1700-1899
Toffler’s
Three Waves
Toffler's First
Wave began
approx 10,000
years ago - the
end of the Old
Stone Age (the
Paleolithic)and
the beginning of
the New Stone
Age or the
Neolithic. This
is approx when
the Agricultural
Revolution
started clearing &
tilling land and
domesticating
animals and
herding of
cattle. (Waves
of the Future)
http://www.time
toast.com/timeli
nes/33536
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Toffler's 2nd Wave was the Industrial Revolution - from
the late 18th to the early 20th century and brought with it
mechanization as well as new production techniques
such as the assembly line. During that period, the scale
of manufacturing activity dramatically increased, giving
rise to what we call today, mass production. (Waves of
the Future)
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/33
536
Toffler's 3rd Wave is the Information Age. 1950-2005. It arose as a result of advances in computer
technology and the advent of the internet. We all have a pretty good idea of what this is about. In
1980 when he published his book, The Third Wave, computers were for the most part bulky
mainframe units. (Waves of the Future)
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/33536
2011
Key
Technological
Advances
The Wright
brothers
developed the
first effective
airplane, and
made the
historic first
airplane flight
in 1903. (The
Wright
brothers)
www.wrighthouse.com/wrig
htbrothers/Wright
s.html
The first truly
synthetic plastic
was invented by
Leo Baekeland
in 1905.
(History
Learning
Site)www.histor
ylearningsite.co
.uk/plastic.htm
American
electrical
engineer and
mathematician
Charles
Steinmetz
publishes
Future of
Electricity,
warning that
industry and
technology can
create air and
water pollution.
In addition,
Steinmetz sees
the potential of
electricity to
revolutionize
the home, work,
and
transportation.
(Important
Events in
Science)
www.enotes.co
m/1910sciencetechnologyamericandecades/importa
nt-eventssciencetechnology
In December,
the number of
telephones in
the United
States exceeds
seven million.
(Important
Events in
Science)www.e
notes.com/1910
-sciencetechnologyamericandecades/importa
nt-eventssciencetechnology
Garrett A.
Morgan invents
a traffic signal.
(Social Studies
for
Kids)www.soci
alstudiesforkids.
com/articles/ush
istory/garrettmo
rgan.htm
The television
or iconoscope
(cathode-ray
tube) invented
by Vladimir
Kosma
Zworykin.
(Science
World)http://sci
enceworld.wolfr
am.com/biograp
hy/Zworykin.ht
ml
Henry Ford
builds first V-8
car. (The Henry
Ford)
www.hfmgv.or
g/exhibits/hf/ch
rono.asp
The Oliver
company
refined its "Row
Crop" tractor
with two small
drive wheels in
front spaced
closely
together.
(Living History
Farm)
www.livinghist
oryfarm.org/far
minginthe30s/m
achines_03.html
The first
commercial
mobile phones
were installed
(1946 in St.
Louis).
(Telephone
History)
www.telephony
museum.com/H
istory%201940today.htm
The jet engine
was invented in
1940.
(American
History)
americanhistory
.si.edu/onthemo
ve/themes/story
_50_1.html
In the 1950s,
two devices
would be
invented which
would improve
the computer
field and cause
the beginning of
the computer
revolution. The
first of these
two devices was
the transistor.
Invented
in 1947 by
William
Shockley, John
Bardeen, and
Walter Brattain
of Bell Labs,
the transistor
was fated to
oust the days of
vacuum tubes in
computers,
radios, and
other
electronics.
(Science World)
www.sciencewo
rld.wolfram.co
m/biography/Z
worykin.html
IBM announces
the IBM 650
Magnetic Drum
Calculator, an
intermediate
size electronic
computer, to
handle widely
diversified
accounting and
scientific
computations.
http://www03.ibm.com/ib
m/history/histor
y/year_1953.ht
ml
On January 12,
General Electric
introduces a
thermoplastic
tape capable of
recording video
and audio
signals
simultaneously.
(Important
Events in
Science)
www.enotes.co
m/1910sciencetechnologyamericandecades/importa
nt-eventssciencetechnology
On January 23,
the bathyscaphe
Trieste plunges
to the deepest
part of Pacific
Ocean, almost
seven miles
deep.
(Important
Events in
Science)www.e
notes.com/1910
-sciencetechnologyamericandecades/importa
nt-eventssciencetechnology
1970 Robert
Jarvik, Ph.D.
designs the
Jarvik series of
artificial hearts.
