A Blast from the Past- Technology Evolution Edition by

The late 1960s- Tariq's Story

rae2149440_1 — 2024-06-07 22:19:23 UTC

Tariq, born in 1963, attended school during the years of 1968 to 1979. During this time, he lived in Detroit, Michigan and attended a school equipped with the normal resources and funding for the schools of that time. During my phone interview with Tariq, I asked him about his experiences with technology, including what I am calling "primitive technology" (things like pencils, pens, rulers, books, things of that nature). He explained to me that during his early years of school, kindergarten to 5th grade, he primarily used primitive technology. Books, paper, pencils, rulers, chalkboards and chalks were the only technology that was ever used in the classroom from his recollection. He also mentions being taught how to use an abacus, an ancient math tool, but that it was not taught for practical use. After doing some research, I was able to verify that this sounds about right, as the technology that was created and widespread around this was all stuff that only the teacher would know about (scantron, which he says he never remembers fill in the bubble test around this time and the photocopier) or not quite necessary for the grade level he was in (calculators) (The Evolution of Technology in the Classroom).

The late 1970s- Tariq's Story

rae2149440_1 — 2024-06-07 22:20:12 UTC

As the years went for Tariq, his school underwent some changes to adapt to the times. It was in the later years of his education that Tariq recalls some run-ins with more modern age technology, many of which are still in use today. Calculators, televisions on rolling carts, and movie projectors are the only pieces of more advanced technology that he remembers using in his later years of school. He says that the calculators were used on a daily basis but did not have as many functions as they do today. He also recalls the rolling cart television being an exciting part of his week, even remembering the sound of the squeaky wheels coming down the hallways and all the students clamoring to get to their seats to watch a publicly broadcasted program, PBS more often than not. He also says he remember his class having access to a movie projector and VCR/VHS tapes. After some research, this seems to be accurate to the time. During this time, personal computers were in the works but not quite rolled out yet to the public, so all that was really available was the calculators, TVs, and projectors (The Surprising Evolution on Technology in the Classroom).

The Mid 1980s- Tinika's Story

rae2149440_1 — 2024-06-07 22:21:05 UTC

The Tinika is about a decade younger than Tariq, born in 1976, and attended school from the years 1982 to 1994, opting to achieve her GED junior year of high school. Tinika went to school in Tucson, Arizona, the states that routinely comes in dead last in education stats year after year. Tinika recalls that her time in school looked fairly similar to Tariq's, in that usage of modern technology was limited at best. Books, paper, and manual grading was still used exclusively in the early years of her education. There is a slight difference that I find to be interesting. Tinika says her teachers almost never used chalk boards, rather, they used whiteboards and dry erase markers and simple projectors. She also recalls the rolling cart TV, but this TV was equipped with a VCR. One thing she neglected to mention was the use of personal computers that became widely used around this time (The Surprising Evolution of Technology in the Classroom). Whether this be a funding issue, a memory issue, or a tech development issue, we will never know, but many schools were beginning to use personal computers around this time.

The Mid 1990s- Tinika's Story

rae2149440_1 — 2024-06-07 22:24:42 UTC

The mid 90s, the beginning of the tech boom, when modern technology began taking over the entire country! It was around this time that Tinika was entering her later years of education, and her memory from this time was a little cloudy. She says that she does not ever remember having any access to or ever even seeing any advanced technology in her classroom, including for teacher usage. From what she recalls, her time in middle and high school was spent in books and handwritten papers. She does recall using slightly more advanced calculators for her more difficult math problems, and her teachers being rather against heavy usage of the calculator. This is interesting, because according to my research, technology was on fire around this time. Social media, the world wide web, and even online college were taking off, (The Surprising Evolution of Technology in the Classroom) leading me to believe that computers and more advanced televisions had to have been in the schools. Again, this may have simply been a funding issue, or it is a memory issue on Tinika's part. One thing she does recall, however, is spending most of her free time glued to her VCR and VHS tapes once she was home.

The Mid Early 2000s- AJ's Story

rae2149440_1 — 2024-06-07 22:25:07 UTC

Right around this time is when the technology in school starts to become really prevalent! AJ was born in the year 1996 and attending school from the years 2001-2014 in Hartford and Holland, Michigan. From kindergarten up to 5th grade, AJ recalls the majority of his schooling being done on paper with pencils as he learned to hone his penmanship and literacy skills. The majority of the teaching, however, was done on more advanced projectors that had a handful of different functions, a few of which were interactive. He also remembers once weekly have scheduled computer time, where he and his entire class went to the computer lab and had a designated amount of time to spend playing educational games and typing training. He also remembers from this time a board that could be interacted with heavily, which I know to be a Promethean Board because about 6 years later, I would be introduced to the same thing my entire time in school. From my research I have learned that the interactive boards were created in the 1999 (The Surprising Evolution of Technology in the Classroom) and with personal desktop computers having already become popular shortly before this time, this seems to be accurate.

The Mid 2010s- AJ's Story

rae2149440_1 — 2024-06-07 22:26:11 UTC

Fastforward about a decade more and the difference between then and now is shocking. AJ tells me that he attending a school dedicated to the usage of technology in education, so this may not be an exactly accurate depiction of a mainstream public school of the time, but this a real experience from the mid 2010s. During this time in AJ academic career, he was surrounded by technology all day every day in school. In fact, the majority of the assignments that he completed were done entirely on a laptop that the school provided him. His first two years of high school he was given a MacBook to use both in school and at home. His next year, he was given an iPad. The last year, he was given a Chromebook. There almost no physical textbooks, as they were replaced by ebooks and online articles, and anything written was replaced by word processors. According to article The Surprising Evolution of Technology in Education, tablets and iPads were created around this time and came out with a bang, growing in popularity quickly. Another monumental creation of the time was websites like Google Classroom that allowed teachers to create online spaces for their classes that could almost replace their classroom entirely.

Sources

rae2149440_1 — 2024-06-07 22:26:35 UTC

The Evolution of Technology in the Classroom- The Evolution Of Technology In The Classroom | Purdue Online

The Surprising Evolution of Technology in the Classroom- The Surprising Evolution of Technology in the Classroom (gradschools.com )