Learning Tools – From Physical to Digital Classrooms

Classrooms have evolved from simple congregations of people passing on knowledge like farming and fishing to students learning through their iPads in the comfort of their homes. Over the past few years, the exponential growth of education has been staggering. In 1925, Thomas Edison said that “books will soon be obsolete in schools. Scholars will soon be instructed through the eye.” This is exactly what is happening today with the online teaching revolution.
The educational technology is moving at a very fast phase, which makes it easy to forget that sometime ago CDs were the trend and OHPs (overhead projectors) were the main source of classroom lectures. As physical textbooks are being replaced by digital counterparts and traditional teaching methods are slowly making way for online learning, the concept of the classroom is undergoing metamorphosis.
Prior to the 1800s, each student used individual slate boards for classroom activities. The introduction of the chalkboard in the early 1800s made slate boards obsolete. This will go on for the rest of the century until the pencil is introduced in the classroom environment. They became wide spread and mass produced making it more accessible for students. By the end of the 19^th century, 240,000 pencils are used in the United States each day.
Come 19^th century, technological breakthroughs in the classroom are getting more frequent. In 1925, wireless learning was used, the radio. Classrooms and various major cities establish radio instruction on various subjects. Overhead projectors came 2 decades later for training soldiers. Despite being used in the 1940s, these are still used today in various schools worldwide. After 10 years, the proliferation of the television in the early 1960s made it possible for teaching to be transmitted though the said medium. This era has mainly focused in audio and visual enhancements.
IBM introduced the first personal computer in the 1980s. 5 years later, Sony developed the standard CD-ROM that is commonly used to supplement classroom textbooks. The internet is only introduced for public consumption in 1993. By 2002, 99% of public schools in America have internet access and 80% of the said schools have begun training teachers to better integrate technology into their classrooms. The first fully online university is launched in 1996, making distance learning easily available to everyone worldwide.
Come 2010, more than 80% of college professors are using social media as a teaching tool. Ipads, tablets, laptops and mobile phones became an integral part of learning in 2011 according to 73% of students stating that they won’t be able to study without them.
It is very fortunate that we experience these advancements in our era. Almost everything is available online with a simple Google search. If you want to learn to cook, you can go online and search for recipes and videos. No need to ask someone that knows the dish you are preparing for personal advice. If you prefer to learn programming at the comfort of your own home, it is completely viable with the myriad of online schools available. The tools in teaching have evolved for the benefit of all and are still currently progressing to make learning to everyone worldwide.
ACP is in the forefront of revolutionizing technological tools in the education sector. Our LMS and Moodle services are an indication to our commitment in learning. Click here to know more about our services.