There is no universally-accepted definition of educational technology (also known as EdTech and instructional technology, among others), so it is not surprising that different sources also give varying histories of the field. While some sources indicate that the history of educational technology started “several decades ago” (Jones, 2019, para. 2), others extend all the way back to include cave drawings (SMARTEduEMEA, 2011, 0:13). Some sources cast a wide net in EdTech history, including instruments such as the pencil, pen, and slide rule (Elemento, 2018, 0:58), while others omit even the overhead projector and video-tape recorder (Saettler, 1968, as cited in Lesniak, n.d., p. 510).
Perspectives on the success of educational technology are equally diverse. New technologies often come with great promise as to how they will revolutionize our lives, including education. With the advent of educational films, Thomas Edison proposed in 1913 that books would soon become obsolete in schools as “it is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture” (The Economist, 2013, para. 1). Others assert that the medium through which the instruction occurs doesn’t offer learning gains: “a lecture is a lecture regardless of the medium through which it was delivered” (Veletsianos, 2014, para. 8). Writer and educator, John Warner (2017), offers an austere perspective, stating that the “history of education technology is . . . one of unfulfilled promise” (para. 22), adding that he has “a hard time naming a purely ed tech innovation that has had a significant (positive) impact on education” (para. 21). One’s perspective on the success of educational technology is perhaps highly dependent on how one defines success.
Perhaps the debated definition and history of educational technology are advantages. Learners’ needs vary greatly and continue to change over time. By not putting education technology’s history in a clearly-marked box, we are forced to keep an open perspective of what it is and perhaps be more open to its future possibilities.
Resources
Elemento, R. (2018, February 8). History of educational technology (timeline). [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6WqA4wRPZE
The Economist. (2013, June 29). Teaching and technology: E-ducation. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2013/06/29/e-ducation
Jones, Jermaine. (2019). History of technology in education. The Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.theclassroom.com/history-technology-education-6518584.html
Lesniak, R. J. (1968). Saettler, Paul: A history of instructional technology. [Review of the book A History of Instructional Technology]. The Journal of Teacher Education, 19(4), pp. 509-510. Retrieved from https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/doi/pdf/10.1177/002248716801900421
Veletsianos, G. (2014, November). The significance of educational technology history and research. eLearn Magazine. Retrieved from https://elearnmag.acm.org/archive.cfm?aid=2686761
SMARTEduEMEA. (2011, October 3). The history of technology in education. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFwWWsz_X9s
I found your point about there being no common definition for the term Educational Technology to be very accurate. I think this is the case because technology is so diverse and changes so quickly that it doesn’t sit still long enough to be defined. Was a pen not once the newest piece of technology? Was there not a time when the slide-rule was not impressive? These tools once revolutionized the classroom, much like new technology does today.
I did not know that Thomas Edison suggested that books would be a thing of the past and all education would be done using motion pictures. How many times have we heard a similar thoughts regarding the latest and greatest piece of technology? When it comes to technology in the classroom, I think it is best to use the best tool for the student(s) in question.
Thank you for your blog. I found it interesting!
Hi, Kathy. Thank you for your comment! I completely agree that the best tool is the one that best suits the student(s) (or situation or learning need), regardless if it is the latest and greatest technology or not.
I love to cook and bake, and there are always new appliances (with new features) and new gadgets on the market. However, I find that my hands, chef knife and old cast iron pot still make some of the best food. (Have refrigerators which connect to the Internet and toasters with 16 options revolutionized our eating habits, or even provided healthier or more delicious food?) 🤔
Hi Sherry,
I enjoyed reading your post and the parallels you made between the definition of the field and success of EdTech. I think the question of the role of technologies in education is quite complex! I agree that educational technology might often come with unfulfilled promises. But I am also very interested in how these new technologies actually shape the learning process and the way student learn. I think it has dramatically changed the way students access information, what sources students perceive as authoritative, and how they navigate them (This is purely because of my professional interest in these questions 😉 Even though we still use lecture as a form of knowledge delivery in education, the way students learn outside the classroom might be completely different from the way they did the past when new technologies were not available. Would love to hear your thoughts on this, especially in the language teaching field!
Marta