Abstract
This is the first of a two-part article that will discuss the history of the field of instructional design and technology in the United States. A definition of the field is provided and the major features of the definition are identified. A rational for using instructional design and technology as the label for the field is also presented. Events in the history of instructional media, from the early 1900s to the present day, are described. The birth of school museums, the visual and audiovisual instruction movements, the use of media during World War II, and the interest in instructional television, computers, and the Internet are among the topics discussed. The article concludes with a summarization of the effects media have had on instructional practices, and a prediction regarding the effect computers, the Internet, and other digital media will have on such practices over the next decade.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, C. (1962). Technology in American education: 1650–1900 (Report No. OE-34018). Washington, DC: Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Anderson, R.E., & Ronnkvist, A. (1999).The presence of computers in American schools: Teaching, learning and computing: 1998 national survey (Report #2). Irvine, CA: Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 430 548).
Atkinson, R.C., & Hansen, D.N. (1966). Computer-assisted instruction in initial reading: The Stanford project.Reading Research Quarterly, 2, 5–25.
Bassi, L.J., & Van Buren, M.E. (1999). Sharpening the leading edge.Training and Development, 53(1), 23–33.
Becker, H.J. (1998). Running to catch a moving train: Schools and information technologies.Theory into Practice, 37(1), 20–30.
Berlo, D.K. (1963). “You are in the people business.”Audiovisual Instruction, 8, 372–381.
Blakely, R.J. (1979).To serve the public interest: Educational broadcasting in the United States. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
Carnegie Commission on Educational Television (1967).Public television: A program for action. New York: Harper & Row.
Carpenter, C.R., & Greenhill, L.P. (1956).Instructional film research reports: Vol. 2 (Technical Report No. 269-7-61). Port Washington, NY: U.S. Navy Special Devices Center.
Carr, S. (2000, August 18). Army bombshell rocks distance education.The Chronicle of Higher Education, 46,
Center for Social Organization of Schools (1983). School uses of microcomputers: Reports from a national survey (Issue no. 1). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University, Center for Social Organization of Schools.
Clark, R.E. (1983). Reconsidering research on learning from media.Review of Educational Research, 53, 445–459.
Clark, R.E. (1994). Media will never influence learning.Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 21–29.
Commission on Instructional Technology (1970).To improve learning: An evaluation of instructional technology (Vol. 1), New York: Rowker.
Cuban, L. (1986).Teachers and machines: The classroom use of technology since 1920. New York: Teachers College Press.
Dale, E. (1946).Audio-visual methods in teaching (1st ed.) New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Dale, E. (1953), What does it mean to communicate?AV Communication Review, 1, 3–5.
Ely, D.P. (Ed.) (1963). The changing role of the audiovisual process in education: A definition and glossary of related terms.AV Communication Review,11(1).
Ely, D.P. (1970). Toward a philosophy of instructional technology.British Journal of Educational Technology, 1(2), 81–94.
Finn, J.D. (1954). Direction in AV communication research.AV Communication Review, 2, 83–102.
Finn, J.D. (1972). The emerging technology of education In R.J. McBeath (Ed.),Extending education through technology: Selected writings by James D. Finn. Washington, DC: Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
Gordon, G.N. (1970).Classroom television: New frontiers in ITV, New York: Hastings House.
Gumpert, G. (1967). Closed-circuit television in training and education. In A.E. Koenig & R.B. Hill (Eds.),The farther vision: Educational television today, Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Hawkridge, D. (1999). Cost-effective support for university students via the Web?Association for Learning Technology Journal, 6(3), 24–29.
Heinich, R. (1970) Technology and the management of instruction (Association for Educational Communication and Technology Monograph No. 4), Washington, DC: Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, J.D. & Smaldino (1999).Instructional media and technologies for learning (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Hezel, R.T. (1980). Public broadcasting: Can it teach?Journal of Communication, 30, 173–178.
Hoban, C.F., Sr., Hoban, C.F., Jr., & Zissman, S.B. (1937).Visualizing the curriculum. New York: Dryden.
Industry Report 1999 (1999).Training,36(10), 37–81.
Kozma, R.B. (1991). Learning with media.Review of Educational Research, 61(2), 179–212.
Kozma, R.B. (1994). Will media influence learning: Reframing the debate.Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 7–19.
Levie, W.H., & Dickie, K.E. (1973). The analysis and application of media. In R.M.W. Travers (Ed.)Second handbook of research on teaching. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Lewis, B.N., & Pask, G. (1965). The theory and practice of adaptive teaching systems. In R. Glaser (Ed.),Teaching machines and programmed learning II: Data and directions. Washington, DC: National Education Association.
