History of Technology's Use in Education

Educational technology brings instructors more ways to share and communicate with learners. The motion picture projector, or instructional films, and the advent of media incorporating sound, helped strengthen the communication between learners and instructors. Since the computer and internet affect most educators’ lives, it is possible to increase interactive capabilities among learners, instructional contents and instructors (Reiser, 2001). Moreover, with the exploration of virtual reality as a learning medium, the learning process will be a combination of immersion, telepresence, immediate visual feedback, and interactivity (Roussos, Johnson, Moher, Leigh, Vasilakis, & Barnes, 1999).

Although technologies may have an impact on instructional practices in schools, people’s acceptance of these technologies is still the most critical element in learning environments. If technology cannot provide an ideal environment for learners and instructors, people will stay conservative and will not use the technology. As Reiser (2001) points out, if teachers resist using television in their classrooms, instructional television will have minimal impact on educational practices. Similarly, teachers reported that computers were being primarily used for drills and practice in public schools (Reiser, 2001); in most cases, the use of computers was far from innovative. In my point of view, there will be a lot of work in the instructional technology field, seeking new applicable technologies, or reorganizing the implementations already in this field.

[ Reference ]

Lewis, L., Snow, K., Farris, E., Levin, D., & Greene, B., (1999). Distance education at postsecondary institutions: 1997-98 (NCES 2000-013). Washington, DC: National Academy of Science – National Research Council.

Reiser, R.A. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part 1: A history of instructional media. Educational technology research and development, 49(1), 53-65.

Roussos, M., Johnson, A., Moher, T., Leigh, J., Vasilakis, C., Barnes, C., (1999). Learning and building together in an Immersive Virtual World. Presence, 8(3), 247-263.