25 Years of ed tech by Martin Weller is required reading for LRNT 523 in the Masters of Learning and Technology (MALAT) program at Royal Roads University. After reading the first eight chapters, I couldn’t help but parallel the history Weller (2020) presented with my own 25 years of technology use. I found it fascinating that my teaching career began in the early ’90s and realized how much I have tinkered with technology throughout those 25 years. I questioned Weller’s choice to align chapter one with 1994. Surely the significance of ed-tech was earlier than 1994? I remember my fascination with tech toys, the TV screen, and the red digital calculators. I was and still am fascinated with the technology used to create a more efficient, effective, and more enjoyable life. But why do the tools continue to change? Do specific tools change because the users demand more efficiency, more effectiveness, and more fun?

In the eighth chapter, Weller (2020) provided a climax to the history of ed-tech from 1994 – 2001. “The Internet was no longer dismissed as a fad, and most universities were engaging in some form of e-learning, even if only as a support tool for campus students” (p. 57). This statement also serves as a preface to the history that follows. Readers begin to see a common theme that even though the history ed-tech is full of failures, “the ideas and people involved develop the key ideas into more successful versions” (p. 62). I will keep this in mind as I read on. Will we finally meet an ed-tech tool that will stand the test of time?

Weller, M. (2020). 25 Years of ed-tech. Athabasca University Press. https://doi.org/10.15215/aupress/9781771993050.01

Attribution

Photo “Christmas with the Little Professor”  by Iris Lang