Jacob Brown IP&T 520 Dr.

West Brief Synopsis of the Field

To better understand contemporary instructional design, we should study the foundation

on which it is built. Chapter 3 gives the history of instructional media and design, respectively.
Instructional media, the physical means via which instruction is presented to learners
(Reiser & Gagn, 1983), started with school museums, the first of which in 1095 St. Louis; these
were meant as a supplement to teacher-guided instruction, rather than a replacement. Next, with
the advent of motion picture projector, Edison predicted a huge change in schools through the
use of instructional films. The world embraced these technologies more slowly than Edison, and
innovations like radio did little to help it along, but, the instructional industry grew with the help
of organizations like the DVI (now AECT) and literature like Visualizing the Curriculum. World
War II stifled educational growth, but also used audiovisual developments (e.g., training films,
video projectors, and simulators) to train soldiers and industry workers.
In the 1950s, television was the next big instructional medium, boosted by channels
dedicated to education and driven by the Ford Foundation, though instructional television
gradually shifted to public television in the 1960s after interest dwindled. Computers received
a warm welcome, though their utility in early years was far from spectacular; it appeared that the
industry had seen another promising technology bust. However, in the last decade, computers
have proven to be incredible instructional tools, especially with the Internet and other digital
technology. Other recent tools like social media have assisted educators in higher technology in
their research projects, and online instruction and corporate training is increasing dramatically.
Our access to computers and to the internet has expanded exponentially in recent years, and with
it the potential for using more advanced instructional tools (e.g., conducting research, working in
groups, developing multimedia presentations, etc.). The reason for this increase, at least in the
military and corporations, is to cut down on expensive training costs. The trends of expectation

Jacob Brown IP&T 520 Dr. West Brief Synopsis of the Field

and let-down of new media is relatively constant, but, with computers at least, it remains to be
seen if this revolution is finished, or just beginning.
Meanwhile, instructional design methods have seen similar developments. WWII was an
important time for the development of both instructional media and design, with the militarys
demands bringing researchers like Gagn, Briggs, and Flanagan to work on soldier training
materials. Better training meant better soldiers and, ultimately, a war won; that in mind, these
researchers sought to improve testing and training with activities like pre-training screenings.
After the war, Skinner catalyzed a small revolution with programmed instructional
materials (i.e., step-wise, objective-based instruction) and reinforcement theory. Soon, the
identification of behavioral objectives was the new fad, led by Mager and Tyler, followed by
criterion-referenced measures, and later, Gagns five domains of learning, with their associated
teaching activities. Gagns hierarchical task learning was also influential, as was Sputnik,
because of the USAs reaction to its launch by instituting a math and science overhaul (and,
attached to it, a learning material overhaul) nationwide. In the 1970s, instructional improvement
became popular from universities to corporations, and in the 1980s and 1990s that only
continued with cognitive psychology research application and the increasing use of computers.
Today, we are delving into computers and new media and determining new ways to use them.
We see a pattern: new discoveries lead to an emphasis on that thing for a while, until the
next one comes along. This will only continue as new media and methods are developed for
improving instruction. So, my responsibility as an instructional designer is to keep track of new
media and methods and to use them to foster better instruction however I can. I use these in
corporate training, especially in online classrooms, and I want to learn to make interactive
learning fun and inexpensive.