Chipped and sharpened stones

Over 2.5 million years ago, our early human ancestors would chip away at stones to create sharp edges, enabling them to exploit new food sources, defend themselves, and potentially build shelters.

Stone tools are the first tangible repositories of human education known to us. The process of making and using them was inherently social, involving observation, demonstration, and shared learning within groups.

Despite their ostensible simplicity, they encapsulate the fundamental principles of educational technology: embodied knowledge, social learning, and communication. Indeed, they are the first examples of “edtech”.

So, next time you hear about the latest and greatest in edtech, take a moment to remember the teachers of the past. One day, when humans are living on spaceships, they may look at ChatGPT 3.5 the same way we look at chipped and sharpened stones.