Educational Technology

What is Educational Technology?

Educational technology is ‘the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources,’ according to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), the largest professional society focused solely on educational technology.

In practice, that encompasses several distinct areas of effort. One is planning and installation of technology for education. Since the mid-1970s, this technology has increasingly meant the computers used to teach and manage learning and related activities, but it also includes other hardware and operating technologies, from film and audio equipment to LCD projectors and other sophisticated projection systems.

A second area of focus for educational technologists is educational software. Some educational technologists develop learning programs that can be taken on a computer. These programs can be synchronous (occur when learner and instructor are both online at the same time, such as in a chat) or asynchronous (instructor or learner are not online at the same time, such as in a self-study tutorial). Other educational technologists develop software tools that are used to develop these learning programs, such as virtual classroom software (like WebEx and Centra), used to provide synchronous learning experiences, and software for creating tutorials, called authoring tools (such as Dreamweaver Course Builder and Authorware). This software focus is reflected in the definition of educational technology offered by the International Technology Education Association (ISTE): ‘Using multimedia technologies or audiovisual aids as a tool to enhance the teaching and learning process.’

A third focus of educational technologists is the processes and products used to design instruction. In these applications, technology refers to the sequence of activities and the applications of cognitive psychology to the design of instruction, rather than a physical hardware or a type of software. These activities are known as instructional-design, as phrased by Charles M. Reigeluth.

In terms of academic study, educational technology is available as an academic degree from universities in nearly every U.S. state, as well as in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several countries in the Middle East and Asia. In its most academic form, educational technology explores the following: the models and processes used to analyze, design, develop, deliver, implement, and evaluate instruction; the technology used to support these processes—both analogue and computer-based—in order to deliver learning materials, facilitate communication, and provide assessment and feedback; the policies associated with these practices; and the research that informs practice.

The academic study of educational technology explores learning throughout the life cycle, from preschool through retirement education. Similarly, because educational technology encompasses technology, learning, and design, it is an interdisciplinary field that draws upon other fields such as educational psychology, developmental psychology, early childhood and elementary education, higher education, adult education, computer science, ergonomics, sociology, and communications studies.

...