NDEA to IST Years: 1957-1972

Many of the events that occurred during the period from 1957 to 1972 helped to shape the department as it now exists - from Sputnik to the National Defense Education Act to the birth of the Instructional Systems Technology department to the eventual retirement of Ole Larson.

One area that continued to thrive during the remainder of the fifties was the film rental library. The library was established as the national center for distributing educational video materials, and was the major bread winner for the department. It still allowed IU to dominate the Audio-Visual field in this country as well as to establish a strong reputation in the international arena.

There was a large increase in the level of international participation in the department and in the AV field. From 1956 to 1963 students from over fifty different countries came to IU to learn about Audio Visual Communications. This program was established in conjunction with the International Cooperation Administration, which later became the Agency for International Development (AID).

In 1959, through its involvement with the International Cooperation Administration, the department participated in a project to train the soon-to-be independent country of Nigeria in the development of educational and audio-visual competencies. Warren Stevens and Denny Pett traveled to Ibidan, Nigeria to work on this project. The project spanned a seven-year time frame and led to additional projects of a similar nature in other newly independent African nations. Eventually, funding for these programs became scarce and they were phased out.

Ole began to develop an eclectic mix of faculty. The department now began to focus on the behavioral aspects of education. Faculty members focused on areas of research, development, dissemination or evaluation. Media was no longer viewed as the end product of instruction. Instead, media began to be viewed as a means to an end, part of a process. As such, faculty were hired from the fields of sociology, psychology and other measurement areas. Jim Knowlton was the first person outside of the AV field to be hired into the department by Ole. It was also during this time that systems theory in education began to evolve. This change in direction occurred as the department began to take a much broader look at the field of educational technology.

No one can deny the tremendous impact of the space race on the entire field of education, let alone the educational technology field. The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) was initiated in 1958, and Ole Larson was on the national program committee for three years. NDEA provided federal funding for extensive research in media use and for the dissemination of media research findings. Indiana University received over two million dollars in funding for 25 different programs. Ole's participation allowed the department to get money, to maximize its participation, and to maintain control over projects. Within the department itself, there were between 40 to 50 graduate fellowships funded by NDEA. It was during this transitional time leading into the 1960's that the department started to experience new and different challenges in the field of instruction.

The programmed instruction movement dominated the educational scene along with the development of learning objectives. Systems design and the systems approach to the development of education was also beginning. It was during the early 60's that professional organizations such as the National Society for Programmed Instruction and the Association for Programmed Learning were established. The department was able to move forward in this area due to the vision of Ole Larson.

In 1962 Robert Mager published "Preparing Objectives for Programmed Instruction," which was designed to teach trainers and educators how to write learning objectives. It was also around this time that there was a shift in focus towards the use of media as a part of the educational process instead of as the primary focus for instruction.

In the mid-60's, the focus shifted again as huge amounts of federal grants were made available through the Higher Education act of 1965. This program provided money to improve learning in the field of higher education. The AV department, which by this time was called the Educational Media department, received money to start an institute for the improvement of undergraduate instruction. The center trained 25 to 30 faculty members in instructional development.

In 1968, Gene Faris, a member of the educational media faculty, and his assistant Dick Stowe, published an article in the Journal of Audio Visual Instruction entitled "Would You Believe an Instructional Developer?" This article introduced the Faris -Stowe model for the design of instruction. The concept of instructional development was a direct result of this model and the institute. It can be said that this time period was also the precursor of things to come in the area of instructional technology. Indeed, the change to IST did not occur overnight. The rumblings were being felt many years before the name and focus change took place.

It was during this time that major shifts were taking place in the use of technology in education. Television was becoming the media of choice. In central Indiana there were airplanes flying over the land broadcasting educational programs to the schools. One result of this was the diminished use of 16mm films. The late 60's saw the end of the programmed instruction movement as educators began to turn their attention to other methods of individualized instruction. Numerous articles were being published which focused on various aspects of the systems process to developing instruction. The names of several professional organizations were changed as a reflection of their interest in systems thinking. In 1970 the Commission on Instructional Technology called IT a "systemic way of designing, carrying out and evaluating the total process of learning and teaching." Meanwhile, at Indiana University in the educational media department, Bob Heinich was hired and his first major task was to chair a committee to rename the department to reflect the new systems approach to the design of instruction.

This committee came up with the name "Instructional Systems Technology." There was considerable controversy over this name with some thinking it should be called Instructional Technology. Dr. Heinich's rationale for the term "IST" was presented in a memo to Ole Larson dated November 4, 1969:

The word "instructional" was chosen because instruction and instructional management as they are affected by technological processes are the main concern of the division. While applications of technology to non- instructional aspects of education...are of interest, they do not represent prime areas of research and development.

"Systems" in the title suggests both methodology and levels of operation. As methodology, "systems" reflects the application of behavioral and cybernetic principles to the design of instruction and instructional programs that are replicable both in terms of stimuli and the effects of student interaction with those stimuli. The relationships between components of the system and between components and the system as a whole must be specified, monitored, and controlled in order to achieve stated goals. The concept of systems may be applied at different levels of operation. For example, a systems approach may be used to analyze an entire course to determine how best to assign instructional tasks and how to arrange the consequent management configuration. Then, on other levels, the resultant components may be developed by using a systems approach with each. Thus, the division is interested in course as well as instrument development.

"Technology" is used in three interrelated ways...a way of solving problems. Second, the application of technological processes results in technological products which assure replicability. As technology becomes more sophisticated, the man-machine systems that are evolved make separation of product and process very difficult, e.g. computer administered instruction. The third refers to the environment and structure of education in terms of facilitating or inhibiting technological solutions to instructional problems...In summary, "technology" to the division means process, product and a facilitating environment that makes the first two not only possible but also desirable.

In consideration of all these points, the faculty of the division requests approval of the designation, Division of Instructional Systems Technology.

In 1972 Professor Michael Molenda was hired as the first full-time IST instructor. Ole Larson retired the same year, and was replaced by Mendel Sherman. Shortly after this time the IST department and the AV center were separated. IST was placed in the school of education and the AV center began operating on its own.