What is Educational Technology?
A new blog deserves some basic posts and groundwork before we launch off towards the super exciting stuff.
You also probably want to know how my views on educational technology differ from your own. Or perhaps you just want to know what I think educational technology is so you can write a paper about it and (hopefully) get a good grade.
To me, educational technology is the appropriate and seamless integration of technology into teaching and learning.
So let’s break it down a little and I’ll explain my thinking behind this definition.
When I am looking at options for implementing technology in the classroom this is my number one concern. Is it appropriate to use technology to present this information?
I always return to the documented objectives and goals for the class and ensure that the technology will not impair or hinder any of those. In fact, the main aim is to ensure that the technology is an enhancement to the experience. If the content can be delivered more appropriately using traditional methods, such as lecture or small group discussions, then these are the methods that should be implemented.
I am also aware of faculty who ask me to help them make their classes “snazzier”. When I ask why they need things made “snazzier” the response is that the students are not engaged. At this point we start the long and painful road toward explaining that there are more fundamental things going wrong than just a dull PowerPoint and no amount of text effects or dancing clipart can resolve those.
There is nothing worse than sitting in a classroom and getting into the flow of a lecture and the facilitator stops and says, “OK, now I am going to teach you how to use [insert pet software or social network that will be dead in a week] so you can all do your assignments.”
Shoehorning technology into a class so that you seem more aware, cooler, hoopier or generally more hooked into what is going on is never a good thing. Technology should only be used when it is seamless and part of the natural flow of the classroom. If it creates disruption, then it interferes with learning.
That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t shake things up in the classroom a little. By all means bring in new technology. The important thing to think about is how to implement it into the class to ensure that the transition from traditional modes of teaching and learning to the new mode is as seamless as possible. It is often best to implement small incremental changes than to go full bore with something totally new and out there.
Of course, if the students are used to the technology already then there is more of a chance that you can apply it successfully without it becoming jarring.
Remember, technology is simply a vehicle for your content, in the same way a lecture is. Don’t let the vehicle get in the way of the message you are trying to deliver and don’t change vehicles too much during a single class session, it makes you look like you are unfocused and erratic and will push students away.
Our aim as educational technologists is to integrate all this cool and awesome stuff that is coming out into the classes we teach. The aim is to leverage new concepts to better explain and deliver our content.
The technology should be integral to the course. If you can remove the technology aspect of the course without damaging the delivery of the material in some way then you do not need it and you may want to consider some traditional methods.
I have often seen cases where a technology is implemented into a course and the faculty is unable to see it as anything more than an extra on the side of the course. They do not integrate it into what they are doing and give it special treatment outside the main content delivery. This is particularly true when the aim is to teach the use of some kind of technology as part of a process. A good example from where I currently work would be the integration of our Electronic Health Record system into clinical teaching.
Most of the faculty have not practiced dentistry with the integration of the EHR so they find it difficult to teach how to use it as part of their normal teaching. It becomes a “Thing” stuck on the side, an afterthought. This translates to the students who find it difficult to integrate the use of the EHR into their learning and clinical practice.
The key to good integration is understanding the system you are working with and being confident that it’s use if the correct method to deliver the content you need. Sadly, there are some situations where you just can’t avoid a system and then you have to integrate it as well as you can.
This may be self explanatory but I thought it might be worth the mention. Technologies related to teaching are those things that are used as part of the delivery of content or to help in the preparation of the presentation of information. PowerPoint could be considered primarily a teaching technology as it helps you deliver and present information.
Learning technologies help a student take the information you have delivered and retain it. This may be through the use of reflective journaling using an ePortfolio or through small group discussions using Twitter.
Of course, there are technologies that bridge this gap and can perform both functions depending on application. It is often wise to consider the intended function of a technology before working it into a class. Is it designed to teach or as a learning tech or both? Can it be used in a novel way to enhance learning?
Often, as educational technologists, we find ourselves using technology in a way that was not originally intended. And that is just pure awesomeness! Go us!
So, basically these are the simple rules I live by with regards to educational technology.
It has to be integrated into the flow of teaching
Be inventive and original
Hopefully this expresses my views on educational tech well enough for you to decide if you want to read more of this stuff or not. Hopefully the rest of the posts I make on here will be a little less dry and a little more fun.
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