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First Public School Opened
With the opening of the first public school in Boston, Massachusetts came the need for tools and aids for teachers instructing the minds of the students sitting in their classrooms. These tools have evolved as technology has improved, both to the benefit and detriment of educators in America (National Geographic Society, 2013). -
Hornbook
The Hornbook was a wooden paddle that had printed lessons on it. It normally had an alphabet and sometimes a religious verse printed on it to help children learn how to read and write. It was a low-cost replacement for books that still helped children develop reading skills.
For teachers, this was a tool to help children with their letters and their words. It did not replace formal teaching (Educators Technology Inc, 2014). -
The New England Primer
The New England Primer was one of the first elementary school textbooks. It was created to make reading more interesting. It had the alphabet in it, and each letter had a drawing and a verse associated with it. It also contained various moral lessons, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments.
Primitive textbooks allowed teachers to follow a set of lesson plans from the books that taught reading and writing, the start of the standardization of content (Haran, 2015). -
Sandbox
In New York City, the Lancastrian method of teaching was introduced. This method was appealing because it could teach many students for a low cost. One teacher with the assistance of monitors would teach a large class. During these classes, students would use a sandbox on their desk to practice the skill being taught, like drawing letters or basic math.
For teachers, this allowed them to have their students practice skills during lessons that were taught to the entire group (Haran, 2015). -
Individual Slates
This invention was in a similar vein to the sandbox. The slate allowed students to write out letters, solve math problems, and more. It helped students practice skills while their teacher was explaining the concepts to the class.
For teachers, this further allowed them to teach to larger groups and have the students practice during lecture to check for understanding (Haran, 2015). -
Chalkboard
While individual slates were used in the classrooms in the early 1800s, the classroom chalkboard was first introduced in 1841. Horace Mann encouraged communities to buy chalkboard for their classrooms, causing them to then become a permanent feature in most classrooms.
For teachers, they had to change their instructions from individual slates to a classroom slate, but it promoted the method of whole group instruction using observational learning and various examples (Haran, 2015). -
Magic Lantern
This machine projected images from glass plates onto walls in the classroom. By the end of World War I, Chicago’s public school system had a collection of some 8,000 lantern slides.
These allowed teachers to provide their students with visuals for what they were talking about in lessons. They were supplemental to the content being taught in science and history classes (Educators Technology Inc, 2014). -
Lead Pencils and Paper
The lead pencil was first mass produced in the late 19th century. Along with paper, the pencil replaced the individual school slate for students.
Instead of having to wipe their slates or learn from observing the teacher work out problems on the blackboard, the students could take notes and work out examples problems that they could keep to study. This also allowed teachers to give of pencil and paper examinations (Educators Technology Inc, 2014). -
Stereoscope
At the start of the 20th century, the Keystone View Company began to sell and market their stereoscopes. They were three- dimensional devices, previously popular in home parlors. These devices were sold to schools with sets of hundreds of educational images, depicting mostly science, history, and geography.
This device, like the magic lantern, was an aid for teachers. It helped them show their students real photos of what is being covered in class (Haran, 2015). -
Radio
Haaren High School in New York City became the first public school to use the radio in a classroom. After this, many classes began to use radios in lessons on penmanship, history, and arithmetic lessons. It also allowed for learning in the home, for continuing education for adults as well.
For teachers, these radio programs were viewed as a supplement to their instruction. It allowed the students to learn more about specific topics their teachers may not be experts on (Purdue University, 2019). -
Overhead Projector
The overhead projector was used widely by the U. S. Military for training soldiers during World War II. Eventually the device spread to schools.
This allowed for teachers to project writing onto the walls, project pictures, book pages, etc. This made it easier for teachers to facilitate discussion and group teaching (Educators Technology Inc, 2014). -
Film Projector
Thomas Edison claimed that the film projector would one day make textbooks obsolete. These were used to project images and videos to help visually explain concepts covered in lessons. 52% of schools were using silent films and 3% were using films with sound by the 1940s.
For teachers, this allowed them to show videos to help their students visualize aspects of science, history, etc (e-Learning Infographics, 2019). -
Television
The first documented use of a television in a classroom was in the Los Angeles public schools in 1939. Instructional television reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. To help improve education during the Cold War, financial support for instructional television poured in from many government and industry sources, flooding teachers with videos to play.