Lewis, L., Snow, K., Farris, E., Levin, D. & Greene, B. (1999).Distance education at postsecondary institutions: 1997–98 (NCES 2000-013), Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
Lumsdaine, A.A. (Ed.) (1961).Student response in programmed instruction. Washington, DC: National Academy of Science-National Research Council.
Lumsdaine, A.A. (1963). Instruments and media of instruction. In N.L. Gage (Ed.),Handbook of research on teaching. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Lumsdaine, A.A. (1964). Educational technology, programmed learning, and instructional science. In E.R. Hilgard (Ed.),Theories of learning and instruction: The sixty-third year book of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
May, M. A., & Lumsdaine, A. A. (1958).Learning from films. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
McCluskey, F.D. (1981). DVI, DAVI, AECT: A long view. In J.W. Brown & S.N. Brown (Eds.),Educational media yearbook: 1981, Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Meierhenry, W.C. (1980). Instructional theory: From behaviorism to humanism to synergism.Instructional Innovator, 25(1), 16–18.
Moore, M.G. (1989, April). Three modes of interaction. InIssues in instructional interactivity. Forum conducted at the meeting of the National University Continuing Education Association, Salt Lake City, UT.
Morgan, J.E. (1932). Introduction. In B.H. Darrow,Radio: The assistant teacher. Columbus, OH: R.H. Adams.
Office of Technology Assessment (1995).Teachers & technology: making the connection, Washington, DC: Office of Technology Assessment
Olsen, J.R., & Bass, V. B. (1982). The application of performance technology in the military: 1960–1980.Performance and Instruction, 21(6), 32–36.
Pagliaro, L.A. (1983). The history and development of CAI: 1926–1981, an overview.Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 29(1), 75–84.
Papert, S. (1984). New theories for new learnings.School Psychology Review, 13(4), 422–428.
Pask, G. (1960). Electronic keyboard teaching machines. In A.A. Lumsdaine & R. Glaser (Eds.),Teaching machines and programmed learning: A source book. Washington, DC: National Education Association.
Reiser, R.A. (1987). Instructional technology: A history. In R.M. Gagné (Ed.), Instructional technology: Foundations. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Reiser, R.A. (in press). What field did you say you were in? Defining and naming our field. In R.A. Reiser & J.V. Dempsey (Eds.),Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
Reiser, R.A., & Dempsey, J.V. (in press).Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
Reiser, R.A., & Ely, D.P. (1997). The field of educational technology as reflected through its definitions.Educational Technology Research and Development, 45(3), 63–72.
Reiser, R.A., & Gagné, R.M. (1983).Selecting media for instruction, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology.
Rossett, A., & Donello, J.F. (1999)Knowledge management for training professionals (Online). Available: http://defcon.sdsu.edu/3/objects/km/ (2000, November 3).
Saettler, P. (1968).A history of instructional technology. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Saettler, P. (1990).The evolution of American educational technology, Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Schramm, W. (1977).Big media, little media. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Seels, B.B., & Richey, R.C. (1994).Instructional technology: The definition and domains of the field, Washington, DC: Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
Shannon, C.E., & Weaver, W. (1949).The mathematical theory of communication, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Silber, K.H. (1981). Some implications of the history of educational technology: We’re all in this together. In J.W. Brown & S.N. Brown (Eds.),Educational media yearbook: 1981, Littleton, CO, Libraries Unlimited.
Stevens, G.H., & Stevens, E.F. (1995).Designing electronic performance support tools. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology.
Stolorow, L.M., & Davis, D. (1965). Teaching machines and computer-assisted systems. In R. Glaser (Ed.),Teaching machines and programmed learning, II: Data and directions, Washington, DC: National Education Association.
Suppes, P., & Macken, E. (1978). The historical path from research and development to operational use of CAI.Educational Technology, 18(4), 9–12.
Taylor, B.J. (1967). The development of instructional television. In A.E. Koenig & R.B. Hill (Eds.),The farther vision: Educational television today. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Tyler, R.W. (1975). Have educational reforms since 1950 created quality education?Viewpoints, 51(2), 35–57.
Visual Education. (1908). Meadville, PA: Keystone View Co.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Portions of this article are from a chapter that will appear inTrends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (Reiser & Dempsey, in press). Some segments of the article previously appeared in a book chapter by Reiser (1987).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reiser, R.A. A history of instructional design and technology: Part I: A history of instructional media. ETR&D 49, 53–64 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504506
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504506