Educational Technology Timeline by Sawyer Bufkin

The Horn Book (1450ish)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 03:55:13 UTC

One of the first educational technologies was the horn book, which was a piece of parchment paper attached to a wooden paddle, which allowed young children to read and learn basic letters and words.

The Magic Lantern (1650s)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:01:20 UTC

Magic Lanterns were projectors that used candles and oil lamps to project glass slides. While they were originally used for science and entertainment, they later became popular in classrooms for lectures. Magic Lanterns are considered the first projectors in classrooms.

The Radio (1920s)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:04:46 UTC

The radio was invented in the late 19th century, but began being used for education in the 1920s. Some teachers would teach classes over the radio so that anyone could listen if they were within range.

The Ballpoint Pen (1940s)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:09:09 UTC

For many years, students had been using messy, inconvenient fountain pens. The invention and popularization of the ballpoint pen made writing easier, cleaner, and more convenient.

Headphones (1950)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:12:31 UTC

Headphones had been around for a while, but only really began to have their run in the classroom in 1950, when some students would use them. The main use was to learn languages.

The Photocopier (1959)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:15:04 UTC

The photocopier was invented in 1939, but wasn’t sold until 1959. Then, it became a staple for teachers, who could now easily replicate classroom materials. It’s still used extensively today by teachers.

The Electronic Calculator (1961)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:19:04 UTC

The ANITA, the first electronic calculator, sold tens of thousands of units. Most of these buyers were mathematicians or students, and calculators have became staples in the STEM field.

The Scantron System (1972)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:23:28 UTC

Scantron bubble sheets and scanners were invented in 1972, making standardized and regular tests easier to grade. Instead of having to grade each problem by hand, graders could now just put in correct answers once and let the system do the rest.

The Blackboard (1801)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:30:08 UTC

Inventions similar to the blackboard had been around for a very long time, but Geography teacher James Pillans was the first to use it in a modern sense by hanging it on a wall in front of the room. It has since seen many adaptations, including a green board and whiteboard.

Personal Computers (1975)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:34:53 UTC

The first use of PCs in the classroom came when Apple donated some to schools, so that some students could begin to learn how to use them. The use didn’t become more widely accepted until 1983.

Virtual Reality (2010s)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:39:07 UTC

Virtual Reality has been a very recent development in schools, as some headsets have become cheaper and some have even been designed specifically for schools. The first set designed specifically for schools was in 2017, called ClassVR. They can be used to go on immersive virtual field trips, or to interact with virtual experiments.

ChatGPT (2022)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:41:09 UTC

While AI has been in development for a while, the first time it really became widely popular for students and teacher was in 2022. It can be used for lesson prep, studying, or to power immersive education tools. It’s an ever-developing part of education.

Sphero (2011)

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:46:42 UTC

Sphero Robots are small, ball-shaped robots that were designed to be both fun toys and ways for teachers to teach basic coding to students. They’ve been very widely used for a variety of age groups, as they teach basic STEM principles in an immersive way.

References

sbb032 — 2024-12-23 04:50:13 UTC

https://exhibits.truman.edu/hornbooks/

https://education.purdue.edu/2024/01/the-evolution-of-technology-in-the-classroom/

https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/02/vision-learning-history-classroom-projectors

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201028-history-of-the-ballpoint-pen

https://www.npr.org/2013/10/23/239241106/happy-birthday-copy-machine-happy-birthday-copy-machine#:~:text=Inventor%20Chester%20Carlson%20used%20static,more%20than%2020%20years%20later.

https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/articles/units/history-of-the-calculator.php

https://www.scantron.com/company/

https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/the-history-of-the-classroom-blackboard/

https://www.cs.odu.edu/~tkennedy/cs300/development/Public/M06-HistoryOfComputersinEducation/index.html

https://www.classvr.com/blog/worlds-first-virtual-reality-set-designed-for-schools-launches-at-bett-2017/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/05/19/a-short-history-of-chatgpt-how-we-got-to-where-we-are-today/

https://sphero.com/pages/about-us