1920s: Radio.

Textbooks of the air. That’s the way radio was described when it first appeared in the classroom. And there was no shortage of hype. Radio was going to transform stagnant classrooms and teaching practices that were “regimented, mechanical, and mindless.”  

Over the next two decades,  educational  programs would be broadcast to millions of students.  Some early public radio stations were founded with an educational mission. Commercial radio also worked on developing educational programming. But the radio-driven revolution in education never quite materialized.