Educational Technology

Definitions and Domains

The course
We will touch a variety of areas and fields in educational technology and each of them will be discussed in as much detail as we would like. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the basic concepts, issues, ideas, and topics in Ed tech. If you are interested in a particular area, you can further explore and generate a project that examine the area in more depth and make suggestions/recommendations.

The Meanings of Educational Technology :Background

Humans have succeeded as a species largely due to their ability to learn from their experiences and to pass along their wisdom to succeeding generations. Much learning and acculturation happens spontaneously, without planning or structure. Through the ages, though, as human society has become increasingly complex and organized, communities have consciously set up particular arrangements, such as apprenticeships, schools, other educational institutions, to help their members develop the cognitive and functional skills needed to survive and flourish.

The Meanings of Educational Technology :Background

Institutions established for education and training revolve around activities intended to help people learn productively, whether individually or in groups, in classrooms or at a distance. We use the term education to refer broadly to activities and resources that support learning. We use the term instructional to refer to activities structured by someone other than the learner and oriented toward specific ends. From this perspective, education is not limited to institutional settings. It can include guidance given by parents to children, knowledge and attitudes fostered by mass media, and other such cultural influences conveyed to community members.

The Meanings of Educational Technology :Background

Likewise, reading books in a library or surfing the Web to explore a personal interest can be regarded as educational activities. On the other hand, instructional activities imply an external agency that is guiding the learner toward a goal by means of some specified procedures. Reading an assigned chapter in a textbook or using the Internet to gather information to fulfill a class assignment are examples of instructional activities.

The Meanings of Educational Technology :Background

Schools, colleges, corporate training centers, and other educational institutions provide many sorts of facilities to support the central mission of facilitating learning. They may offer shelter and surroundings that are convenient for learningand possibly even transportation to the place, or they may extend opportunities to learners at a distance. They offer access to people, information, and equipment. They typically provide motivational elements such as grades and mentors. They often provide services to support instructors and their professional development. In short, although they are educational institutions they engage in many functions that are not directly educational or instructional. Nevertheless, learners and learning occupy the central position.

The Meanings of Educational Technology :Background

Learning goals in educational settings, which may be set both by institutions and by individuals, are often complex, difficult, and protracted. Throughout history, inventive educators have devised means to help people learn that are easier, faster, surer, and/or less expensive than previous means. Some of these means could be classified as technological, by which we mean applying scientific or other organized knowledge to the attainment of practical ends, a definition first proposed by John Kenneth Galbraith (1967, p. 12). These developments may take the form of hard technologies, including materials and physical inventions, or soft technologies, including special work processes or carefully designed instructional templates that are applicable beyond a single case.

The Meanings of Educational Technology :Background

Recent years have brought many changes and challenges to the theory and practice of educational technology. New understandings of the processes of human learning and of the nature of knowledge itself have challenged educators to rethink basic concepts underlying teaching methods. Advances in information and communications technologies (ICT) have altered and expanded the possibilities for supporting learning in the classroom and at a distance. As more learning resources become digitized, the ease and economy of their transmission increases, thus challenging long accepted notions of how resources are created, stored, and used.

Definition of Educational Technology

Conceptions of educational technology have been evolving as long as the field has, and they continue to evolve. Therefore todays conception is a temporary one, a snapshot in time. In todays conception, Educational Technology can be defined as an abstract concept or as a field of practice. First, the definition of the concept:

1977 1994 2008 Systematization The full circle The most recent of education technology Audiovisual commun Educational technol Educational technol Instructional tech Educational technol ications is the ogy is a field ogy is a complex, nology is the theory ogy is the study and branch of involved in integrated process, and practice of ethical practice of educational theory facilitating of human involving people, design, facilitating learning and practice learning through procedures, ideas, development, and improving concerned with the the systematic devices and utilization, manage performance by design and use of identification, organization, for ment and evaluation creating, using and messages which development, analyzing problems of processes and managing and resources for appropriate technol control the learning organization and devising, implementi learning (Seels ogical processes and process. (Ely, 1963, utilization of full range of ng, evaluating and and Richey, 1994, resources. (ACET, pp. 18-19). learning resources managing solutions to p.1) 2008, p.1) and through the those problems, management of involved in all these aspects of human processes (Ely, learning (ACET, 1972, p.36) 1977, p.1)

1963 The first definition

Table 01: Definitions on educational technology by AECT

1972 Struggle for identity

 In 1963 when the term was first defined, educational technology was referred to as audiovisual (AV) communications. The field was presented as a branch of educational theory, a practice that emphasized designing communications for learning, but in reality it related heavily on the hardware and media components on technology. This definition placed the educator in control of the learning process. It included strong nuances of the objectivists paradigm that saw learners as receivers of knowledge.

