HISTORY LESSON ON DIGITAL LEARNING
Initial experimentation (1958-1969)
Adapting technology for education and research
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1958 |
McMaster became the second university in Ontario to buy a digital computer, a G15D manufactured by the Bendix automotive company’s newly founded computing division. Soon enterprising staff and instructors began to envision its potential as an aid to student instruction and learning. |
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1960 |
In a statement to the press, university president, G.P. Gilmour heralded McMaster’s entry into a new era of teaching with the introduction of a television “extension” course, the term of the time for adult and continuing education. |
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1961 |
60 lectures from Biology courses began broadcasting regularly on CHCH television at aa cost of $75 for credited enrollment and accepting up to 200 students. For assessments, students were expected to attend “Saturday morning seminars every three weeks.” |
Early adoption (1970-1989)
Clarifying a purposeful role for technology in education
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1970 |
Ontario universities collectively commissioned an inventory and study of educational technologies. The report concluded that the application of technology at the university must, at its core, be guided by good pedagogy. |
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1971 |
McMaster purchased the Higher Education Long-Range Planning/Planning Translator software (called HELP/PLANTRAN), a modelling software that could assist with organization and course planning. It could be used without the need for any specialized computer knowledge. |
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1980 |
New Educational Technology Sub-Committee (NETS) formed to link technology to good pedagogical theory and practice. |
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1984 |
The University Committee on Teaching and Learning implemented a program to loan microcomputers to interested faculty and to investigate the utility of microcomputers in courses not using them, or to develop or refine educational software for use in courses. |
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1988 |
The inaugural Coordinator for the Disabled turned to educational technology as a solution to providing students with a disability to access to information. The role later became Director of what would become McMaster’s Student Accessibility Services office. |
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1995 |
The first Learning Management System (LMS) was introduced at McMaster, a new technology that would come to have significant impacts on the ways instructors teach and students learn. Called FirstClass, it was known locally as LearnLink and LearnLink: The Little Red Schoolhouse. |
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1996 |
The “New Technology in Education” Symposium by McMaster’s teaching and learning centre, which offered sessions like “The Internet” and “Pre-recorded Videos” was held. |
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2001 |
The Learning Technologies Resource Centre launched to support the effective use of technology for a quality educational experience, building and maintaining course management systems, and working on course specific projects that employ technology to assist learning. |
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2005 |
The first University Technology Strategy was published which included a comprehensive mapping of all of the technological duplication on campus. |
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2007 |
Psychology professor Joseph Kim developed the IntroPsych Blended Learning Model (i-BLM) to move the large enrollment introductory psychology course to a blended format. This model combined live in-person lectures and small group tutorials with online modules. |
Modern Era (2010-2020)
more choices, better choices
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2010 |
The university LMS transitioned to McMaster’s Desire2Learn platform, Avenue to Learn. The Elluminate web conferencing platform enabling real-time video, audio and chat through computers became an option for McMaster teaching and learning.
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2014 |
Video streaming became available through MacVideo and the One-Button Video and Audio studio space was launched by MacPherson. These enabled instructors to record their own videos in a professional-quality space, upload and conduct basic edits to videos and screencasts. |
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2015 |
By the middle of the decade, McMaster Continuing Education had established a significant footprint in the development and offering of online courses, with nearly half of their programs available through online modality. |
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2016 |
The Bachelor of Technology becomes McMaster’s first fully online undergraduate degree program, offering both lecture and labs in an entirely online format. |
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2018 |
McMaster’s first open textbook, Essentials of Linguistics, was launched. To date, this digital resource has been accessed in more than 150 countries, representing millions of savings to students globally. |
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2020 |
Rapid switch to remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic was unpredictable and challenging, but also resulted in instructors working creatively to provide flexible land valuable earning experiences. |
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2023 |
McMaster launches Canada’s first graduate diploma in Community and Public Health. It is offered in an online format. |
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2023 |
McMaster launches Digital Learning Strategic Framework. |