Page 25 - Educational Technology A Primer for the 21st Century

12 1 Introduction to Educational Technology
waves (early radio) and the kinetoscope (moving pictures) in the 1890s (Spector &
Ren, 2015). The twentieth century is when technologies to support learning, per-
formance, and instruction rapidly increased, with television and animations in the
first half of the century and computers and the Internet in the second half of the
century (see Fig. 1.2).
What can be concluded based on this brief history? It is obvious that tech-
nologies change. Technologies are changing at an ever-increasing rate. Will this
rapid rate of change continue? If so, what are the implications for educational
technology in the remainder of the twenty-first century?
Technologies change what people do. Many have said that the printing press
changed education. Prior to the introduction of printed books, education was limited
to small groups of specially selected people, and training was conducted in a
one-to-one or a one-to-a-few setting, typically in the workplace or in the presence of
a teacher/mentor. Books brought information to the masses and made it possible to
have larger groups involved in education and to supplement training with materials
that could be studied outside the workplace. Formal learning became more stan-
dardized as well as more available. From Plato’s Academy established in Athens
circa 387 BCE with a small number of students to the Martin Luther University of
Halle-Wittenburg established in 1502, there was a change from a small group of
students following one teacher’s oral teaching to a public institution with students
following multiple teachers and using standard texts.
Technologies change what people can do. As new technologies emerged, it
became possible to represent information and knowledge in many forms, including
pictures, graphics, animations, and movies. Multiple modes of representation have
emerged. In addition, multiple forms of communication have also emerged. In
addition to one-to-one and one-to-many face-to-face communication modalities,
there are multiple forms of digital communication, including Internet chat rooms,
videoconferencing, discussion forums, social networks, and more.

Fig. 1.2 Rapid expansion of educational technologies