For teachers, educational programming occasionally replaced lessons due to the push from the government (e-Learning Infographics, 2019). -
Mimeograph
This hand-cranked machine made copies of homework sheets and quizzes for distribution to students. This is the predecessor of the copy machine.
For teachers, this helped save time in making enough copies of assignments for all their students (Educators Technology Inc, 2014). -
B.F. Skinner's Teaching Machine
The Skinner Teaching Machine produced a joint system of teaching and testing. It provided reinforcement for correct answers so that the student can move on to the next lesson.
For teachers, this was one of the first times machines did the teaching. Previously, the information sourced from radios or films projected were only supplemental to the teacher’s instruction. Technology teaching the lesson becomes more prevalent as the technology becomes more prevalent (Purdue University, 2019). -
Photocopier
The invention of the photocopier is the evolution of the mimeograph. It more efficiently produced copies.
For teachers, this was a time saver and also made giving out assignments and assessments easier (Purdue University, 2019). -
The Whiteboard
The whiteboard replaced the blackboard in the early 1960s. The plastic whiteboards were much cheaper than the chalkboard.
For teachers, the move from chalkboards to whiteboards did not affect the way they taught. It was a change in canvas for the information in their lessons. The whiteboard was still as accessibility, adaptable, and versatile as the chalkboard (e-Learning Infographics, 2019). -
The Hand-Held Calculator
Texas Instruments developed the handheld calculator. While this invention was slow to be adopted by teachers, it became a staple in math education.
The benefit of this tool for teachers was an ease in calculating grades or quickly grading math assignments or assessments. While they do not always promote the student use of a calculator in their classes, the calculator has benefits for the teacher (e-Learning Infographics, 2019). -
Scantron Machines
The Scantron system of testing, created by Michael Sokolski, allowed teachers to quickly and efficiently grade tests.
Due to the ease of this system, many teachers shifted their assessments towards multiple choice and true/false tests, instead of short answer and essay tests. This was a time saver for teachers, especially in higher level education (Educators Technology Inc, 2014). -
Apple 1
Apple began to donate Apple 1 model desktop PCs to schools. These were the first desktop computers in schools. Eventually, computer-aided instruction gained widespread acceptance in schools by the early 1980s.
This began the time of technology for teachers. Previously, they had used technology as an aid of instruction. Now, the technology could be the source of instruction. It made teachers ask themselves how willing they were to integrate technology into their classrooms (Haran, 2015). -
Portable Computers
The first portable computer was introduced by IBM. In the 1990s, Methodist Ladies’ College required every student to have a laptop, and then governments worldwide took notice of the effectiveness of this policy, beginning financial initiatives to increase laptops in classes.
For teachers, this brought a new era of students. The laptops placed information at the fingertips of the students, making them both harder to teach and harder to keep engaged and involved (e-Learning Infographics, 2019). -
World Wide Web
In 1990, the World Wide Web became available to students in schools.
Along with the rise in laptops, this created a new era of students. These students no longer had to rely on books or teachers for information. They had endless information at their fingertips. For teachers, this posed new problems to challenge, engage, and inform their students (Haran, 2015). -
SMARTboard
The SMART Board was introduced at the end of the 20th century, combining a lot of old and new technologies. It provided a projector and a white board.
For teachers, this helped keep their lessons interesting and allowed for students to interact with things being projected onto the board. Unlike computers and the Internet, this was an invention for teachers to help them teach more effectively and efficiently in the technology age (e-Learning Infographics, 2019). -
iPads and Tablets
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is a new trend, as school use students’ own devices as learning tools. These tablets allow for note taking, research, and more.
For teachers, this is both a blessing and a curse. Using games or outside research to reinforce content learned in lessons is beneficial, but relying too much on technology to keep students engaged takes away from the instructor’s time teaching and his/her skills as an educator (Educators Technology Inc, 2014). -
Future Technology
Teaching in the age of technology is difficult. The pervasiveness of technology is making its way into classrooms at a rapid pace. Many districts have one tablet or one laptop for every student they teach. This puts pressure on teachers to use this technology, yet not everything taught should be done so with an iPad or a laptop. While a lot of technology has been created to help teachers, there is something to be said about the power of a chalkboard and a lecture.
