In the LRNT 522 course of the MALAT program at Royal Roads University, Dr. George Veletsianos was kind enough to answer a few of our questions regarding learning and technology research. One of our questions focused on technology asking; with technology changing so rapidly how do make sure your research stays relevant? Do you change your research as technology evolves?

To answer this Dr. Veletsianos gave us a new perspective, “do not try to study the technology” he said, instead “try to study problems” (Veletsianos, 2018, 2:02). This new perspective casts a spotlight on some of the larger problems of research. Popular research focuses on the latest technology, it could be said that this is due to trending interests. However, the underlining problem with this is that focusing research on a technology doesn’t solve a problem. Researching technology is not purposeless, it can help many other people learn more about that technology, its capabilities, applications, and drawbacks. Nevertheless, in our field of learning and education, we are consistently trying to solve problems or answer questions that will help classrooms across the world.

Dr. Veletsianos used an example of “using Facebook in the classroom” (Veletsianos, 2018, 2:31). If a teacher is just using Facebook to share readings and allow students to collaborate, this does not solve an intrinsic problem in the classroom. Ergo, if the technology changes, the students will likely stop using it and move on to something else. Conversely, if the research begins with a problem: how do you gain diversity of thought in a classroom limited to the students present? Now the focus is on answering the problem where Facebook or perhaps Skype can be a solution. The answer to the problem doesn’t necessarily have to be technology based either, guest speakers can provide an outside perspective and teachers can be selective about the readings they choose for the class to better reflect viewpoints outside the norm of the classroom.

As researchers we indeed study areas that interest us, but without a poignant question to drive the research our study has a higher risk of quickly becoming outdated or changed from the initial purpose. As we widen our focus away from a specific technology, we allow ourselves to focus on the problem, and this has a greater impact on the community.

Veletsianos, G. (2018, August). George Veletsianos on Research [Audio blog post]. Retrieved August 16, 2018, from https://www.dropbox.com/s/5dxtmbm7ye2v10t/question1.mp3?dl=0