A Net Benefit: How Schools Adopted the Web

Technology’s role in education has come a long way in the past 25+ years. No longer are the days a 4th grade class, walks in a single-file line, to their one-hour weekly ‘computer special’. Today, technology is woven into the very fabric of the education system both at elementary and higher-education levels. Additionally, technology now plays a vital role in the workplace as many companies are investing in online training courses over more traditional, in-person training sessions.

For the purpose of this article, we’re largely referring to the most significant technological advancement of modern time, the internet. In the words of Eric Schmidt, “the internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand – the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.” Ergo, the internet is continually evolving as new objectives and goals come to light, propelling the “experiment” onward.

To illustrate the benefits that the web has had on education and business, we’ve established a timeline of monumental events and historical milestones.

• 1975 – Introduction of the first personal computer
• 1975 – Ohio State University developed the first large-scale online catalog
• 1990 – Establishment of IP-based videoconferencing
• 1991 – First interactive whiteboard created
• 1994 – Only 3% of K-12 schools in the U.S. have computers
• 1995 – Internet and the World Wide Web gain popularity in classrooms and businesses
• 1996 – Jones International University was established as the first fully-accredited online university
• 1996 – Approximately 3.5 million students participate in online learning at higher education institutes
• 1997 – Florida Virtual School (FLVS) was founded, the first statewide, web-based high school
• 2003 – The launch of Skype made free, worldwide telecommunication possible for anyone with an internet connection
• 2007 – iTunes U is born as a dedicated section of iTunes that houses free educational content such as lectures, language lessons, lab demonstrations, etc.
• 2010 – One-third of school libraries now offer e-books to students
• 2011 – All U.S. schools have access to the internet
• 2012 – The US Department of State, the Federal Trade Commission (FCC), and independent tech organizations nationwide, launch a downloadable “Digital Textbook Playbook” to facilitate online learning in K-12 schools
• 2013 – The Los Angeles Unified School District approved a $1 billion proposal to purchase 655,000 iPads for all K-12 students in the district

From the above, we can see that the advent of the internet has been an integral part of the classroom and workplace evolution. From online catalog advancements and e-learning options to e-book alternatives and advanced videoconferencing capabilities, technology is firmly rooted in our daily lives, in spite of age. However, as the saying goes, “respect your parents; they graduated without Google or Wikipedia.”

Resources:
http://www.pewresearch.org/
http://tablets-textbooks.procon.org/