Robert Heinich
1923-2020
Professor of Instructional Technology, Self-Identified Technocrat
Dr. Robert Heinrich passed away in 2020 after more than 40 years in education. That career started as the audio-visual director for Colorado Springs public schools, where he spent 13 years developing an award-winning media program. When Heinrich left the district to pursue academia in 1962, his research focused on expanding a school district’s capacity for technology and media application.
Dr. Heinrich received his BA (1948) and MA (1949) in Education from Colorado State College. He graduated with his PhD from the University of Southern California in 1967. From 1969 until his retirement in 1990, he served as a professor at Indiana University. He held various leadership positions within the EdTech community during this time, such as the President of AECT (71-72), President of ECT Foundation (1972-1982), and editor of AV Communication Review (13 years).
Although his dissertation (“Instructional Technology and Instructional Management: A Proposal for a New Theoretical Framework” was an award-winning dissertation at USC, his most popular work is the foundational book Instructional Media and the New Technologies of Instruction, published originally in 1982 with Michael Molenda and James D. Russell.
Relevant Publications:
Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, J. D. (1985). Instructional media and the new technologies of instruction. United Kingdom: Wiley.
Heinich, R. (1967) Instructional technology and instructional management: A proposal for a new theoretical structure. University of Southern California.
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