(Chronology of
Medical/Techno
logical
Advances)
http://perfline.c
om/textbook/loc
al/mvinas_chro
nol.htm
1975
Introduction of
computerized
axial
tomography, the
"CAT-scanner."
(Chronology of
Medical/Techno
logical
Advances)
http://perfline.c
om/textbook/loc
al/mvinas_chro
nol.htm
Peterbilt built
the
conventional
tractor, 1984.
This effects
school lunch.
(American
History)
http://americanh
istory.si.edu/ont
hemove/themes/
story_50_1.html
IBM decided to
create a
microcomputer
(up to this date,
IBM produced
only mini and
mainframes).(D
igital
Timeline)http://
teeksaphoto.org
/Archive/Digital
Timeline/Digita
lTimeLineWeb
4.html
In Geneva,
Switzerland,
Tim BernersLee develops a
new technique
for distributing
information on
the Internet,
eventually
called the
World Wide
Web.
Microsoft
launches
Windows* 95
and its browser,
Internet
Explorer*.
(Intel)
http://www.intel
.com/museum/a
rchives/pctimeli
ne.htm
On October 23,
2001 Apple
Computers
publicly
announced their
portable music
digital player
the iPod,
created under
project
codename
Dulcimer.
(History of the
Ipod)
http://www.ipod
history.com/
SixthSense
bridges this gap,
bringing
intangible,
digital
information out
into the tangible
world, and
allowing us to
interact with
this information
via natural hand
gestures.
‘SixthSense’
frees
information
from its
confines by
seamlessly
integrating it
with reality, and
thus making the
entire world
your computer.
(Sixth Sense)
http://www.pran
avmistry.com/pr
ojects/sixthsens
e/
Corporate
Philosophies
1925
1910
Joyce D. Hall
starts a
wholesale
postcard
business in
Kansas City,
Missouri.
http://www.refe
renceforbusines
s.com
1908
Ford Introduces
the Model T
1902
First
conversation by
long distance
underground
cable, 10 miles
- New York to
Newark.
http://www.tele
phonetribute.co
m/timeline.html
1906
W. K. Kellogg
starts the Battle
Creek Toasted
Corn Flake
Company.
http://www.refe
renceforbusines
s.com
http://www.wile
y.com/legacy/pr
oducts/subject/b
usiness/forbes/f
ord.html
International
Ladies Garment
Workers Union
Founded
http://jwa.org/e
ncyclopedia/arti
cle/international
-ladiesgarmentworkers-union
1935
1942
1957
1980
1960
The Chrysler
Corporation is
formed from the
Maxwell Motor
Company
http://www.refe
renceforbusines
s.com
The first DC-3
air
plane flight
occurs on
December 17.
http://www.refe
renceforbusines
s.com
1929
Great Stock
Crash
http://valuestoc
kguide.com/thegreatdepression-thestock-marketcrash-andbeyond/
All Chrysler,
Ford, and
General Motors
plants converts
to military
production.
http://www.refe
renceforbusines
s.com
The first
Japanese car, a
Toyota, is sold
in the United
States.
http://www.refe
renceforbusines
s.com
1939
1948
First Television
Commercial
Broadcast
http://www.clas
sbrain.com/arth
oliday/publish/a
rticle_349.shtml
ECHO I
There are now
communication
1618 telcos and
s satellite is
140 million
launched on 12
phones in the
August.
U.S. Bell
Provides first
companies
satellite
supply 85% of
television
the lines; GTE:
Gold discovered
in California
broadcast of
10%. Smallest
1962.
telco had 19
http://www.colo
ma.com/gold/
BOA launches
first credit card
Laser is
subscribers.
invented.
About this time
http://www.visa
europe.com/en/
about_us/who_
we_are/history.
aspx
http://www.tele
1958
phonetribute.co
m/timeline.html
U.S.
Government
Bails Out
Chrysler
http://www.heri
tage.org/researc
h/reports/1983/
07/the-chryslerbail-out-bust
Ted Turner
starts CNN.
http://www.refe
renceforbusines
s.com
the last manual
telco
switchboard in
Maine is retired.