 By 1972, educational technology was given prominence as a field by itself with a broad range of learning resources, individualized learning including components of the systems approach. The association of people with technology augmented the field beyond its AV roots.

 The 1977 definition saw the field being transformed into a profession. By this time it clearly moved away beyond audio visuals. It was associated with learning resources, management functions and ideas related to development. This same definition under scored the differences between resources by utilization and resources by design. This led to a debate and educational technology ended up being viewed as instructional technology. As a consequence, the 1994 definition renamed educational technology as instructional technology. This culminated further divisions and subsequent definitions reverted back to changing the name to educational technology.

 The 2008 definition, which is the most recent one, emphasize on elements such as ethical practice, process, resources, design, and management in a significant way. The definition includes elements of constructivist and situated learning interpretations.

 In comparison to the first definition, today scholars see educational technology as a larger field that extends beyond instruction or audio visuals. The field saw several technological interventions and movements that guided and shaped its current state.

Definition of Educational Technology

Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources. AECT 2004.

Elements of the Definition

Study: The theoretical understanding of, as well as the practice of, educational technology, requires continual knowledge construction and refinement through research and reflective practice, which are encompassed in the term study. That is, study refers to information gathering and analysis beyond the traditional conceptions of research.

Elements of the Definition (Study)

It is intended to include quantitative and qualitative research as well as other forms of disciplined inquiry such as theorizing, philosophical analysis, historical investigations, development projects, fault analyses, system analyses, and evaluations. Research has traditionally been both a generator of new ideas and an evaluative process to help improve practice. Research can be conducted based upon a variety of methodological constructs as well as several contrasting theoretical constructs.

Elements of the Definition

The research in educational technology has grown from investigations attempting to prove that media and technology are effective tools for learning, to investigations created to describe and detail the appropriate applications of processes and technologies to the improvement of learning. Important to the newest research in educational technology is the use of authentic environments and the voice of practitioners as well as researchers. Inherent in the word research is the iterative process it encompasses. Research seeks to resolve problems by investigating solutions, and those attempts lead to new practice and therefore new problems and questions. Certainly, the ideas of reflective practice and inquiry based upon authentic settings are valuable perspectives on research. Reflective practitioners consider the problems in their environment (for example, a learning problem of their students) and attempt to resolve the problems by changes in practice, based upon both research results and professional experience. Reflection on this process leads to changes in the considered solution and further attempts to identify and solve problems in the environment, a cyclical process of practice/reflection that can lead to improved practice. (Schn, 1990)

Elements of the Definition

Ethical practice. Educational technology has long had an ethical stance and a list of ethical practice expectations. There has been an increase in concerns and attention to the ethical issues within educational technology. Ethics are not merely rules and expectations but are a basis for practice. In fact, ethical practice is less a series of expectations, boundaries, and new laws than it is an approach or construct from which to work. Our definition considers ethical practice as essential to our professional success, for without the ethical considerations being addressed, success is not possible.

Elements of the Definition

From the perspective of critical theory, professionals in educational technology must question their practices and concern themselves with their appropriate and ethical use. From the perspective of critical theory, it is vital to question even basic assumptions such as the efficacy of traditional constructs such as the systems approach and technologies of instruction, as well as the power position of those designing and developing the technological solutions. A postmodern stance might impel educational technologists to consider their learners, the environments for learning, and the needs and the good of society as they develop their practices. Considering who is included (access), who is empowered (equity), and who has authority are new issues in the design and development of learning solutions, but an ethical stance insists that educational technologists question their practice areas in these ways as well as in the more traditional constructs of efficiency or effectiveness.

