Early educational institutions included museums which housed supplemental media, such as films and photographs, to enrich learning. School houses then began showing silent films in the 1910s with oil lamp projectors, which evolved in the 1920s and 1930s to include radio broadcasting and the beginning of the audiovisual instruction movement. Even with the setbacks of the Great Depression in 1929, the audiovisual movement continued to progress with the introduction of professional organizations for visual instruction such as The Department of Visual Instruction, currently known as the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). A demand for audiovisual instructional materials increased with the onset of World War II when military services sought training films in order to instruct large groups of personnel.

With the invention of the television in the 1950s, the audiovisual movement was impacted by receiving the support of the Federal Government and the Ford Foundation. Televisions were brought into the classroom to deliver instruction in many subject areas. Funding soon faded as the use of televisions became more of a public interest than simply educational. In the 1960s and 1970s, IBM designed computer-assisted instruction (CAI) which was used in select public schools and universities. However, this technology did not have much influence in education. This led to the introduction of the computer in the 1980s and inclusion into academia. By 1983, more than 40 percent of elementary schools and 75 percent of secondary schools were used for instructional purposes. However, its use was primarily for drill and practice and word processing skills.

In 1990, the revolutionary development of the Internet also known as the World Wide Web connected individuals to the world through computers. Rapid advancements were made in the technologies used in education with more than 93 percent of elementary schools utilizing the internet daily for instructional activities in 2010. Online education began to expand exponentially in colleges world wide, allowing students who may have not previously been able to attend college due to geographic constraints, family or job responsibilities. Instructors and students interact with one another, sharing ideas and collaborating with one another to develop new skills and knowledge.

Source: (Reiser & Dempsey, 2012)

In 1965, Robert Gagne described the five domains of learning outcomes which categorize what the learners can do to demonstrate their understanding. This is helpful for the Instructional Designer to know because this can serve as a guide for determining the assessments that complement the objectives of learning. Additionally, he explained the learning hierarchy which tells how certain skills are necessary in order for higher-level skills to be achieved. This systematic approach is a key element in many design models in instruction. He also defined the Nine Events of Instruction which supports the Instructional Designer to make the learning process more engaging for students.

In 1954, another IT pioneer, B.F. Skinner, understood the requirements for increasing human learning and what materials were needed for effective instruction. He explains how newer concepts need to be presented in small steps with active responses to acquired information and receive immediate feedback so as to reaffirm correct learning. Many eLearning courses can be based on the theories of behaviorism which Skinner contributed to when incorporating assessments where the learner is following a sequence of steps to demonstrate their learning.

The last major contributor to the field is Robert Glaser. In 1962, Glaser coined the term “criterion-referenced measures” as opposed to commonly-known term: norm-referenced. The difference between these two terms is that norm-referenced compared students’ learning to those of other students, whereas criterion-referenced measures compare the students’ learning to the concepts or behaviors that were taught and additionally, what the students knew prior to being taught. Additionally, he expanded upon the theory of constructivist learning.