Our world of educational design and technology has changed rapidly over the years.  Some believed change would happen sooner than later. In his article, Reiser (2001) recalls that in 1913, Thomas Edison suggested books will not be used and the school system will be changed in ten years (Reiser, 2001, pg 55).  However, that was not the case.  In 2019, we continue to use books in education.  Although Reiser (2001) provided several examples of the benefits of the technology he also indicated that changes would be slower than expected.  To compare, Weller (2018) reviewed the last twenty years of educational technology and he too noted the advantages of the technology however, in certain cases, he indicated that there was a lack of interest or it was not as successful as it could have been.  There are many lessons to be learned with the history of educational technology.

Four years ago, the organization I work for made the decision to discontinue a formal learning and development division.  However, today, I’m happy to report that this decision has been reversed.  I now have the opportunity to learn from past history and to create systems and educational technology for the workforce.  In April of this year, I thought that we should introduce an LMS system into our organization.  After conducting much research into this through the MALAT program and on my own, I do not necessarily know if this is the right decision.  We want to ensure that we create a program that allows us to use different types of technology without any restrictions.  Learning from the past is definitely helpful.

With the decision that was made in the past, departments were required to find their own learning opportunities for staff. In order to provide something, MOOCS were used.  We currently promote several open education and online learning opportunities for our people.  Is this the best way?  Well, up until now, it was the only way.  MOOCS have their place and those individuals who are life-long learners deserve to have the opportunity to learn and discover new information.

Nothing ever remains the same and everything changes.  I’m very excited to see how we will incorporate learning, technology, and education in the next year.  Anything is possible!

References

Reiser, R. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part 1: A history of instructional media. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 53-64. doi: doi-org.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/10.1007/BF02504506

Weller, M. (2018a). Twenty years of ed tech. Educause Review Online, 53(4), 34-48. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/7/twenty-years-of-edtech