The History of Technology and Education

Technology has intersected with education throughout human history. One prominent dimension has entailed various devices and tools for learning, such as illustrated texts, film, radio, television, computers, mobile technologies, and social media. A second dimension has entailed technologies of instruction pertaining to the design and utilization of messages that influence learning. Despite unlimited possibilities for inquiry, few historians have investigated this multifaceted field. Furthermore most historical studies of educational technology have ignored how technologies in different historical moments impacted particular groups of children and adults. Explicit considerations of race, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status have largely been lacking. Opportunities abound for historians to identify and examine the broader societal contexts that encouraged or inhibited the development and implementation of new educational technologies and to explore how these dynamics mitigated, perpetuated, or exacerbated enduring problems in education.