1980
First use of the
"900" number.
http://www.tele
1969
Children’s
Television
Workshop
broadcast first
episode of
Seseme Street.
http://www.refe
renceforbusines
s.com
1994
2001
1975
phonetribute.co
m/timeline.html
1979
The Three Mile
Island
disaster.So
much for
alternative
energy. Three
Mile Island's
near-meltdown
renders nuclear
energy but a
Simpsons joke,
increasing the
country's
dependence on
oil.
http://www.nrc.
gov/readingrm/doccollections/factsheets/3mileisle.html
http://www.tele
phonetribute.co
m/timeline.html
North American
Free Trade
Agreement
(NAFTA) took
Effect
http://www.fas.
usda.gov/info/fa
ctsheets/NAFT
A.asp
General Electric
becomes the
first fortune 500
company to go
on line.
http://www.refe
renceforbusines
s.com
Amazon post
its first profits.
5.1 million in
the fotth
quarter.
http://www.refe
renceforbusines
s.com
2002
K-Mart
Corporation
files for
bankruptcy
protection.
Educational
Theories
1896
1900
1904
1915
1930
Jean Piaget
introduces the
Child
Development
Theory with its
stages of
development
learning and
cognitive
growth through
neurological
and social
maturation.
http://www.piag
et.org/
John Dewey
wrote my two
favorite pieces
of work, The
Child and the
Curriculum
(1902)
(Experiential
Continuum )
http://experienti
alcontinuum.wo
rdpress.com/
B.F. Skinner
introduces the
Behaviorist
Theory; stating
learning is an
activity that
occurs inside
the mind.
http://bfskinner.
org/BFSkinner/
AboutSkinner.h
tml
Jerome Bruner
initiates
Discovery
Learning; with
a focus on
cognitive
learning
through
interaction with
the
environment.
http://www.infe
d.org/thinkers/b
runer.htm
Ralph Tyler
Places an
emphasis on
curriculum
instruction.
http://elibrary.s
d71.bc.ca/teach
er_resources/pe
dogogical_links
/principles_curr
_instruction.htm
1916
Lev Vugotsky
introduces the
Scaffolding
Theory; stating
cognitive
development is
shaped by
individual
differences and
the influence of
culture.
1913
John B. Watson
delivered a
lecture entitled
"Psychology as
the Behaviorist
at Columbia
University.
Robert Gagne
introduces the
CognitiveBehavioral
Theory, stating
conditions for
learning is
shaped by
providing
optimal
instructional
condition.
http://itls.usu.ed
u/~mimi/course
s/6260/theorists
/Gagne/biograp
h.htm
http://www.mus
kingum.edu/~ps
ych/psycweb/hi
story/watson.ht
m
Nature of
Society based
on Energy
1859
Edwin Drakes
drills for oil.
http://www.pri
web.org/ed/pgw
s/history/pennsy
lvania/pennsylv
1934
1940
Edgar Dale
Introduces the
Cone of
Learning
Theory.
http://teacherwo
rld.com/potdale.
html
1943
Howard
Gardner
introduces the
Multiple
Intelligence
Theories;
stating learning
is shaped by
linguistics
music, logical,
spatial and
kinesthetic.
http://www.indi
ana.edu/~intell/
gardner.shtml
http://www.lear
ningtheories.com/vy
gotskys-sociallearningtheory.html
1950
1959
1970
1977
1990
1998
First computer
used for
instruction.
MIT driven.
http://www.com
puterhistory.org
/timeline/?categ
ory=cmptr
IBM 650
Computer
teaches binary
arithmetic in
NYC.
http://www03.ibm.com/ib
m/history/histor
y/history_intro.
html
Computerassisted
instruction
(CAI) emerges.
http://www.que
stia.com/library/
science-andtechnology/com
puters-and-theinternet/comput
er-assistedinstruction.jsp
First
microcomputers
enter schools.
CAI movement
declines;
computer
literacy
movement
begins.
Integrated
learning
systems (ILSs) .
Schools are
using ILS
networked
systems as a
cost-effective
solution for
instruction to
address required
standards.
International
Society for
Technology in
Education
(ISTE) creates
standards.
http://www.sri.c
om/policy/csted
/reports/sandt/it/
Kulik_ITinK12_Writing_Iss
ueBrief.pdf
Dr. Deborah
Stipek
integrates
theory,
research, and
practical issues
related to
achievement
motivation, and
provides an
overview of
current theories
in the field,
including
reinforcement
theory, intrinsic
motivation, and
cognitive
theories.
1950
Systems Theory
and Systematic
Instructional
Design states
managing the
complexity of
Teaching
Learning is
fostered by
using a system
of instruction
based on
behaviorist
information
processing, and
cognitive
behaviorist
theories.
