James D. Finn (1915-1969) is considered a pioneer of educational technology who viewed technology as much more than machines. Finn was an education professor for two decades at the University of Southern California, following service in the military in the instructional aids and training departments at Fort Leavenworth, KS. He sought to elevate audiovisual education to a professional field of study and to base it on research and theory. He believed that technology encompassed processes, management and human and non-human controls. Finn served as president of both the Association for Educational Communications and Technology and the National Education Association in the early '60s.