History of Technology’s use in Education

Technology in education was originally considered to be merely audiovisuals or limited to physical means other than the teacher, chalkboard, and textbook via which instruction is presented to learners. After the interest in instructional television faded, the next technological innovation to catch the attention of a large number of educators was the computer. Although wide-spread interest in the computer as an instructional tool did not occur until the 1980s, computers were first used in education and training at a much earlier date. Reflection on the date of initial usage of computer and the prevalence of computers today, shows an epidemic of technology. Not only are there several computers ranging from basic micro computers, but there are several depending on need and budget. The enthusiasm surrounding this tool was identified as a lead to increasing interest in its use for instructional purposes.
It is shocking to know that many educators were attracted to microcomputers because they were relatively inexpensive. I remember paying almost $2000 for my first computer in 1997. That computer was equipped with only 64MB of RAM, 10GB hard drive, no CD writeable drive. It however came loaded with all useful application software such as Microsoft office and a host others with no extra cost. Today you can purchase a much improved computer for less than that however you will have to pay for most third party software. It was stated that distance education via the Internet has seen as low-cost method of providing instruction to students who, because of variety of factors, might not otherwise have been able to receive it. I however disagree with this notion based on personal experience. There are a number of attached fees surcharged to distance learning I can argue that it is sometime detrimental to quality learning depending on the professor and the students commitment and effective mean of communication. There were instances when student need to get hold of the instructor for clarification and the instructor proved elusive until it was too late.
Furthermore, Most of the media research studies conducted over the years have compared how much students have learned after receiving a lesson presented via a particular medium, such as film, radio, television, or the computer, versus how much students have learned from live instruction on the same topic. Studies of this type, often called media comparison studies, have usually revealed that students learned equally well regardless of the means of presentation (Clark, 1983, 1994; Schramm, 1977). In my opinion, these forms of instructions are inseparable from each other. The most effective instructions have proven to be a combination since different people learn things in many different ways.





References:
Robert A Reiser, Educational Technology, Research and Development. Washington: 2001. Vol. 49, Iss. 1; pg. 53, 12 pgs