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OVERVIEW >> TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
THEN & NOW
Advanced Education The Ever-Changing and Vital Role of Technology in Education W RIT TE N BY C A MERON COBB
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ave you ever wondered what the first teaching tools were? Or how school notebooks quickly evolved into iPads? Also, what’s a hornbook? Let’s explore the past, present and future of technology and its relationship with education (but don’t worry – there won’t be a quiz at the end!).
THE THEN
Did you know that some of the earliest methods of teaching were self-directed? Children relied on exploration and play in order to learn about both themselves and the world, according to psychologytoday.com. However, simply playing didn’t teach children how to cross multiply or what the powerhouse of a cell is. So what was it that children needed to know back then? In the beginning, learning was much more primitive in nature, with a focus on knowing how to hunt and gather. Human education focused on the surrounding plants and animals (AKA sources of food) and other aspects about their environments. People also had to be creative when it came to making tools, locating food and hunting itself. 50 |
OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
September/October 2019
Example of a Hornbook used in the 1600s for education.