I find it surprising how many different years took credit for the start of educational technology. Now, with that said, I don’t know if I was aware of how far back it actually went.
I find The Web and Constructivism to fit the categories of compelling and problematic.
The main argument for the web is that its invention and early adoption fundamentally reshaped educational technology by enabling open publishing, global communication, and resource sharing. This laid the foundation for all subsequent ed tech developments. Berners-Lee’s four foundational technologies created a universal, open system that was “designed as a communication system, around principles of robustness, decentralization and openness” (p. 16). For distance education, the web removed the broadcast bottleneck and lowered the cost of entry for universities. The web is the foundational technology for LMS, OER, MOOC, blogs, analytics, and social media.
Constructivism’s main argument is that it became the dominant pedagogical lens for early web-based learning because of the web’s affordances (non-linearity, communication, abundant resources) demanded models beyond traditional lecture-based instruction. The theory behind constructivism is that it emphasizes learners constructing knowledge through experience and social interaction instead of just lectures and textbooks. There has been a shift in the way many educators teach going from a “sage on the stage” approach to a “guide on the side,” which helped educators leverage the web’s participatory nature. There were, however, limitations such as it not fitting all disciplines, discovering that learning can be ineffective without guidance, and some of the implementations were superficial. While constructivism marked the first widespread attempt to align pedagogy with the affordances of digital technology, it was a conceptual engagement rather than a purely technical one.
When I searched back to when educational technology started, it was back in ancient times with oral communication and paintings on cave walls. I think that it is important to reference from that time, however I think that would make for a rather large book.