1910s

1800's

1900's

1910's

1920's

1930's

1940's

1950's

1960's

1970's

1980's

1990's

MAJOR TRENDS OF THE DECADE

Classroom film use grows slowly during this decade.

(film) 1910- George Kleine publishes the Catalog of Educational Motion Pictures, listing over 1000 films which could be rented by schools. Decisions about use are made by school boards, which allocate funds and assign personnel. Larger districts are more likely than small ones to have projectors & staff. (Cuban, 1986)

(film) 1910- Public schools in Rochester, NY, become the first to use films for regular classroom instruction. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1910- Boston bans films in schools because of the risk of fire. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1910- A distinction between theatrical and non theatrical films begins to be made. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1911- Thomas Edison releases a series of historical films about the American Revolution, becoming one of the first producers of films for classroom use. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1911-1912- The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation uses film as an instructional medium. (Saettler, 1990)

"Books will soon be obsolete in the schools. Scholars will soon be instructed through the eye. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed in ten years."
Thomas Edison in the New York Dramatic Mirror, July 9, 1913. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1914: The Educational Motion Pictures Bureau, Inc. (a company, not a government agency, despite its name) is formed; it is the first production company to issue syllabi to accompany its films. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1917- The Chicago Public Schools establish the Chicago Bureau of Visual Instruction and the first educational film library in a city school system. Within five years, there are ten nationally, including Atlanta's, founded in 1922. (Saettler, 1990)

(radio) 1917- WHA, owned by the University of Wisconsin, begins broadcasting music education programs. By 1940s this would grow into Wisconsin School of the Air, with programs for K-8th grade. (Cuban, 1986)

(film) 1918- Citizens in the Making, a series of civics lessons marketed as a "film textbook," is accompanied by a teacher's instruction manual. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1918- Albert Field of the University of Minnesota offers what is probably the first for-credit course in visual instruction. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1919- The first two national professional organizations devoted to visual instruction are formed; both would be short lived. (Saettler, 1990)

1800's 1900's 1910's 1920's 1930's 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990's

cite as: Miller, Mary and Teresa Cruce. A 20th Century Timeline: Classroom Use of Instructional Film, Radio, and Television. //http://www.arches.uga.edu/~mlmiller/timeline/1910s.html [date viewed]

Last update: August 26, 2005
Comments to: Mary Miller mlmiller@uga.edu
Created by Mary Miller and Teresa Cruce
for Dr. Thomas Reeves' UGA class EDIT 6100, spring 2002
URL=//http://www.arches.uga.edu/~mlmiller/timeline/1910s.html