Elements of the Definition

It may be divided into three categories: Commitment to the Individual, such as the protection of rights of access to materials, and efforts to protect the health and safety of professionals; Commitment to Society, such as truthful public statements regarding educational matters or fair and equitable practices with those rendering service to the profession, and Commitment to the Profession, such as improving professional knowledge and skill, and giving accurate credit to work and ideas published.

Elements of the Definition Facilitating

With the recent paradigm shift toward greater learner ownership and responsibility has come a role for technology that is more facilitative than controlling. In addition, as learning goals in schools, colleges, and other organizations have shifted toward deep rather than shallow learning, the learning environments have become more immersive and more authentic. In these environments, the key role of technology is not so much to present information in drill-and-practice format (to control learning) but to provide the problem space and the tools to explore it (to support learning). In such cases, the immersive environments and cognitive tools educational technologists help design and use are created to guide learners, to make learning opportunities available, and to assist learners in finding the answers to their questions. Therefore, educational technology claims to facilitate learning rather than to cause or control learning; that is, it can help create an environment in which learning more easily could occur.

Elements of the Definition

Facilitating includes the design of the environment, the organizing of resources, and the providing of tools. It may still entail the use of direct instruction within a pre-specified framework in some cases, or the use of open-ended inquiry methods to guide further learning in other cases. The learning events can take place in faceto-face settings or in virtual environments, as in micro-worlds or distance learning.

Elements of the Definition Learning

The term learning does not connote today what it connoted forty years ago. There is a heightened awareness of the difference between the mere retention of information for testing purposes and the acquisition of skills used beyond the classroom walls.

Elements of the Definition

The simplest type of learning is retention of information. In schools and colleges learning may be assessed by means of tests that require demonstration of such retention. Computer-based instruction units (as in integrated learning systems) frequently operate this way. The learning goal may include understanding as well as retention. Assessments that require paraphrasing or problem solving may tap the understanding dimension. Such forms of assessment are more challenging, mainly because they are more labor-intensive to evaluate. Learning goals may be more ambitious, such that the knowledge and skills are applied in active use. To assess this level of learning requires real or simulated problem situations, something that is obviously challenging to arrange. Some would characterize these differences in types of learning simply as surface vs. deep learning (Weigel, 2001).

Elements of the Definition

Such types or levels of learning have long been acknowledged, but there has been a growing demand in schools, higher education, and corporate training for more attention to the active-use level. It is increasingly perceived that time and money spent on inculcating and assessing inert knowledge is essentially wasted. If learners dont use the knowledge, skills, and attitudes outside the classroom, what is the point of teaching them? So today when educators talk about the pursuit of learning they usually mean productive, active-use, deep learning. Pursuing deep learning implies different instructional and assessment approaches than surface learning, so this shift in connotation has profound implications for what processes and resources are appropriate.

Elements of the Definition Improving

For a field to have any claim on public support it must be able to make a credible case for offering some public benefit. It must provide a superior way to accomplish some worthy goal. For example, for chefs to claim to be culinary professionals they must be able to prepare food in ways that are somehow better than non-specialistsmore appealing, safer, more nutritious, prepared more efficiently, or the like. In the case of educational technology, to improve performance most often entails a claim of effectiveness: that the processes lead predictably to quality products, and that the products lead predictably to effective learning, changes in capabilities that carry over into real-world application.

Elements of the Definition

Effectiveness often implies efficiency, that is, that results are accomplished with the least wasted time, effort, and expense. But what is efficient depends on the goals being pursued. If you want to drive from Delhi to Jaipur in the shortest time, Interstate Highway No A is likely to be efficient. However, if your real goal is to see the ocean views along the way, State Highway No. B, which winds along the gardens, scenery etc., would be more efficient. Likewise, designers might well disagree on methods if they do not have the same learning goals in mind. To a great extent, the systematic instructional development movement has been motivated by concerns of efficiency, defined as helping learners reach predetermined goals that are measured by objective assessments.

