• The first courses to instruct teachers in the use of classroom films are established.

• Research demonstrates the effectiveness of films in instruction, but classroom use remains limited, largely due to technical constraints.

• Film is seen as a symbol of progressive teaching.

• Radio equipment problems are also common, and classroom radio usage is limited throughout this, its first decade.

• During this decade, local commercial stations are followed by national networks in providing programming.

(film) 1920- Clearer distinctions between educational and entertainment films develop. (Saettler, 1990)

(radio) 1920- The radio division of the U.S. Department of Commerce begins licensing commercial and educational stations; classroom broadcasting to enhance education begins. (Cuban, 1986)

(radio) 1920- KDKA, Pittsburgh, goes on air as the first commercial radio station. (Fact Monster web site)

(film) 1921- Yale University begins production of the Chronicles of America Photoplays, becoming one of the first producers to attempt to cover an entire subject (U.S. history) in a film series. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1921- Joseph J. Weber engages in a pioneering study comparing the effectiveness of various visual media. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1921- By this point, four journals devoted solely to visual instruction are in publication: Moving Picture Age, Educational Film Magazine, Visual Education, and The Screen. Later this year, The Educational Screen, which will go on to become the first official publication of the DVI, begins publication. The Educational Screen gives print space, free of charge, to professional visual education organizations that could not afford their own publications. (Saettler, 1990)

(radio) 1921- The first educational radio license is issued to Latter Day Saints' University of Salt Lake City, Utah. Many other educational institutions receive licenses soon thereafter. Much early educational programming on these stations consists of broadcasts of classroom lectures. (Saettler, 1990)

"To a student of educational radio, prowling through yellowed scripts, it seems  almost incredible that teachers who presumably hoped to reach men's minds  elected to attempt it with anesthetics. Surely, secrets of audience psychology  readily mastered by semi-literate movie stars and dance-band leaders are not  hidden from the academicians."
(White, in Saettler, 1990, pp. 201-202)

(film) 1922- The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) say they will use their resources to promote educational film. An NEA committee led by Charles H. Judd is appointed to work with the MPPDA. The Committee on Visual Education and Cooperation with the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, popularly known as the "Judd Committee," recommends the creation of a clearinghouse to coordinate information about visual instruction, the development of uniform practices for visual instruction, increased funding for educational films, and safe practices for film screenings. (Saettler, 1990)

"Few films [exist] which were created with the definite purpose of using them as adjuncts in the teaching of specific lessons in the conventional subjects…. Also,  the schools showed a considerable number of recreational and amusement films,  and in a good many cases, these were pretty frankly employed as a sort of  sugar-coating to make the diet of advertising films somewhat more palatable."
(Judd, Report of the Committee on Visual Education, quoted in Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1923- The Department of Visual Instruction (DVI) is created within the National Education Association (NEA). (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1923- The Berkeley, California school system publishes a graded list of educational films; heretofore, such lists were organized by subject or title and the films were not rated for quality. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1923- At this point, about 21 schools offer courses in visual instruction. (Saettler, 1990)

(radio) 1923- Haaren High School in New York City broadcasts lessons to accounting classes, becoming the first public school to use radio to teach. (Cuban, 1986)

(radio) 1923- WJZ, a commercial station, allots 30 minutes per day to educational programming, which can be heard in classrooms and homes. (Cuban, 1986)

(tv) 1923- Vladimir Zworykin patents the first tv transmission tube, called the iconoscope. (Fact Monster web site)

(radio) 1924- The U.S. Office of Education promotes the use of radio instruction. (Saettler, 1990)

(radio) 1924- Led by Dr. Virgil Dixon, Oakland, Calif. schools broadcast into classrooms fifty-six 20-minute lessons on various topics, including penmanship, math, and history. (Cuban, 1986)

(radio) 1924- WLS, Chicago, begins broadcast of Little Red Schoolhouse, with lessons prepared by students and teachers. (Cuban, 1986)

(radio) mid 1920s- Public school systems in Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Portland, Des Moines, Buffalo, and Rochester blaze new ground with extensive use of educational radio. (Saettler, 1990)

(radio) 1925- The growth period of educational radio begins; it will last until about 1935. (Saettler, 1990)

"Conceptions of radio as a plaything that had little or no relevance to instruction  were commonplace. Despite these prevailing attitudes, a few persuasive  educators believed radio could be an effective instructional tool. If these  educators had not insisted on their point of view, educational technology might  have lost the educational radio station."
(Saettler, 1990, p. 202)

(radio) 1925- The Association of College and University Broadcasting Stations is formed; in 1934, its name changed to the National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB). (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1926- Oil Films on Water, the first "all talkie" film, is screened by Bell Telephone Laboratories at the Philadelphia sesquicentennial exposition. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1928- Sound film hits the commercial market.  "The advent of the sound film in the late 1920s introduced a critical period in educational film history. Just as educators were becoming convinced of the educational merits of the silent film, the advocates of the sound film realized they had to fight the battle all over. … Many hesitated to accept the sound film because they feared their silent equipment would become useless." (Saettler, 1990, p. 106)

(film) 1928- Eastman Kodak produces the first comprehensive series of silent educational films; an extensive research project is undertaken in conjunction with this series. Ben D. Wood of Columbia University and Frank N. Freeman of the University of Chicago co-direct the experiment; their findings are quite positive about the educational potential of instructional films. However, in an unpublished critique, F. Dean McClusky wrote of Wood & Freeman's book about the project, Motion Pictures in the Classroom: "As an example of scientific experimentation in teaching this book will find a place as an illustration of how not to do research in education." Despite the dubious quality of the experiment's findings, it inspired increased use of educational films. (Saettler, 1990)

(radio) 1928- NBC begins to broadcast one of the first national schools of the air with the Musical Appreciation Hour. Hosted by Walter Damrosch, this weekly series is the largest music education project ever attempted; it will be broadcast through 1942. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1929- Dynamic America, the first educational sound film, is produced by Western Electric and Manufacturing Co. (Saettler, 1990)

(film) 1929- Founded by the Payne Fund, a 4-year study of the effects of theatrical motion pictures on children is undertaken. "These studies were … a precursor to modern communication research, constituting the first systematic studies of media that were tied to a concrete operational problem." (Saettler, 1990, p. 230)

(radio) 1929- The Ohio School of the Air begins broadcasting, with school day programs in a variety of subjects broadcast to elementary and secondary schools. It would leave the air in 1937 when government funding ended. (Saettler, 1990)
 

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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/1920s.html