Book review : 25 years of ed tech

Abstract

Martin Weller’s 25 Years of Ed Tech aims to contribute to the history of the educational technology (ed tech) field which is seen as a nascent area throughout the years. While the author introduces the prevalent ed tech applications and tools throughout the 25 years, he hopes these technologies, lessons learned and experienced gained, can put up to the future implementations of ed tech in higher education. The author examined 25 technologies over 25 years, starting from 1994 until 2018 (Figure 1). Using his personal experiences, reflections from the field and preferences in the selection of these technologies, the author prioritizes each year in which the related technology was effective, not the year it emerged. Even though the choice of “one technology per year” seems to have undervalued some other technologies or technological movements, it appears that there is a need for other publications that should accompany this book, which forms a basis for the ed tech history.