Lesson 3 - Implementing Online Learning

4. A Short History of Educational Technology

Arguments about the role of technology in education go back at least 2,500 years.  To understand better the role and influence of technology on teaching, we need a little history, because as always there are lessons to be learned from history. Paul Saettler’s ‘The Evolution of American Educational Technology‘ (1990) is one of the most extensive historical accounts but only goes up to 1989. A lot has happened since then. What I’m giving you here is the postage stamp version of ed-tech history and a personal one at that.