"Horizontal History" Timeline
Context
In R511, a class on instructional foundations that I took in the fall of 2020, we were asked to create a digital poster and presentation on a topic from our readings. I had been struck by Amy Bradshaw’s 2018 article “Reconsidering the Instructional Design and Technology Timeline Through a Lens of Social Justice" explaining how the history of our field is often told through a very specific lens that neglects to take into account what was going on in the world at large as the discipline emerged. Inspired by Tim Urban’s concept of Horizontal History, I decided to create a timeline of concurrent events in social justice, learning theories, technology, design, global events, and more.
Summary
The timeline I created begins around the turn of the 20th century and extends to what was the present day at the time—2020. It aggregates events and notable periods in the history of educational technology, learning theory, instructional design, world events, social justice, design, and critical pedagogy. Looking at everything all together and how it all overlaps provides some interesting insights into why things developed the way they did.
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As part of the project, I also created a video presentation describing the timeline and some of the points I found interesting. The Zoom recording was deleted when I left my former employer (I had recorded it on my corporate account). But I still have the script I used to narrate the video, which you can download below in addition to the timeline itself.
Reflection
As a leader, it's important to have an advanced and nuanced understanding of the field in which you work, along with its history and different perspectives on that history. Putting this timeline together gave me a much more multi-dimensional understanding of what has happened in educational technology, learning theory, and instructional design and why certain developments unfolded as they did. It also opened my eyes to looking around me today and understanding how global events and developments in other fields may be impacting the present and future of learning.
Key Takeaways
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Knowledge of field: Creating this timeline expanded my awareness of key events in relevant fields.
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Analysis of context: Creating this timeline sharpened my skills for evaluating specific developments in our field in context of what was going on in the world around them.
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Visual communication: Creating this timeline let me practice telling a complex story visually.