"Tooled education" is a method of automated learning. Modernist Designer George Nelson used this phrase in 1952 to describe the show he put together with Charles Eames. This show has since been held responsible for such history as: the first attempt at virtual reality, the first multiple screen array, and the fast cutting editing style of contemporary television.

While much has been discussed about this show in regards to its legacy, there has been little documentation published from the perspective of its original purpose. This purpose was an evaluation of teaching methods within the Fine Arts Department of The University of Georgia.

In 2009, I presented a lecture for Wake Forest University’s Creativity: Worlds in the Making Conference in which I explained an overview of these events. (Read Here.) While a book is being pursued by Wake Forest, I have been asked to develop a web presence to augment the lecture.

I have attempted to produce a prototype (toolededucation.info) which will facilitate educators interested in sharing this story with their students and colleagues. Utilizing the Internet provides a critical means of illustrating the content in ways that print media does not; these include hyper-linking to reference material as well as embedding original audio and video documents.

A subject matter of this magnitude carries with it responsibilities. We have the support of both main subjects of this research: The University of Georgia, along with the Eames estate, as well as numerous first person accounts taken in the form of interviews and correspondence. With this confidence, we plan to continue this research in both the directions of permanently archiving these events as well as explore how the concepts can be developed into improvements in education.

Thanks to all the people who have helped this project, but especially:
Richard J. Olsen, Georgia Strange, Lynne Book, and The University of Georgia.

Sean Mills
Designer

Here are links from my personal website, including my c.v. and some additional writing.