Technology Through the Decades

Technology Through the Decades

Technology has come a long way since the first institutionalized classroom. The bounds in advancement have been their greatest in the past 100 years alone. But the classroom we know today in American culture has made many adjustments and achievement over many centuries of work, but this paper will only address the past 2 centuries. The modern classroom, with computers, internet, graphing calculators, and video apparatus’, would not exist if not for the many people who worked to invent the machines we have.

The 1800’s produced many advancements to the classroom that, though very rudimentary to today’s standards, became the foundation for learning on a large scale. Some of which are still in use today. In 1841 the chalkboard was introduced into the classroom. This was very beneficial to learning integrating audio and visual techniques to learning. Teachers could now draw for students concepts such as atoms and molecules, that were complicated to express. Students found this invention beneficial because now the student knew what teachers were saying, what key points they needed to know were, and nothing was lost in the communication.

The inclusion of the radio in the 1920’s (Studio Miramar), was also a beneficial invention. When the radio was invited to be a part of classroom learning, teachers were able to more effectively keep the students on top of current event, involve others’ opinions or knowledge of different topics, and be able to include culture into history classes. This last reason would become the base for broadening of curriculum multiculturally.

Another major change to the curriculum came in the 1940’s when movies became a part of the classroom scene (Studio Miramar). This had an impact both politically and with general education. Politically, propaganda or reprogramming with videos would be a purpose that movies would play. With such films as those that expressed how the “proper American” should act could be view, such as during World War II with “Duck and Cover” or “Evil Communists” or even “Uncle Sam Wants You” videos became a meaningful nationalism method of reaching children. But movies also play the part of an educational tool. Films about chemicals, of both the dangers and benefits of them, or safety films like “Stop, Drop, and Roll” became prevalent.

Like the radio, television, introduced in the 1950’s to the educational scenes (Studio Miramar), has become an even easier method of keeping students on top of current event.