Elements of the Definition

The concept of efficiency is viewed differently in the constructivist learning approach. In this approach, designers place greater emphasis on the appeal of the instruction and on the extent to which learners are empowered to choose their own goals and their own learning paths. They would more likely measure success in terms of knowledge that is deeply understood and experienced, and able to be applied to real-world problems as opposed to less authentic or embedded measures of learning, such as objective tests. Such designs, however, would still need to be planned for learning to occur within a particular time frame with some goals in mind and resources for meeting those goals. Among parties who have managed to agree on goals, efficiency in reaching those goals surely would be regarded as a plus.

Elements of the Definition Performance.

performance refers to the learners ability to use and apply the new capabilities gained. Historically, educational technology has always had a special commitment to results, exemplified by programmed instruction, the first process to be labeled educational technology. Programmed instruction materials were judged by the extent to which users were able to perform the terminal objective after instruction. Terminal objectives were stated in terms of the actual conditions for which people were being trained or educated and were assessed according to how well learners functioned under these conditions.

Elements of the Definition

The use of performance in this definition is not meant to imply that educational technology encompasses all forms of performance improvement. As is advocated in the related field of performance technology, there are many different sorts of interventions that may be used in the workplace to improve performance: tool, incentives, organizational change, cognitive support, job redesign, in addition to instruction (Stolovitch and Keeps, 1992). Since it encompasses all these sorts of interventions, performance technology is a broader concept than educational technology.

Elements of the Definition

Creating. Creation refers to the research, theory, and practice involved in the generation of learning environments in many different settings, formal

and nonformal. Creating can include a variety of activities, depending on the design approach that is used. Design approaches can evolve from different developer mindsets: aesthetic, scientific, engineering, psychological, procedural, or systemic, each of which can be employed to produce the necessary materials and conditions for effective learning. A systems approach, for example, might entail procedures for analyzing an instructional problem, designing and developing a solution, evaluating and revising decisions made at each step, and then implementing a solution. Assessing results and taking corrective action along the way is referred to as formative evaluation, while assessing the impact of the project at the end is referred to as summative evaluation. Different sorts of evaluative questions are asked at different stages. At the front-end analysis stage: is there a performance problem and does it entail instructional needs? In learner analysis: what are the characteristics of the learners? In task analysis: what capabilities must the learners master? At the design stage: What are the learning objectives? Is the blueprint aligned with those objectives? Do instructional materials instantiate the principles of message design? At the development stage: does the prototype actually guide learners toward the objectives? At the implementation stage: is the new solution being used and used properly? What is its impact on the original problem?

Elements of the Definition

Using. This element refers to the theories and practices related to bringing learners into contact with learning conditions and resources. As such, it is Action Central, where the solution meets the problem. Using begins with the selection of appropriate processes and resources methods and materials, in other wordswhether that selection is done by the learner or by an instructor. Wise selection is based on materials evaluation, to determine if existing resources are suitable for this audience and purpose. Then the learners encounter with the learning resources takes place within some environment following some procedures, often under the guidance of an instructor, the planning and conduct of which can fit under the label of

utilization.

Elements of the Definition

Managing. One of the earliest responsibilities of professionals in the field of educational technology has been management; in the early years this took the form of directing the operations of audiovisual centers. As media

production and instructional development processes became more complicated and larger-scale, they had to master project management skills as well. As distance education programs based on information and communications technologies (ICT) developed, educational technologists found themselves involved in delivery system management. In all of these managerial functions, there are sub-functions of personnel management and information management, referring to the issues of organizing the work of people and planning and controlling the storage and processing of information in the course of managing projects or organizations. Prudent management also requires program evaluation. In the systems approach, this entails quality control measures to monitor results and quality assurance measures to enable continuous improvement of the management processes. People who carry out management functions may be seen as exercising leadership, combining management expertise with support of ethical practice in all phases of educational technology practice.

Elements of the Definition

Appropriate. The term appropriate is meant to apply to both processes and resources, denoting suitability for and compatibility with their intended purposes. The term appropriate technology is widely used internationally in the field of community development to refer to a tool or practice that is the simplest and most benign solution to a problem. The concept grew out of the environmental movement of the 1970s, sparked by the book, Small is Beautiful (Schumacher, 1975), in which the term was coined.

Elements of the Definition

In this sense, appropriate technologies are those that are connected with the local users and cultures and are sustainable within the local economic circumstances. Sustainability is particularly critical in settings like developing countries, to ensure that the solution uses resources carefully, minimizes damage to the environment, and will be available to future generations.

