History of technology (Connecting the dots)
1800s
1850
The first government school in what was to become Queensland was established (now Warwick East State School).
1859
Queensland separates from New South Wales.
1876
The telephone is invented by Alexander Graham Bell.
1877
Thomas Edison invents the cylinder phonograph.
Eadweard Muybridge produces the first moving pictures.
1895
Marconi patents the radio.
1896
The first movie is projected onto a theatre screen in Australia at Melbourne.
Early to mid 1900s
1923
The first radio broadcast takes place in Australia.
1925
John Logie Baird invents the mechanical television, a precursor to the modern television.
1936
Australia is one of the first countries in the world to fully adopt sound. By 1936 there are 1334 sound-equipped cinemas around Australia.
The Queensland education department develops the radio as an aid to teaching.
1937
Chester Carlson invents the photocopier.
1942
John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry build the first electronic digital computer.
1945
The department's Film Library is established containing more 1200 reels of film.
1949
Australia's first computer, the CSIR Mk1, built.
1956
Television is first broadcast in Australia.
1960s
1962
The audiocassette is invented.
1964
Mt Isa School of the Air opens.
1966
Australia's Overseas Telecommunications Commission uses a satellite to transmit the first live television broadcast between Western Australia and England.
1967
The first handheld calculator is invented.
Sony launches its first portable video system.
1969
The Arpanet, the first internet, is brought online.
The department's School Library Services commences. Its functions and collections include the film and video library.
1970s
1970s
The first online connection between two computers paves the way for Australian universities to use network connections between computer science departments.
1971
Sony introduces the U-matic videocassette.
1973
A colour television studio, the first in use by an education department in Australia, commences production at Ashgrove, Brisbane.
1975
The Altair 8800 is the first personal computer.
Australian television stations convert to colour.
1977
The Apple II is the first highly successful mass-produced personal computer.
1980s
1981
Australia connects to the Internet (ARPANet).
The first IBM-PC is invented.
An advisory committee on computer-assisted learning is established in Queensland.
1983
The department releases the Computers in the Curriculum Policy Statement No. 1.
1984
Kodak launches the world's first hand held video recorder.
The CD-ROM is invented.
The department establishes a Technology Services Unit. Computer consultant positions are established in all regions of Queensland.
1985
Sperry computers are introduced to high schools en masse as part of the Computer Literacy Project for Secondary Schools.
1986
A distance education satellite trial begins through the Mt Isa School of the Air.
1987
The department commences use of electronic mail and computer conferencing software, using Telecom's Keylink service.
Education Queensland is the coordinator and lead agency for online curriculum projects under the Oz-Projects banner.
1989
The internet is first turned on in Australia at Melbourne University.
1990s
1991
Tim Berners-Lee first introduces the World Wide Web.
1992-97
A wide area network (WAN) service for around 1300 schools opens across Queensland, providing administrative links to all schools in the state via district offices. Schools are also provided with a curriculum component within that network which is designed to facilitate access to the internet.
The department's Computers in Schools project is allocated $40m. One milestone is the Adaptive Technologies Project to support students with disabilities.
The department's Open Access Support Centre initiates a number of trials of videoconferencing.
1995
The first digital video camera is launched.
Matshusita first introduces the Digital Video Disc (DVD).
1996
The department's Connecting Teachers to the Future Project provides laptops for teachers after they completed a two-week professional development practicum.
1997
Internet users totals 1.6 million Australians with 500,000 education users.
1997-2000
The department's Schooling 2001 Project allocates $85m to various programs. Key features include the IT Infrastructure Program and grants to schools for professional development.
2000
The department's AccessED provides world-first online education opportunities to Queensland's students and teachers through the Virtual Schooling Service and Curriculum Exchange.
The Virtual Schooling Service pilot uses the internet, email and teleconferencing to offer four Year 11 subjects to over 120 participating students from Brisbane to Thursday Island.
2000s
2001
Telephone teaching commences at the Charleville School of Distance Education.
2002
The department's ICT for Learning strategy is launched.
An annual ICT plan to integrate ICT into the curriculum is developed in all state schools.
The Learning Place is established. The new website, is described as a 'one-stop-shop' of online learning, communication tools and curriculum resources.
2003
About 54 per cent of Australian households have internet access. Australia's internet use is the third highest in the world.
2004
The department's ICT Learning Innovation Centre opens in partnership with the University of the Sunshine Coast.
2005
The department's Smart Classrooms strategy establishes ICT as the foundation of 21st century schools. The rollout delivers the infrastructure and tools schools need to accelerate the use of ICT in learning.
2007
One School is released. It involves the design and deployment of a comprehensive, flexible and sustainable information management system in schools.
Computers for Teachers begins. Every teacher is to be provided with a laptop computer as a tool of trade.
Managed Operating Environment enables the remote management of school computers, saving schools time and money on technical support.
2008-09
The rollout of Smart Classrooms initiatives continues.
