The Most Important Technology in the last One Hundred Years

The use of film in the classroom created the greatest impact on education in the United States.  Film enabled teachers to draw change their approach in teaching.  In the 19^th century, teaching was resigned to remote memorization and authoritative teaching.  Students were punished if they spoke out of place and misbehaved.  Education was seen more as a prison than a place of mental growth.  The film technology opened up new possibilities in the classrooms.  Teachers were able to visually represent pictures to prove points and take the classes attention away from the teacher.  In the mock interview with Grace Dubois, Vanessa Domine writes: “Grandma says that only a few teachers actually used the films, and even then just to appease the efficiency-hungry supervisors. I think the students were probably awed by the new technology, but watching films did not necessarily help them learn  the subject matter better or faster than using traditional methods” (42).  While Dubois doesn’t feel that the technology is that helpful, it did change students perspectives about the classroom. 

The film enabled students to find visual representations of things they were learning which enhanced their experience.  Dubois also states: “The goal at the time was to boost productivity and efficiency through the  use of film, but Grandma Bessie told me that when she  retired from teaching in 1931 she had not yet seen any real innovation in teaching as a result of using film in the elementary school classroom” (Domaine 42).  Domaine argues that the technology increased productivity and efficiency of education, which it did.  It really changed the learning world and is still used today.