Elements of the Definition

Of course, a practice or resource is appropriate only if it is likely to yield results. This implies a criterion of effectiveness or usefulness for the intended purpose. For example, a particular computer-based simulation game might be selected by a social studies teacher if past experience indicated that it stimulated the sort of pertinent discussion that she intended. It would be judged appropriate in terms of usefulness. In summary, the selection of methods and media should be made on the basis of best practices applicable to a given situation. This implies that educational technology professionals keep themselves updated on the knowledge base of the field and use that knowledge base in making decisions. Random choices, which might be acceptable for those outside the profession, do not meet the criterion of appropriate. Informed, professionally sound choices help learners learn productively while making wise use of the time and resources of the organization, including the time and effort of educational technologists themselves.

Elements of the Definition

Technological. In terms of lexicography, it is undesirable to use the
word technological in a definition of educational technology. an approach to human activity based on the definition of technology as the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks (Galbraith, 1967, p. 12). The term modifies both processes and resources. First, it modifies processes. There are non-technological processes that could be used in planning and implementing instruction, such as the everyday decision-making processes of teachers, which may be significantly different from those advocated in this field. The field advocates the use of processes that have some claim of worthy results, based on research or at least reflective development. Without the technological modifier, any sorts of models, protocols, or formulations could be included in the ambit of educational technology, blurring the boundaries with Curriculum and Instruction or education in general.

Elements of the Definition

Second, the term also modifies resources, the hardware and software entailed in teachingstill pictures, videos, audiocassettes, satellite uplinks, computer programs, DVD disks and players, and the like. These are the most publicly visible aspects of educational technology. To ignore them in this definition would be to create a greater communication gap between specialists and nonspecialist readers.

 Processes. A process can be defined as a series of activities directed toward a specified result. Educational technologists often employ specialized processes to design, develop, and produce learning resources, subsumed into a larger process of instructional development. From the 1960s through the 1990s a central concern of the field was the pursuit of a systems approach to instructional development. To many, the systems approach was and is central to the identity of the field. In the context of the definition, processes also include those of using and managing resources as well as those of creating them.

Resources. The many resources for learning are central to the

identity of the field. The pool of resources has expanded with technological innovations and the development of an understanding regarding how these technological tools might help guide learners. Resources are people, tools, technologies, and materials designed to help learners. Resources can include hightech ICT systems, community resources such as libraries, zoos, museums, and people with special knowledge or expertise. They include digital media, such as CD-ROMs, Web sites and WebQuests, and electronic performance support systems (EPSS). And they include analog media, such as books and other print materials, video recordings, and other traditional audiovisual materials. Teachers discover new tools and create new resources; learners can collect and locate their own resources; and educational technology specialists add to the growing list of possible resources as well.

Theories underlying educational technology.

The definitional statement above can be viewed as a theoretical construct. It proposes that a phenomenon educational technology does or can exist. The elements of the definition suggest the variables that could be observed to better understand or better construct this phenomenon: creative processes, usage processes, management processes, technological resources, learning activities, and so on. Underlying this theoretical construct are theories drawn from several related disciplines, including communication, education, psychology, and philosophy, among others. For a field to have legitimacy as a profession, its practices must be founded on a body of intellectual theory that is constantly being expanded by research and reflection.

 The field of educational technology is the sphere of activity in which people interact with other people (e.g., teachers with students or designers with clients) data (e.g., test results or software application programs), and things (e.g., chalkboards or notebook computers) in pursuit of improved learning. In addition to these tangible elements there are two other ingredients necessary to comprise a field.

The field of educational technologyand also a profession?.

 The criterion of practical application is even more obviously observable in educational technology. Analyses are turned into blueprints, which are converted into prototypes, which are tested and made into finished productsvideos, small-group simulations, computer games, and the like. These materials are used in real classrooms, and may be mass-produced for wide distribution. Practical application is undoubtedly a ubiquitous feature of educational technology.

Definition of Educational Technology (AECT, 1996)

It is a complex, integrated process involving people, procedures, ideas, devices, and organization, for analyzing problems and devising, implementing, evaluating, and managing solutions to those problems, involved in all aspects of human learning. The solutions to problems take the form of all the learning resources which are identified as: messages, people, materials, devices, techniques, and settings.

