While I was studying the timeline, I wondered how the creators of the timeline would define a learning technology and if all these entries would fit into this definition. What comes to mind is the project from class where we had to decide which pieces of information represented writing? To answer a question like this, you must first give a definition of what a learning technology actually is. A learning technology is something that helps in the process of learning. Well, what is learning? To me, learning is the process of obtaining and understanding information. When you understand a new piece of information, then I would say that this is learning. I will use the practical definition for a learning technology of something that aids in the process of obtaining and information. This definition will be used to critique some of the entries on the learning technologies timeline.
Does this timeline outline every learning technology ever invented? The easy answer is no, but it does do a great job of creating entries for technologies that many people donÕt consider to be learning technologies. To begin with, at 4000 B.C., the second entry on the timeline, the Egyptians invented the first paper like substance. This fits into my definition of a learning technology because it aids in learning when there is a message conveyed on the paper, but I have never really thought of paper as a learning technology. You just take it for granted and really donÕt understand its true worth, especially since it has captured so many important documents all throughout history. Another interesting entry I discovered was the origin of the term Òcomputer bug.Ó You wouldnÕt think that the invention of a word would be a learning technology, but as the author of this entry states about the creation of the term, ÒI think knowing this is important because it shows how our language continues to change to reflect our world.Ó Entries such as these are not really thought of as information technologies, but in fact, they can be characterized as such because people learned from both of them.
Another interesting aspect of the timeline is the general trends that are apparent throughout. The first entries all pertain to writing and writing instruments such as the creation of graphite, the creation of paper, the first novel published, and languages being developed. Then starting around the 1870Õs begins what I would call the electric age where machines, the lightbulb, the telephone, radio, and video all are created. This is the start of the industrial revolution and all these inventions make the revolution possible. This age continues until around the 1960Õs and computers and computer equipment really becomes invented. From copy machines to microprocessors to graphical user interface, all these inventions laid the groundwork for the computing revolution where computers have become extremely mainstream. This age is still going on today, with no end in sight. The most interesting part of the timeline is what people thought of to be invented next. There really is no pattern to this, but it is all becoming wireless technology that is bound to take over our lives. Each pattern lays the groundwork for what is to come. Without the first part being created, there could not have been any future inventions. I thought it was interesting to see the different stages throughout the timeline.
Overall, I thought the timeline was an extremely extensive list of information technologies which has shaped the world we live in today. These technologies that were invented allow us to write on our computers and post our assignments on the internet. It is amazing how technology has shaped all our lives and how it will continue to shape our lives if these trends continue to occur. It will be interesting to see a timeline in another 50 years and find out how accurate some peopleÕs guesses actually were.
page last updated: Spring, 2002