HISTORY OF IT

The field of Instructional Technology is constantly evolving. In the beginning of the twentieth century, IT was used to describe instructional media. At that time media was visual technological devices such as film, lantern slides pictures, etc. However, between the 1920s - 1940s there was a shift from visual to audio. Sound recordings, radio, and film with sound took over the IT sphere. Then instructional technology evolved to include television.

The 1960s sparked a change in the view of IT. Instead of only viewing devices as a part of IT, instructional technology was now being viewed as a process. This process included planning, managing and designing. In 1970 the Commission on Instructional Technology had two definitions in their "To Improve Learning," (Rieser, 2012, p. 4). The first definition included the original definition stating that IT is the use of media for aid in traditional instruction. However, the second definition went beyond media and address the process of "designing, carrying out and evaluating" instruction with objectives (p. 4).

In the 1990s, IT had changed and was more than just media and a process of design. Now, learning theories were being incorporated into IT. Also, distance learning was a new development within the field.

Educational technology is the latest term by the Association of Educational Communication Technology and brings ethics and "improving performance" and "managing technological processes..." as part of the definition (p. 6). One thing is for certain about instructional technology, it will continue to evolve and the meaning will evolve with it.