ICT Tip: How to dial a rotary telephone

1 Apr

dialingGotcha! April Fools Day!

It’s funny how something so simple can seem quite complex when the technology is relatively new. Take for example this AT&T 1950’s instructional video that steps people how to dial a telephone, something that seems second nature to us today. Will future generations be equally at ease with our current “complex” technology? For a other retro videos that provide a speculative view of the future (which is arguably now our present) please take a look at the following:

  • AT&T’s “You Will” ad campaign from the early 1990s: (Predicts: GPS, faxing from the beach, buying tickets on-line, videoconferencing, Netflix, flat screen TVs, on-line courses, and more. Eerily accurate, most predictions have come true!)
  • Apple Computer’s “View of the future” from the early 1990s (Predicts: videoconferencing, connected classrooms, mobile devices for learning,  bulky “iPad” like devices.)
  • AT&T’s “Seeing the Digital Future” 1961: (Predicts: dial up punch card modems, brick cell phones, grocery delivery by rocket, and on-line shopping)

In closing, what do you think the classroom of the future should look like? Eventually, will new technologies change how and what we teach? Leave your comments below!