Defining the Field
My definition of instructional technology has to do with implementing technology practices in the classroom that deliver instruction to student's. I also believe that instructional technology is not only delivered to students but used by the student's themselves. In today’s classrooms, our students are encouraged to learn by doing. I believe that instructional technology should be used by the student in order for that student to reach their full learning potential. My experiences in the classroom as well as my first semester of graduate work have helped to shape my definition of instructional technology.
The definitions of instructional technology found in the first chapter of reading begin with very basic visual instruction in the 1920’s to becoming more of a design process in the 1960’s. (Reiser & Dempsey, 2012) The next major definition in 1970 involved more of the visual instruction like the early definition in 1920. 1977 brought us the most complex and
complicated definition which include 16 sections that could not stand alone and should all be considered as a whole. The 1994 definition was greatly influenced by advances in technology such as the internet, CD-ROMs, computers, and interactive video. The 1994 definition was made up of 5 domains which included: design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation but did not include or describe instructional technology as a process like the 1960 and 1970’s definitions. The definition currently used in our textbook involves two major ideas that have evolved over the years of developing a definition for instructional technology. Those ideas are, “the use of media for instructional purposes and the use of instructional design procedures.” (Reiser & Dempsey 2012, p.5) I think that my definition compares to the definitions of the past in the way that it will always be growing and changing. Technology is forever advancing and evolving and the way that we use technology for instruction and learning will forever evolve and change as well.
The textbook states six characteristics that should be present in all instructional design efforts. These six characteristics are:
- Instructional design is student centered.
- Instructional design is goal oriented.
- Instructional design focuses on meaningful performance.
- Instructional design assumes outcomes can be measured in a reliable and valid way.
- Instructional design is empirical, iterative, and self-correcting.
- Instructional design is typically a team effort. (Reiser & Dempsey, 2012)
In evaluating instruction and these six characteristics, a unit of instruction that comes to my mind is an animal research project that I completed with my second grade class. My students had to research an animal and present a report to the class over a 3 week period. I believe that my unit of instruction met most if not all of these six characteristics. I think that if I had to redesign the unit to make it better, I would allow my students more opportunities to create their presentation on their own and in their own way.
In chapter 3 of our reading, instructional media is defined as “the physical means, other than the teacher, the chalkboard, and textbook, via which instruction is presented to learners.” (Reiser & Dempsey 2012, p. 17) I disagree with the exclusion of teachers, chalkboard, and textbook. I believe that teachers and the methods that they use are an important tool for our learners. Our teachers are the designers of the media that our learners use for instruction in the classroom. I also believe that the stronger the teacher is at using different technologies, the more possibilities there are for student's to use media for instructional purposes. Without the teacher, there would be no one to design the instructional media. I also believe that there is a balance of old and new that should happen in the classroom. There are many methods of instruction that have been used for a long time that are still usable today. However, the traditional learning of “sit and get” does not reach our learners today. Teachers must balance the “old” traditional teaching methods with the new and current methods that our student's need today. Included in that is technology and media instruction. It is important that we teach our students how to use different tools that can be used during and after learning.
Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2017). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. Boston: Pearson Education.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post! I completely agree with you that students are teachers themselves when it comes to many areas including technology. Most of my students have devices, and I can recall many times throughout this school year where my students taught each other how to use a certain app or website. It was great to watch! At my end of the year awards, I even gave out a "Techie Teacher" award to my student who was most tech savvy.
I think animal research is a great unit where you can see if you are using the six characteristics of ID. There are so many methods in which you could teach students how to research, and students can create a variety of different products to demonstrate their learning.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteI love that you mentioned learning by doing, that mindset in so important when creating meaningful and engaging lessons for our students. I love animal research because there is so many different ways to research animals. What databases do you use? We used Pebble Go and we loved it, it is very user friendly for the younger crowd. What did your students use to make their presentations? We are a Google district and my students love to create Google Slideshows. I had never thought about teachers being part of the team that designs the media so they should be included with the media. I do agree that a teacher's technological confidence directly correlates with the students interest and confidence when using technology. I love that you mentioned that sit and get doesn't reach our students today. What do you think is that most important "old" traditional teaching method we should keep around? Great post!
In my opinion, writing a blog is not only to clearly state your opinion on a topic, but to reflect on the experiences too. You were able to evaluate your animal research project and recognize that students need to take on more ownership within this lesson, which allows their personality and creativity to shine. Throughout your blog, I was able to see that you have grown in your idea or philosophy about instructional technology through the experiences of teaching and your coursework. You are not complacent and always willing to learn in order to take the students to the next level, which is a great mentality to have. Learning and reading the definitions of IDT at first can be overwhelming, however you clearly explained the evolution of the definition in a way that someone not in this field can understand.
ReplyDeleteHi Heather! I enjoyed your post. The part of your post that struck me the most was your statement regarding incorporating traditional methods of teaching with newer methods. I recently attended a librarian professional development session in which the guest speaker stated that people in education tend to have amental disability. And that mental disability is the inability to accept change and believe that students should learn the way that we learned.
ReplyDeleteMy previous principal used to tell me all the time that change is the only constant in education. I agree that we must be able to change and adapt in order for our students to grow and become critical thinkers.
As Morgan commented, the mindset of learning by doing is benficial for student growth. Students are so accustomed to the teacher controlling the environment that they never develop that inquisitive nature. They even don't know what to do sometimes when you give them the space to think critically because they are so used to the "sit and get" routine.
I really enjoyed your post. Nice work!