and students alike. The availability of these tools have helped to reinforce the use of approaches such as the ADDIE model, which is also seen as valuable to ensuring structure of learning with so many available resources (Reiser & Dempsey, 2017). It is easier than ever to design instruction around the needs and desires of those being educated in both public and private practices.