This document summarizes the evolution of various technologies used in classrooms throughout history from the late 19th century to present day, including stereoscopes, programmed instruction devices, educational television programming, overhead projectors, pull-down maps, laser discs, interactive whiteboards, SMART boards, and PowerPoint. It notes how each new technology aimed to engage students and enhance lessons by integrating visual/interactive elements before being replaced by newer innovations.

1. Tech Fest 2013
WIU Library Instruction Unit
Sean Cordes
Mahrya Carncross
Justin Georges

2. Perhaps the most durable instrument of American education, it would remain a
standard tool from the era of the one-room schoolhouse to the computer age

3. As the turn of the century, the Keystone View Company began to market
stereoscopes – three-dimensional viewing devices popular in home parlors – to
schools, with educational sets containing hundreds of images.

4. B. F. Skinner, a behavioral scientist, developed a series
of devices that allowed a student to proceed at his or
her own pace through a regimented program of
instruction. The student completes a question by
writing the answer in the answer space. The student
finds out immediately if they are right or wrong.

5. By the early sixties, there were more than 50 channels
of TV which included educational programming that
aired across the country.

7. and tech marches on…..

9. By the 1950s, the overhead projector was ubiquitous. Information was displayed
on transparency sheets or rolls as a visual accompaniment to presentations. It has
been largely replaced by LCD overhead displays and document cameras.
Modernity.
*Sigh*

10. Once a fixture of the American classroom, the pull-down map allowed instructors
to integrate geography into daily lessons. Now we have LCD projectors.

11. lets slide into the future…..

12. Before Blu-ray, high-definition (HD) or standard DVDs,
movie enthusiasts could watch movies on a disc
known as the laser disc. These large discs were more
than double the size of a standard DVD, but they
offered many of the same options and features that
can be found on a DVD. Although they never took off
in the mainstream market, laser disc collectors still
hold on to and look for these rarities today. Many
classrooms incorporated laser discs for language
lessons, science videos and history videos. Limited
class time allowed the laser disc to be preferred over
the VHS tape due to easier navigation (chapter
selection) and no rewind time.

13. 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!

14. Like a chalkboard on steroids, the SMART board allows users to combine the
power of writing with the interactivity of an iPad.

16. Launched in 1990, PowerPoint quickly became the de facto presentation tool
for both business and education. It allows information to be shared quickly and
can be an effective visual. Beware, however, of “death by PowerPoint.”

17. Laser pointers allow a presenter to indicate a particular piece of text or
projected image. Not to be used for entertaining cats or terrorizing commercial
airline pilots.