Index

"It is a widely accepted fact that, on the average, an educational innovation takes fifty years to trickle down to the mass of schools and colleges."
(Murphy and Gross, 1966)

Welcome!

This timeline tracks instructional film, radio, and television through their symbiotic evolution, focusing on their use in kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) classrooms.

The timeline examines both twentieth century theory and twentieth century practice. It should not be inferred that theoretical developments immediately (if ever) informed practice.

"Instructional practice in American education … swims in a sea of popular traditional practices of teaching and learning. … [Thus,] the features that promise the greatest intellectual gains may make the smallest instructional headway."
(Cohen, 1988, p. 246)

The timeline also follows significant trends in broadcasting and education generally, focusing on these trends as the context in which educational film, radio, and television have been developed, studied, and used.

"The study of American educational history clearly documents how difficult it is to effect the adoption and use of new technologies and instructional methods in the classroom."
(Saettler, 1990, p. 467.)

Although our original intent was to focus on instructional television only, it soon became clear to us that classroom use of ITV first occurred in the way it did because its users and promoters were following patterns established by earlier uses of classroom film and radio.

Instructional film was promoted by its most enthusiastic boosters as the technological innovation that would revolutionize education. As, later, was radio. As, later still, was television. As, today, are computers. We believe that even the closest readers of this timeline will find little in the way of actual revolution herein. However, a degree of transformation has occurred.

We hope that you will enjoy following its path.

1800's 1900's 1910's 1920's 1930's 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990's

Introduction

cite as: Miller, Mary and Teresa Cruce. A 20th Century Timeline: Classroom Use of Instructional Film, Radio, and Television. //http://www.arches.uga.edu/~mlmiller/timeline/introduction [date viewed]

Last update: August 26, 2005
Comments to: Mary Miller mlmiller@uga.edu
Created by Mary Miller and Teresa Cruce
for Dr. Thomas Reeves' UGA class EDIT 6100, spring 2002
URL=http://www.arches.uga.edu/~mlmiller/timeline/timelineintro.html