After reading the first 8 chapters of 25 Years of Ed Tech, I feel that I have been living under a rock in many ways. The overall history of Ed tech is surprising to me because it dates further back than I had previously thought. In 1998, I was signing up for my first email address and unbeknownst to me, the first fully online undergraduate course would be developed in 1999 (Weller, 2020). I am left feeling fascinated at what was growing in the field of Ed Tech that I was completely unaware of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reading these chapters lead me to reflect on my own experience and beliefs concerning Ed Tech. Weller (2020) discussed the creation and relevance of Wikipedia as one of the biggest successes of wikis. Weller describes Wikipedia as a useful tool in higher education and one with very few errors (2020). This immediately confronted my distrust in Wikipedia and caused me to navigate back to my undergraduate years as the source of this distrust. During this time, I remember being explicitly told not to use Wikipedia as it was not a reliable source of information. I took this instruction as a golden rule and have not looked back until enrolling in the MALAT program and found myself surprised when an instructor offered an idea, linking to further reading from Wikipedia. This was a moment that opened my eyes to the world and possibilities beyond a textbook in a formal education setting. Reading Weller\u2019s (2020) chapter on wikis has, in a sense, granted me permission to trust Wikipedia and has reminded me that I likely have much to unlearn from my instructivist experience in my undergraduate years as I embrace the constructivist learning environment afforded in the MALAT program.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reference<\/strong>s<\/p>\n\n\n\n Weller, M. (2020). 25 years of ed tech<\/em>. Athabasca University Press. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.15215\/aupress\/9781771993050.01<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After reading the first 8 chapters of 25 Years of Ed Tech, I feel that I have been living under a rock in many ways. The overall history of Ed tech is surprising to me because it dates further back than I had previously thought. In 1998, I was signing up for my first email… Continue reading Reflecting on 25 Years of Ed Tech (1994-2001)<\/span>