There are many interesting concepts considered and introduced in this timeline. The early technologies mentioned such as hieroglyphics, the Rosetta stone, and writing itself are overall representative of what we consider the great early breakthroughs in technology.
Even though I was impressed with the content, I think that some of the items included were not as important as some of the items that were not listed. The stethoscope, for example, was in fact a breakthrough as far as medical developments, but you can argue that its reach is almost limited to medical achievements. Also, I think that the slinky was a bit ridiculous and diminished some of the seriousness of the study. I almost feel that the yoyo would have been a better example.
I think that the advances in transportation and the discovery of the Americas definitely had a strong effect on learning and were worth noting. The ability to communicate with other cultures and travel to different countries has greatly expanded our horizons, and taught us many things about each other. The conquest of the Americas changed our concept of the world, and improved our knowledge of many fields such as geography, astronomy, biology etc. The conquest introduced a wide array of ethnicities and possibilities of growth and expansion. This sole event has created and enriched new countries, customs and cultures. Moreover, the breakthroughs in transportation and communication including the invention of the car, the airplane and the railroads, have all made the world a smaller place and have allowed us to have direct contact with each other. The accessibility of travel has transformed our thinking to a more global perspective. Presently, the elementary education system is attempting to reflect the way we now see the world.
Overall, the outline provides a concise picture of historical learning tools. The links were very helpful and allowed the reader to have a better understanding of why the designer chose to include particular items. This made the designers argument stronger and mostly well supported by facts. As far as the foreseen technologies of the designer, I think that some are a bit far-fetched and humorous, especially the one about the death of the last reader. Even so, the use of virtual reality seems like a logical next step in technology. At this point in time, it is hard to assess exactly where our inventions will take us. But, overall, the timeline is a good source of past accomplishments and outlines some of the predictions for the future.