Skip to content
Apply
Stories

Schools and Screens: A Watchful History

People in this story

Victoria Cain, Associate Professor of History

Long before Chromebook giveaways and remote learning, screen media technologies were enthusiastically promoted by American education reformers. Again and again, as schools deployed film screenings, television programs, and computer games, screen-based learning was touted as a cure for all educational ills. But the transformation promised by advocates for screens in schools never happened. In this book, Victoria Cain chronicles important episodes in the history of educational technology, as reformers, technocrats, public television producers, and computer scientists tried to harness the power of screen-based media to shape successive generations of students.

More Stories

05/06/26 - BOSTON, MA. - Kris Manjapra, Stearns Trustee Professor of History and Global Studies, poses for a portrait on May 6, 2026. Manjapra was recently named a 2026-2027 Guggenheim Fellow for intellectual and cultural history. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Northeastern professor will explore colonialism in the afterlife as part of Guggenheim Fellowship

05.08.2026
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen Friday, April 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Louisiana v. Callais: Can states legally redraw congressional maps this close to an election?

05.08.2026

FHP searches Black drivers 2X more than Whites in 25 Florida counties

05.08.26
In the News