The teacher in the machine : a human history of education technology / Anne Trumbore.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Trumbore, Anne M., 1966- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Educational technology--United States--History.

Educational technology.

Education, Higher--Effect of technological innovations on--United States.

Education, Higher.

Artificial intelligence--Educational applications--United States.

Artificial intelligence.

Physical Description:

x, 230 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"With a unique insider perspective and interviews with its key figures, this book examines the converging forces of university scholarship, government influence, and venture capital on educational technology over the last half century that are unbundling higher education today in order to provide directions for where the university may go tomorrow"-- Provided by publisher.

"The surprising history of education technology and its political, financial, and social impact on higher education and our worldFrom AI tutors who ensure individualized instruction but cannot do math to free online courses from elite universities that were supposed to democratize higher education, claims that technological innovations will transform education often fall short. Yet, as Anne Trumbore shows in The Teacher in the Machine, the promises of today's cutting-edge technologies aren't new. Long before the excitement about the disruptive potential of generative AI-powered tutors and massive open online courses, scholars at Stanford, MIT, and the University of Illinois in the 1960s and 1970s were encouraged by the US government to experiment with computers and artificial intelligence in education. Trumbore argues that the contrast between these two eras of educational technology reveal the changing role of higher education in the United States as it shifted from a public good to a private investment.Writing from a unique insider's perspective and drawing on interviews with key figures, historical research, and case studies, Trumbore traces today's disparate discussions about generative AI, student loan debt, and declining social trust in higher education back to their common origins at a handful of elite universities fifty years ago. Arguing that those early educational experiments have resonance today, Trumbore points the way to a more equitable and collaborative pedagogical future. Her account offers a critical lens on the history of technology in education just as universities and students seek a stronger hand in shaping the future of their institutions"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction. A human in the loop

The education-industrial complex. The men behind the curtain ; Experimenting for the future ; Commercialization

The business of higher education. Learning gets managed and monetized ; MOOCs, 2012 ; Riding the waves ; COVID, cash-outs, and ChatGPT.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-222) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Trumbore, Anne M., 1966- Teacher in the machine.

ISBN:

9780691198767

0691198764

OCLC:

1458614222