1960
University time
sharing systems
initiate faculty
and students in
universities
across the
country to use
the mainframe
system.
http://www.cs.u
cla.edu/~kohler/
class/aosref/ritc
hie84evolution.
pdf
Criterion
Referenced
Instruction
emerges.
Robert Mager
http://www.lifec
irclesinc.com/Learnin
gtheories/Mager
.html
http://www.instr
uctionaldesignc
entral.com/htm/
IDC_instruction
aldesigndefiniti
ons.htm
1879
1898
1930
1942
1951
1961
Thomas Edison
creates the first
light bulb.
http://www.tho
masedison.com/
Marie Curie,
Polish discovers
the radioactive
elements
radium and
Nuclear power
discovered.
http://www.darv
ill.clara.net/alte
nerg/nuclear.ht
Manhattan
Project is
formed to
secretly build
the atomic
The first
electricity
producing
breeder reactor
is built by the
President
Kennedy
advises
Americans to
build fallout
Arthur
Luehrmann
coins term
computer
literacy for
skills in
programming
and using
software tools.
http://www.enot
es.com/history/
q-and-a/whoinvented-firstpersonalcomputer288815
1980
1972
OPEC fuel
embargo drives
oil prices up.
1974
1976
The Resource
Conservation
and Recovery
Act is passed to
protect human
health and the
Seymour Papert
Papert in the
sixties when he
talked about
children using
computers as
instruments for
learning and for
enhancing
creativity. The
idea of an
inexpensive
personal
computer was
then science
fiction. But
Papert was
conducting
serious research
in his capacity
as a professor at
MIT.
http://www.pap
ert.org/
1979
Three Mile
Island Nuclear
Power Plant
near Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania
suffers a partial
1994
World Wide
Web (WWW) is
born.
http://www.netv
alley.com/intval
/07262/main.ht
m?sdf=1
http://www.iste.
org/standards.as
px
2011
http://eric.ed.go
v/ERICWebPor
tal/search/detail
mini.jsp?_nfpb=
true&_&ERICE
xtSearch_Searc
hValue_0=ED3
69773&ERICE
xtSearch_Searc
hType_0=no&a
ccno=ED36977
3
1986
Chernobyl
Nuclear Reactor
meltdown and
fire occur in the
Soviet Union.
Massive
2001
President Bush
approves an
energy policy
that looks at
nuclear energy
as a significant
ania.html
polonium.
1875
Coal and oil
power plants
used.
http://www.netl.
doe.gov/keyissu
es/historyofcoal
use.html
http://www.aip.
org/history/curi
e/
m
1938
Otto Hahn and
Fritz Strassman,
German,
demonstrate
nuclear fission.
http://www.che
mheritage.org/d
iscover/chemist
ry-inhistory/themes/
atomic-andnuclearstructure/hahnmeitnerstrassman.aspx
bomb before the
Germans.
http://nuclearwe
aponarchive.org
/Usa/Med/Med.
html
Atomic Energy
Commission.
1946
The Atomic
Energy Act is
passed,
establishing the
Atomic Energy
Commission
(AEC). The
AEC places
further
development of
nuclear
technology
under civilian
(not military)
control.
1954
http://www.ne.d
oe.gov/pdfFiles/
History.pdf
American
Scientist report
silicon solar
collectors.
http://www.time
toast.com/timeli
nes/59738
1900
1910
The Gold
Standard Act is
ratified, placing
the United
States currency
on the gold
standard.
The United
States Bureau
of Mines is
authorized by
an act of the
United States
Congress.
http://americasb
esthistory.com/a
bhtimeline2010.
html
http://americasb
esthistory.com/a
bhtimeline2010.
html
1859
Darwin
publishes The
Origin of
Species.
http://www.liter
ature.org/author
s/darwincharles/theorigin-ofspecies/
1914-1918
World War I
http://www.first
worldwar.com
1917-1921
Russian
Revolution
1935-1936
Italo-Ethiopian
War.
http://www.ic.ar
izona.edu/ic/mc
bride/ws200/me
x-davi.htm
http://depts.was
hington.edu/balt
ic/papers/russia
nrevolution.htm
The 12th
century Aztec
Indian ruins in
New Mexico
are proclaimed
as a National
Monument by
President
Warren G.
