Forest kindergartens are a new idea in the United States but have been around in Germany, Norway, and other European countries for decades. Forest "kindergartens" are preschools for children ages 3-6 and focus on being outdoors and learning through interacting with nature. Instead of building with blocks or doing puzzles at a table…

Provides background on telecommunications in the nineteenth century and discusses briefly the organization of telephone networks, including the arguments for and against monopolies. Some fundamentals of telecommunications transmission, particularly wideband services, are presented, and the process of speech digitization is described. (three…

Selected are three pioneers who invented the history of technology: Abbott P. Usher, Lewis Mumford, and Sigfried Giedion. Their careers, publications, and contributions to the history of technology are described. (YP)

Recounts the contributions of Robert Goddard from the years of 1911 to 1930 to the development of the physics of rocketry. Discusses the results of Goddard's series of rocket experiments endorsed by the Smithsonian Institute, and Goddard's claims to priority in the development of rocket theory. (MDH)

Four major elements of airplanes had to be developed in order to achieve flight. The critical design mix of lift, propulsion, control, and structure was achieved through the work of many pioneers. (SK)

Reprints five articles originally published between 1933 and 1983 showing that the library field was ready to use technology: "People and Machines: Changing Relationships?" (S. Michael Malinconico); "Guilds or Technocracy?" (Margery C. Quigley); "The Librarian and the Machine" (Jesse H. Shera); "From the…

States that questions about the role of the teacher, the function of the computer, as well of the nature of pupils' learning when using IT (information technology) are now better understood than 15 years ago. Shows how publications from the National Association for the Teaching of English (Great Britain) reflect the emergence of the field of…

Considers the importance of having an historical understanding or perspective of the profession of educational technology. Discusses ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson, including knowing the person and knowing the work (as a contemporary) and knowing a person from his or her work, as an introduction to essays on James Finn. (LRW)

Presents a historical overview of correspondence education. Notes that a great influx of immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries increased the demand for distributed learning (among a primarily urban population), and that a similar trend is observable at the end of the 20th century. Briefly compares effects of online technology with…

Traces the evolution of the theoretical foundations of the field of educational technology through the literature published between 1970 and the present. Thirty-three references are listed. (LLS)

Analyzes the historical context of the emergence of hypertext. Questions the permanence of values based upon centuries of written culture. (PA)

Identifies scholars and practitioners who are key contributors to the field of performance improvement and are members of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). Describes the concept of human performance technology, and discusses the late Dr. Thomas F. Gilbert's concept of performance and his help with founding ISPI and…

Instructional Technology (IT), as a discipline, is young and still evolving. However, an IT program that reaches the age of 50 is considered by most to be old. The IT program at Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan) has achieved this status. Its history reflects not only the history of the University and the College of Education, but even…

Discusses the interactions between technology and research in mathematics education, including computer-assisted instruction, role of technology in learning, use of computer environments to study students' mathematical concept formation, research methodologies, interactive technologies, and lack of technology-related research in the "Journal…

A theoretical foundation for a proposed discipline of development information science is discussed. Topics covered include an overview of theories in all disciplines, perceptions of information science theory in the Western world, domains and models in development information science, related disciplines, and the relevance of information…