Teaching Machines

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The origins of educational technology trace back to the twentieth century, long before the advent of internet videos. Audrey Watters explores this history, highlighting early teaching machines like Sidney Pressey's mechanized test-giver and B. F. Skinner's behaviorist devices. These innovations aimed to facilitate individualized instruction and self-paced learning, concepts that later influenced textbook publishers and advocates for computerized education. Watters emphasizes the significant role of media—newspapers, magazines, television, and film—in shaping public perceptions of these teaching machines and the psychological theories that supported them. She contextualizes these developments within broader education reforms, the political impact of Sputnik, and the emergence of the testing and textbook industries. The narrative also covers Skinner's efforts to market his teaching machines, including the notable Didak 101, designed to teach spelling. Alternate names proposed by Skinner, such as Autodidak and Instructomat, reflect his innovative vision. Through these cautionary tales, Watters critiques the prevailing notion that computerized education is an inevitable outcome of technological advancement, challenging the belief that progress in technology is the primary force driving educational change.