Our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Scholars will be instructed through the eye. “Books,” declared the inventor with decision, “will soon be obsolete in the public schools. Interesting Fact: Thomas Edison predicted motion pictures would replace books in public schools: Filmstrip projectors allowed teachers to pause presentations for class discussions by turning a knob, and the projectors were widely used in classrooms until VCRs replaced them in the 1980s. 1925: The Filmstrip ProjectorĪ Brief History: Filmstrips were used to show educational films in classrooms, serving as a predecessor of videocassettes, DVDs and Blu-ray technology. Interesting Fact: Chicago’s public-school system had a collection of approximately 8,000 lantern slides by the end of World War I, according to The New York Times. Magicians, photographers and lecturers were among the first to embrace the device, which became so popular as a form of entertainment that catalogs, such as that from Sears, Roebuck & Company, sold toy magic lanterns for children. Oil lamps and candles served as light sources for the magic lantern, according to the Magic Lantern Society.

Here are five projectors that have helped students view learning in a whole new light: Late 1800s: The Magic LanternĪ Brief History: Magic lanterns projected images printed on glass slides. Projectors have evolved significantly in weight, technology and dimension since they were first introduced into classrooms.

But that’s where the similarities between projectors from then and now end.

Educators have been using projectors to integrate technology into classrooms since the late 1800s, and today’s projectors maintain the same basic purpose: transmitting images onto a surface.

Used overhead projector