History of Ict in Education

In education, ICT has a long history. Technology first used in education a long time ago. But since it’s came to people’s acknowledgement, technology first use in education in 1600s.

1. The Slide Rule: The first educational technology known as Slide Rule was first introduced in 1654 by Robert Bissaker. The instrument was designed for use by scientists and engineers up to the early 1970s till modern calculator was invented. The Slide Rule was eventually used in the classroom for mathematics and was a replacement to what we know today as electronic and graphing calculators.
2. The Magic Lantern: The magic lantern was first introduced in 1646. Although the device was used in homes and theaters, magic lanterns were used in the classroom to improve learning and student engagement. The photographic slides were inserted one at a time for viewing of specific images or subject matter. Those who were proficient at using a magic lantern could rapidly change the slides to make it appear as if the image was moving. It was used as one kind of projection machine now used in modern classrooms.
3. Slates and Chalk: It was in 1800s when technology first introduced education with slates and chalks. Slates were small kind of boards that were written on using a piece of chalk. Students used slates in place of pen and paper, even though slates were not very useful for longer work and could only be used to solve short equations. Then they were erased so they could be used to solve a new equation. So, there was no scope of saving. After with all of those limitations slates and chalk was revolutionary to education. In that time paper was not easy to access. So, this invention kept quite a good impact on education that time.
4. Blackboards: Blackboards were made of slate that was surrounded by a wooden border to prevent the slate from breaking. Slate was the material of choice due to its broad availability throughout the world during the 19th century. Even it is being using in our county now in most of our schools. In recent years, it was determined that chalk dust posed potential health risks which is one of the reasons they were gradually replaced by the whiteboard as we know it today.
5. The Calculating Engine: In 1822, Charles Babbage first introduced a calculating engine which led to modern day digital computing. The engine was capable of compute simple mathematics. Charles Babbage is known as the “Father of Modern Digital Computing” as we know digital computers in today’s classrooms.
6. The Typewriter: In 1873 Christopher L. Sholes first introduced the typewriter which also debuted the QWERTY keyboard which is still used on modern day devices and computers. Typewriter was used to typing books and other educational materials. It brought a revolution to printing section, one of the most important element for education.
7. The Film Projector: By 1925, the film projector was making its way into classroom environments. The projector displayed still images from a film strip accompanied by an audio recording. The images had to be manually changed as you advanced through the film strip. This type of technology remained in the classroom until the early 1980s and was used to study a particular topic or timeline of events. After that more modern, overhead projector was invented that we use in our modern classroom now a day.
8. The Photocopier: The photocopier was invented at the last year of 1950s by Xerox. It was widely used for copying books and other educational materials. This machine was one of the most important invention for modern education. From then to now there is no alternative to photocopier machine.
9. The handheld Calculator: The handheld calculator was invented in 1970s. It is a revolution to modern mathematics. Though it was concerned that it will decrease the basic sides of mathematics like longer division or multiplications. But it was a great help to classroom education. It made mathematical procedure faster.
10. The Personal Computer: In the early 1980s International business machine (IBM) introduced first personal computer. Although computer was invented a long before that but it was not used widely. After invention of personal computer it was possible to use widely. Internet was not accessed by everyone that time, so PCs were used to typing and calculating larger mathematics and equations.
11. The CD-ROM: The CD-ROM was brought to educational environment in mid of 1980s. At that time storing data was not that much easy. CD-ROM made it very easy. Students was able to store audio, video even the whole encyclopedia in one compact disk. Though it is now less important to us as we use flash drives but at that that time for carrying data and saving data it was best.
12. The Internet: In the early-mid of 1990s, internet was made available for public. It brought revolution to public life. Education became more efficient with internet. In the first periods, it wasn’t that much speedy as like todays. That time internet just could use to transfer smaller files. Now it’s possible to transfer almost every kinds of files. With the help of internet it’s possible to learn anything even without help of any teacher.
13. The Interactive Whiteboard: The interactive whiteboard was invented just before the 21st century. It gradually replacing other whiteboards and blackboards. One interactive whiteboard needed a white screen, an overhead projector and a computer. In this type of board it’s possible to present anything graphically. It is a miracle to classroom education.
14. Virtual Reality: latest include in modern education is virtual reality. Many educators have been improving their classroom learning experience using virtual or augmented reality. Modern devices such as Google Cardboard VR allow students to study locations and objects in 3D in addition to exploring current events.