As I continued to explore the history of Educational Technology (edtech) through reading the papers of Weller, (2018), and Reiser, (2001), I looked at edtech from a corporate perspective since all my experience is in the corporate world and not the education field. In edtech “the tech part of the phrase walks taller” (Weller, 2018a, p. 48). The first lesson from the edtech history is that technology should not be applied for the sake of application only, rather it should be accompanied by a pedagogical framework. For example, in InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG)- InterContinental Jordan, where I used to work as the Learning and Development Director, Craft Training Certificate (CTC) was a program given to employees in order to certify them to become departmental trainers. As part of the assessment, videos for employees delivering ten minutes of on job training were recorded. However, initially there was no particular structure for the video, so it caused some confusion between employees. (Weller, 2018b, p.40) states that “We need to fully develop the critical structures for video in order for it to fulfil its educational potential”. IHG recognized this and a video structure was added. The lesson learned was rushing to use a technology “video” without applying a proper pedagogy can lead to applying the tech part before the education part in the term “edtech” in the wrong way.
(Reiser, 2001, p.55) argues that “teachers and textbooks are generally viewed as the primary means of presenting instruction, and teachers are usually given the authority to decide what other instructional media they will employ”. (Weller, 2018) argued that teachers should not be solely responsible for deciding on which instructional media to use in class. Although I agree with Raiser’s opinion about the teachers’ instruction role, this lesson/opinion did not apply in my case working in an international corporation where the instructional media is strictly followed as part of standards in the training curriculum. In IHG Frontline, which is one of IHG Learning Management Systems (LMSs), trainers were not and could not be given the freedom of selecting the instructional media in the class. Instead, the LMS was used to preserve consistency among the prominent organizations in the IHG group, and it offered little freedom regarding instructional media selection. As Weller indicated, “The advantage was that e-learning could be implemented more quickly across an entire institution.” (Weller, 2018, p.39). I believe the use of LMS as an instructional technology is controlled by organizations that follow global standards.
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), pp. 53-64. doi-org.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/10.1007/BF02504506
Weller, M. (2018a). Twenty years of ed tech. Educause Review Online, 53(4), pp. 34-48. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/7/twenty-years-of-edtech
September 15, 2019 at 3:19 pm
Consistency in the classroom is critical and I agree with your point that if too much freedom is taking too big a risk especially if the content is taught to multiple groups of students by multiple instructors. Using the LMS sounds like a great way to keep that consistency in place, at least for the content, delivery is an entirely different conversation.
I enjoyed your post! – Kathy
September 16, 2019 at 5:52 pm
Thank you Kathy, Glad you did 🙂