Technology has always been at the forefront of human education. From the days of carving figures on rock walls to today, when most students are equipped with several portable technological devices at any given time, technology continues to push educational capabilities to new levels. In looking at where educational methods and tools have come from to where they are going in the future, technology’s importance in the classroom is evident now more than ever.

   In the Colonial years, wooden paddles with printed lessons, called Horn-Books, were used to assist students in learning verses. Over 200 years later, in 1870, technology advanced to include the Magic Lantern, a primitive version of a slide projector that projected images printed on glass plates. By the time World War I ended, around 8000 lantern slides were circulating through the Chicago public school system. By the time the Chalkboard came around in 1890, followed by the pencil in 1900, it was clear that students were hungry for more advanced educational tools.

   Examples of these are: in the 1920s, radio sparked an entirely new wave of learning; on-air classes began popping up for any student within listening range. Next came the overhead projector in 1930, followed by the ballpoint pen in 1940 and headphones in 1950. Videotapes arrived on the scene in 1951, creating a new and exciting method of instruction.

   The pre-computer years were formative in the choices made for computers in the years following. Immediate response-type systems (video, calculator, Scantron) had become necessary, and quick production of teaching materials, using the photocopier, had become a standard. Teachers needed new methods of instruction and testing, and students were looking for new ways to communicate, study, and learn.

   Although the first computers were developed in the ‘30s, everyday use computers were introduced in the ‘80s. When IBM introduced its first personal computer in 1981, the educational world knew that it was on the verge of greatness. The foundation of immediate learning capabilities had been laid. Time magazine declared, “it is the end result of a technological revolution that has been in the making for four decades and is now, quite literally, hitting home.”

(https://education.purdue.edu/. Adaptado)