Harding,
following in the
footsteps of all
presidents since
Theodore
Roosevelt. It is
known as Aztec
1925
"Monkey Trial"
of John T.
Scopes in
Tennessee after
he teaches
evolution in his
classroom.
http://law2.umk
c.edu/faculty/pr
ojects/ftrials/sco
pes/evolut.htm
environment
from the
potential
hazards of
nuclear waste
disposal.
core meltdown.
http://www.epa.
gov/lawsregs/la
ws/rcra.html
1983
The U.S. looks
into a high-level
nuclear waste
repository
(storage).
1977
The Voyager 2
spacecraft's
electricity is
generated by
the decay of
plutonium
pellets.
1970
http://factsabout-solarenergy.com/sola
r-energyhistory.html
1910-1920
Mexican
Revolution
1923
http://www.hist
ory.com/thisday-inhistory/kennedy
-urgesamericans-tobuild-bombshelters
The Atomic
Energy
Commission is
abolished. The
Nuclear
Regulatory
Commission is
developed
Solar Power
used.
http://www.nrc.
gov/aboutnrc/governinglaws.html
Politics
shelters in case
of a nuclear
war.
http://www.wor
ldnuclear.org/info
/inf36.html
quantities of
radioactive
material are
released. Winds
carry
radioactivity
across western
Europe.
http://www.wor
ldnuclear.org/info
/chernobyl/inf0
7.html
http://www.nirs.
org/factsheets/h
lwfcst.htm
http://voyager.j
pl.nasa.gov/
1939-1945
World War II.
1950-1953
Korean War.
1961-1975
Vietnam War.
http://www.brit
annica.com/EBc
hecked/topic/29
7461/ItaloEthiopian
http://www.wor
ldwar-2.net/
1939
Nazi holocaust
murders Jews,
other minorities
http://www.kore
anwar.org/
http://www.hist
oryplace.com/u
nitedstates/vietn
am/index1969.html
1936-1939
Spanish Civil
War.
1948Israel-Arab
conflicts.
http://www.spar
tacus.schoolnet.
co.uk/SpanishCivil-War.htm
http://www.adl.
org/israel/recor
d/conflicts.asp
1950
Start of Chinese
Communist
attack on
Buddhism.
http://paradigmshift-21stcentury.nl/timel
inebuddhism.htm
1971
India-Pakistan
War.
http://www.mth
olyoke.edu/~nm
onasch/pakistan
india%20confli
ct.html
1979-1989
Afghanistan Soviet
Occupation.
1989
Panama American
invasion.
http://www.pbs.
org/newshour/in
depth_coverage
/asia/afghanista
n/soviet.html
http://revcom.us
/a/017/usinvasionpanama.htm
1980-1988
Iran-Iraq War
http://www.glob
alsecurity.org/m
ilitary/world/wa
r/iran-iraq.htm
1982
Falkland Islands
War.
http://www.nav
alhistory.net/NA
VAL1982FAL
KLANDS.htm
part of
America's
energy.
http://www.ame
ricanprogress.or
g/issues/2010/0
6/oil_timeline.h
tml
2010
A British
Petroleum deep
water oil rig
explodes in the
Gulf of Mexico,
causing the
largest oil spill
in the history of
the United
States, killing
eleven workers,
and devastating
the
envirnoment. It
also severely
damaged the
fishing and
tourism
industries of
gulf states.
http://americasb
esthistory.com/a
bhtimeline2010.
html
2001
America's War
on Terrorism.
http://www.glob
alresearch.ca/gl
obaloutlook/trut
h911.html
2011
1991
Persian Gulf
War.
http://www.pbs.
org/wgbh/pages
/frontline/gulf/
Osama Bin
Laden,
mastermind of
the 9/11, 2001
attacks on the
World Trade
Center, the
Pentagon, and
other locations
and leader of
the terrorist
group, Al
Quada, is killed
after ten years
of pursuit by
United States
and coalition
1899-1902
PhilippineAmerican War
The United
States initially
attacked the
Philippines in
order to destroy
Spain's Asiatic
Squadron and to
hold a
bargaining chip
for eventual
negotiations.
http://www.hist
oryguy.com/Phi
lipineAmerican
war.html
Ruins National
Monument.
http://americasb
esthistory.com/a
bhtimeline2010.
html
forces during a
raid by U.S.
Navy Seals on
his hideout
location in
Pakistan.
http://americasb
esthistory.com/a
bhtimeline2010.
html