 Educational technology (also called learning technology) is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources."[1] The term educational technology is often associated with, and encompasses, instructional theory and learning theory. While instructional technology covers the processes and systems of learning and instruction, educational technology includes other systems used in the process of developing human capability. Educational Technology includes, but is not limited to, software, hardware, as well as Internet applications and activities.

 Educational technology is most simply and comfortably defined as an array of tools that might prove helpful in advancing student learning. Educational Technology relies on a broad definition of the word "technology". Technology can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines or hardware, but it can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. Some modern tools include but are not limited to overhead projectors, laptop computers, and calculators. Newer tools such as "smartphones" and games (both online and offline) are beginning to draw serious attention for their learning potential.

Learning resources
Message: information to be transmitted by the other components; takes the form of ideas, facts, meanings, data (e.g. any subject matter). People: e.g. teacher, student, speaker. Material: traditionally called media/software (e.g. pictures, books) Device: traditionally called hardware (e.g. radio, television computer etc.). Technique: routine procedures for using materials, devices, settings, and people to transmit message (e.g. field trip, lectures, demonstration etc.). Setting: the environment in which the messages are received (e.g. physical and environmental).

Educational Technology or Technology in education?

Not the same! Technology in education is the application of technology to any of those processes involved in operating the institutions which house the educational enterprise. It includes the application of technology to food, health, finance, scheduling, grade reporting, and other processes which support education within institutions.

Definition of the Field (in a more concise form)

Educational technology is the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning. It is a discipline devoted to techniques or ways to make learning more efficient based on theory but theory in its broadest sense, not just scientific theory.

Field Definitions (2)

theory consists of concepts, constructs, principles, and propositions that serve as the body of knowledge. Practice is the application of that knowledge to solve problems. Practice can also contribute to the knowledge base through information gained from experience.

Field Definitions (3)

Design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation refer to both areas (e.g. theory & practice) of the knowledge base and to functions performed by professional in the field. Processes are a series of operations or activities directed towards a particular result. Resources are sources of support for learning, including support systems and instructional materials and environments. The purpose of instruction technology is to affect and effect learning.

Train & Certification Profession

Educational technology has guidelines for training and certification. There is a competency-based framework for training people who perform tasks in educational technology. groups of specialties: 1) instructional program development, 2) media product development, 3) media management levels of performance within the specialty: aide, technician, specialist.

Educational Technology
Educational technology operates within the total field of education. In its relationship to other professions also involved in the field it advocates a coequal & collaborative relationship among these professions.

Domain of the Field

Domain Definition
design refers to the process of specifying conditions for learning development refers to the process of translating the design specifications into physical form utilization refers to the use of processes and resources for learning

Domain Definition (2)

management refers to processes for controlling instructional technology evaluation is the process for determining the adequacy of instruction.

Roots of the Field

Its a 20th century movement with the major developments occurring during and after World War II. It began with an emphasis on audiovisual communications media. Gradually it became focused on the systematic development of teaching and learning procedures which were based in behavioral psychology.

Contributing Fields to Educational Technology

Major contributing fields are cognitive psychology, social psychology, psychometrics, perception psychology, and management.

What do educational technologists do?

Most carry out one or a few of the functions performed in the field. E.g. some design instruction, some produce instructional materials, and others manage instructional computing services or learning resources collections.

Major Professional Organizations

AERA American Educational Research Association Association for Educational Communications & Technology (AECT) International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Association for Media & Technology in Education in Canada (AMTEC) American Society for Training & Development (ASTD)

Major Journals
British Journal of Educational Technology. Learning and Leading with Technology (ISTE) Innovations in Education and Training International. Educational Technology Educational Technology Research & Development (AECT) Journal of Research on Technology in Education (ISTE) TechTrends (AECT)

Where are they employed?

Most educational technologists are employed in schools and colleges as directors of resource centers and developers of curriculum materials. Increasing numbers are being employed by training agencies in business, industry, government, the military, and the health professions. Colleges and universities employ them to be involved in instructional improvement programs that use various technologies.