Educational technology has been around for a long time. How far do we have to go back?\u00a0I asked my students yesterday, to define educational technology, and even though I have adult students, they all related instructional technology to laptops, mobile devices, video, audio, their field related software and hardware.<\/p>\n
I found several descriptions and definition, and I picked two of them:<\/p>\n
Definition by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT): Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources (Richey, Silber, & Ely, 2008, p. 24).<\/p>\n
Educational Technology involves the disciplined application of knowledge for the purpose of improving learning, instruction and\/or performance (Spector, 2012, p. 10).<\/p>\n
Based on the readings and the above two definitions I created my own (updated on Sep 7: after reading Reiser\u2019s definition of instructional design and technology in his \u201cA History of Instructional Design and Technology: Part II: A History of Instructional Media\u201d I feel I did fall short :-))<\/em>:<\/p>\n Educational technology is a field that investigates the process of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating the whole educational environment and learning materials to improve teaching and learning while providing access to and participation in learning\/education.<\/p>\n The relationship between technology and learning goes back 2,500 years, (Bates, 2014) from the use of rudimentary tools and paints by earth\u2019s earliest inhabitants to the expanse of digital platforms and technology tools available today. Based on this, educational technology can be traced back to the use of slate boards, pencils and pens, the books, or even paper is educational technology, yet they are so old that we rarely think of them as \u201ctechnology\u201d at all. My Mother is a retired teacher, and she used technology as well, like an overhead projector, and diapositive player, calculators, handouts and so on. Those were the so-called master technology of that time.<\/p>\n Spector (2015, p. 53) notes that \u201csomething is well integrated when it is no longer the focus of attention [\u2026] One did not focus on chalk and the chalkboard in traditional schoolrooms\u2014they were there and effectively integrated\u201d.<\/p>\n It is imperative to keep in mind that the purpose of educational technology or in other words instructional technology, is to improve education, incorporate learning theory, with the ultimate goal of supporting learners to succeed. Technology-based learning environments are not sufficient on their own. One needs to define the goals and needs of education first, and only then we use all our knowledge, including technology, to design the most effective learning environment for students. As Spector and Lockee (2009) already described in their earlier article that successful integration of technology in education is a matter of bringing new technologies into educational settings in such a way that they eventually fade into the supporting infrastructure, improving the environments they inhabit without dominating them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n References<\/p>\n Bates, T. (2014). A short history of educational technology. Retrieved September 6, 2018, from https:\/\/www.tonybates.ca\/2014\/12\/10\/a-short-history-of-educational-technology\/<\/p>\n Richey, R. C., Silber, K. H., & Ely, D. P. (2008). Reflections on the 2008 AECT Definitions of the Field. TechTrends<\/em>, 52<\/em>(1), 24\u201325. Retrieved from https:\/\/link-springer-com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca\/content\/pdf\/10.1007%2Fs11528-008-0108-2.pdf<\/p>\n Spector, J. M., & Lockee, B. (2009). 2009 AECT International Convention – Integrative Approaches: Meeting Challenges. TechTrends<\/em>, 53<\/em>(1), 5\u20136. https:\/\/doi.org\/doi:10.1007\/s11528-009-0225-6<\/p>\n Spector, M. J. (2015). Foundations of Educational Technology: Integrative Approaches and Interdisciplinary Perspectives<\/em> (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Educational technology has been around for a long time. How far do we have to go back?\u00a0I asked my students yesterday, to define educational technology, and even though I have adult students, they all related instructional technology to laptops, mobile devices, video, audio, their field related software and hardware. 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