Educational Technology Timeline

5/23/23, 10:28 AM Educational Technology Timeline | Sutori
Educational Technology Timeline

This is a review of technology that has been used for educational purposes from the mid 1600s to the
present day classroom.
https://www.sutori.com/en/story/educational-technology-timeline--mNL3LPQAPeDbEQ7DNkpjdNGV 1/12
1650 - The Horn Book
Wooden paddles with printed lessons were popular in the colonial era. On the paper there was usually the
alphabet and a religious verse which children would copy to help them learn how to write.
1870 - The Magic Lanter
The precursor to a slide projector, the ‘magic lantern’ projected images printed on glass plates and showed
them in darkened rooms to students. By the end of World War I, Chicago’s public school system had roughly
8,000 lantern slides.
1890 – School Slate
Used throughout the 19th century in nearly all classrooms, a Boston school superintendent in 1870 described
the slate as being “if the result of the work should, at any time, be found infelicitous, a sponge will readily
banish from the slate all disheartening recollections, and leave it free for new attempts."
1890 – Chalkboard
Still going strong to this day, the chalkboard is one of the biggest inventions in terms of educational
technology.
1900 – The Pencil
Just like the chalkboard, the pencil is also found in basically all classrooms in the U.S. In the late 19th century,
mass-produced paper and pencils became more readily available and pencils eventually replaced the school
slate.
1905 – Stereoscope
At the turn of the century, the Keystone View Company began to market stereoscopes which are basically
three-dimensional viewing tools that were popular in homes as a source of entertainment. Keystone View
Company marketed these stereoscopes to schools and created hundreds of images that were meant to be
used to illustrate points made during lectures.
JMJessica Miller
1925 – Film Projector
Similar to the motion-picture projector, Thomas Edison predicted that, thanks to the invention of projected
images, “books will soon be obsolete in schools. Scholars will soon be instructed through the eye.”
1925 – Radio
New York City’s Board of Education was actually the first organization to send lessons to schools through a
radio station. Over the next couple of decades, “schools of the air” began broadcasting programs to millions of
American students.
1930 – Overhead Projector
Initially used by the U.S. military for training purposes in World War II, overhead projectors quickly spread to
schools and other organizations around the country.
1940 – Ballpoint Pen
While it was originally invented in 1888, it was not until 1940 that the ballpoint pen started to gain worldwide
recognition as being a useful tool in the classroom and life in general. The first ballpoint pens went on sale at
Gimbels department store in New York City on 29 October 1945 for US$9.75 each.
1940 – Mimeograph
Surviving into the Xerox age, the mimeograph made copies by being hand-cranked. Makes you appreciate
your current copier at least a little bit now, huh?
1950 – Headphones
Thanks to theories that students could learn lessons through repeated drills and repetition (and repeated
repetition) schools began to install listening stations that used headphones and audio tapes. Most were used in
what were dubbed ‘language labs’ and this practice is still in use today, except now computers are used
instead of audio tapes.
1950 – Slide Rule
William Oughtred and others developed the slide rule in the 17th century based on the emerging work on
logarithms by John Napier. Before the advent of the pocket calculator, it was the most commonly used
calculation tool in science and engineering. The use of slide rules continued to grow through the 1950s and
1960s even as digital computing devices were being gradually introduced; but around 1974 the electronic
scientific calculator made it largely obsolete and most suppliers left the business.
1951 – Videotapes
The electronics division of entertainer Bing Crosby’s production company, Bing Crosby Enterprises (BCE), gave
the world’s first demonstration of a videotape recording in Los Angeles on November 11, 1951. Developed by
John T. Mullin and Wayne R. Johnson since 1950, the device gave what were described as “blurred and
indistinct” images, using a modified Ampex 200 tape recorder and standard quarter-inch audio tape moving at
360 inches per second. A year later, an improved version, using one-inch magnetic tape, was shown to the press,
who reportedly expressed amazement at the quality of the images, although they had a “persistent grainy quality
that looked like a worn motion picture”.
1958 – Educational Television
By the early sixties, there were more than 50 channels of TV which included educational programming that
aired across the country.
1970 – The Hand-Held Calculator
The predecessor of the much-loved and much-used TI-83, this calculator paved the way for the calculators
used today. There were initial concerns however as teachers were slow to adopt them for fear they would
undermine the learning of basic skills.
1972 – Scantron
The Scantron Corporation removed the need for grading multiple-choice exams. The Scantron machines were
free to use but the company made money by charging for their proprietary grading forms. Sneaky stuff.
1980 – Plato Computer
Public schools in the U.S. averaged about one computer for every 92 students in 1984. The Plato was one of
the most-used early computers to gain a foothold in the education market. Currently, there is about one
computer for every 4 students.
1985 – CD-ROM Drive
A single CD could store an entire encyclopedia plus video and audio. The CD-ROM and eventually the CD-RW
paved the way for flash drives and easy personal storage.
1985 – Hand-Held Graphing Calculator
The successor to the hand-held calculator, the graphing calculator made far more advanced math much easier as
it let you plot out points, do long equations, and play ‘Snake’ as a game when you got bored in class.
1999 – Interactive Whiteboard
The chalkboard got a facelift with the whiteboard. That got turned into a more interactive system that uses a
touch-sensitive white screen, a projector, and a computer. Still getting slowly rolled out to classrooms right
now, betcha didn’t know they were first around in 1999!
2005 – iClicker
There are many similar tools available now, but iClicker was one of the first to allow teachers to be able to
quickly poll students and get results in real time.
2006 – XO Laptop
The ‘One Laptop Per Child’ computer was built so it was durable and cheap enough to sell or donate to
developing countries. It’s an incredible machine that works well in sunlight, is waterproof, and much more.
Learn more.
2010 – Apple iPad
Just like the original school slate, could the iPad bring Thomas Edison’s statement to life? Could the iPad make it
so “scholars will soon be instructed through the eye.” Only time will tell.

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5/23/23, 10:28 AM Educational Technology Timeline | Sutori

1650 - The Horn Book

1870 - The Magic Lanter

1890 – School Slate

1900 – The Pencil

1925 – Film Projector

1930 – Overhead Projector

1940 – Ballpoint Pen

1950 – Slide Rule

1958 – Educational Television

1970 – The Hand-Held Calculator

1980 – Plato Computer

1985 – CD-ROM Drive

1985 – Hand-Held Graphing Calculator

1999 – Interactive Whiteboard

2010 – Apple iPad

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