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The History of Educational Technology
Technology is
growing at an exponential rate. Advances
in technology have made incredibly rich resources, which were very expensive in
the past, accessible to almost every classroom in developed countries. As you
read in the book, the early 1900’s ushered in a rich time of learning
technologies with the advent of movies. Soon, radio made it possible to hear
news, information, and new discoveries almost immediately after the event.
Television in the 1950’s made it possible to actually witness, though remotely,
history taking place.
The
1960’s were a pivotal time for the classroom.
Advancements in technology, primarily due to the invention of the
transistor and the integrated circuit, changed the face of electronics forever.
At this time, producing complex electronics became much less expensive to
manufacture, and the devices became much more durable. The introduction of
inexpensive, durable electronic devices made them accessible to the classroom
for the first time.
The
1970’s and 1980’s were full of incredible advancements for education. The development of videotape, inexpensive
video camcorders, cable television, CD-ROM technology, and of course, inexpensive personal computers
all made a tremendous impact on the ability to create rich interactive lessons
that provided for multiple learning styles in one classroom. It’s actually
quite incredible to think that most of the technology that we consider for use
in the classroom was all developed in just the last 40 years!
The
1990’s and the beginning of the new millennium also have their share of
incredible technology development. For
the first time, a global database accessible to anyone with a computer and a
connection to the internet exists. The internet is without question, the most
important informational technology ever conceived. It is inexpensive, provides
instantaneous access to almost any part of the world, and combines most of the
earlier technologies used by educators into one ubiquitous source. Audio
transmission and recordings, video transmission and recordings, written
materials, 3D models, virtual reality environments and more can all be easily
accessed with a computer system readily available for less than $1000.
Activity:
Consider that you have $2000 to spend
on technology for your classroom. How would you invest the money? Internet
access is provided by your school, but beyond that, you have only classroom
desks and a couple tables. There is another funding path that will provide for
software, consumables and incidentals (cables, disks, or other items under
$100), so do not include those in your budget.
http://712educators.about.com/cs/technology/a/integratetech.htm
http://www.wested.org/techpolicy/recapproach.html
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/
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