Historical

Development of
Educational
Technology
Learning
Outcomes
Trace the significant events in the history of educational
technology.
Describe the merging of traditional technology with the
development of digital technology.
Relate your personal experiences in the various stages in
the history of technology.

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Introduction
 Not many of you perhaps may be interested in history. However, the events
in the past help us understand the present and guide us to define and set
directions for the future.
 The presence of too many technologies today makes us wonder how all
these machines and gadgets came to existence. How can sound and light
travel? The most intriguing question perhaps is to know how pictures are
transmitted. We have gone a long way in the evolution and development of
technology.
Introduction
 If we study about history of technology in general, we are likewise thinking about
the invention of tools, gadgets and other techniques. These include methods such as
language and stone tools to more complex engineering and information technology
that began in the 1980’s (SOS Children’s Villages International, n.d.). In addition, the
history of technology tells us about the development of systematic techniques for
making and doing things.
 In this lesson, you will enhance your knowledge and understanding about
educational technology by tracing the various stages in its historical growth and
development. Is communication the same today as it was decades and centuries ago?
Let’s find out.
 INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: LESSON 2 –
HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF
EDUCATIONAL
TECHNOLOGY
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Communication is a basic element in effective teaching. It is an
act of transmitting information and ideas from the sender to the
receiver. Historically, and from what we learned from the bible.
Moses came down from Mt. Sinai carrying with him chiseled
stone that conveyed the Ten Commandments. In this particular
case, the chiseled stone was the medium used to carry the
message. In teaching, we can trace the history of educational
technology by focusing on the modes of communication.

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❑ The use of human voice through oral communication is the earliest medium of
teaching. In the olden times, all forms of literature such as stories, folklore,
and news were transmitted through oral communication. Great scholars and
philosophers delivered their ideas by speaking before their audience or their
students. No less than our greatest teacher Jesus Christ made use of oral
communication to deliver His teachings.
❑ By the fifth century B.C. written documents existed and marked the
emergence of writing to support the oral communication. Using the feather
pen dipped in ink, scholars and philosophers transmitted their teachings in
manuscripts and other written documents.

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In the 12th century A.D., slate boards were in use in India. But it was not
until the turn of the 18th century that schools started using slate boards and
blackboards. And at the end of World War Two, the U.S. Army started
using overhead projectors for training. It is widely used for lecture
presentation in the late 1950 and early 1960s until it was eventually
replaced by electronic projector (Bates, 2014).
While telephone came in as early as in the late 1870’s, it never served as a
main tool in education. It did not also serve in the delivery of distance
education programs due to high cost.

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 The history of photography started with the discovery of the principle of the camera
obscura or a dark room and the observations that some substances are visibly altered when
exposed to light. The first successful photographic process was made in 1839 which
marked the birth of practical photography. The development of photographic process
started in 1820 and was attributed to Nicephore Niepce and later on pursued by his
associate Louis Daguerre (History of Photography, n.d.)
The development in photographic process gave birth to filmstrips and 35 mm slides.
The filmstrip was a common form of still picture instructional multimedia, used by teachers
in primary and secondary schools. From the 1940’s to 1980’s, filmstrips provided an easy
and inexpensive alternative to 16mm educational films which eventually led to the
emergence of programmed instruction in slides or in filmstrip version (Filmstrip, n.d.)

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❑ The introduction of computer-based electronic digital cameras in the 1990’s
revolutionized photography. During the first decade of the 21st century, the use of
traditional film-based photochemical methods gradually became less popular as
digital photo development was preferred due to image quality and the lower price of
digital cameras.
❑ A man named Cros is remembered as the earliest inventor of sound recording and
reproduction device. But the history tells us that in 1877 Thomas Edison invented
the first mechanical phonograph cylinder sound recording machine. The invention
of sound and audio recordings was taken as a positive development in education as
schools started to use them as a tool to deliver instruction. These audio recordings
came in various formats, from the rounded playing record, open reel tapes, and
cassette tapes to compact disks or CDs.

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The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began
broadcasting educational radio programs for schools in the
1920’s. they made the first adult education radio broadcast
in 1924. The use of television for education was first
recorded in 1970 and quickly spread around the world.
In 1976 the first Betamax Video Cassette Recorder or
VCR was introduced in the United States of America.
Japan Victor Corporation’s (JVC) first introduced the VHS
(Video Home System) that doubles the recording time of
the beta format. So just like the audio recordings, the
video technology came out in various formats, from
Betamax, VHS to DVD’s.

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Fiber-optic cable was first used to distribute
able TV programming in 1976. This new
technology increases potential channel
capacity and improves picture reception.
Hence, educational television channels such
as National Geographic and the History
Channel became the source of educational
knowledge and information particularly to the
viewing public.

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 The emergence and development of computer technology had its beginning in
the 19th century. The English Mathematics Professor Charles Babbage designed
the Analytical Engine which served as the basic framework of computers today.
Initially, computers were classified into three generations. Each generation is
marked by significant improvement features and functionalities ( Steitz, 2006).
However, according to Jawad Khan (2013), there are actually five generations
of computer technology. These five generations reflect the evolutionary
development not only in features and functionalities but also in size and in their
operating systems.
The succeeding Chapter will further discuss the educational role and functions
of the computer, and how this powerful machine revolutionized education today.
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To reinforce our chronological understanding of the history of
technology in general and of educational technology in
particular, let us do the following learning activities.

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 Watch this video on the
History of Educational
Technology.
 While watching this
video, try to write down
specific dates and events in
the history of educational History of Educational Technology
technology.
 In a piece of paper, write 3
higher cognitive questions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsAw
you would wish to ask
PabRwbk
about the scope and
treatment of the subject in
the video presentation.

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Answer the following:

1. Name and discuss the significant insights you have learned

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Learning Activity

Using a Graphic Timeline, recall the video presentation you

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