Response to Ch 1 - 3

 

It was interesting to read how technology has been defined over the years.  Since I was in school in the 60’s, it was even more interesting to relate the definitions to what I have experienced.  Back then it was exciting to see a digital clock!  I was quite surprised when technology was not limited to a media type definition but included anything that would enhance the educational process.  One of the major changes came from the use of the terminology when in the early stages technology was thought of as controlling the learning process and in modern terms technology facilitates the learning performance.  I would certainly like to be able to utilize the most current definition being “Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources,” however my district and most others are just not financially prepared to offer that kind of support.  I also thought that the addition to the word “ethical” made the definition more relative to modern day work since there is so much available access to information that might not be appropriate in an educational setting.  I think the current definition would probably fit most instructors goals for using technology if the technology were to be made available to us.  There are not enough resources in our district, and I’m sure in many others, to really facilitate the depth of experience regarding technology in our instruction.  

Dick, Carey, and Carey Instructional Design Model

One of the things that might need to be changed in my case is that I may have to identify what instructional materials that are available to me prior to developing a strategy to teach it.  I need to know what I can offer to my students and be sure I have access to those materials before writing the instruction or all that time would be wasted.  I might also add informal evaluation to the process as an on-going strategy to be assured that my students are achieving the goals I have set forth for them to learn.  The model that is exhibit from Dick, Carey, and Carey follows the characteristics of instructional design by showing that it is goal oriented from the first statement.  I’m not certain that it is learner centered by how this is defined in the text as it doesn’t state who is doing the assessing and/or writing the objectives, although it would be somewhat safe to assume that it was structured for an educator.  Since this does not directly state that the assessment is authentic, this may also not qualify as a learner-centered and may contradict itself by saying that ID must be learner-centered but states that outcomes can be measured in a reliable and valid way.  Since many forms of assessment are really not valid and reliable even though state mandates think they are, one might just wonder where that is going.  Over all, without reading more into this than should be expected, I would think that the model fits the characteristics of ID, especially since it is used as an example in the text as a popular model. 

I don’t believe we have even begun to scratch the surface on how technology can be implemented in this century in education.  I think one of the main problems in getting advancements in technology into the classroom is the amount of money needed to incorporate it, the money needed to take care of it, and the people using it understanding how to get the most out of it.  I feel that one day in the future, there won’t be a school building with classrooms and a nice warm-bodied teacher in the room, but instead all schooling would be done from some sort of computer system with teachers interacting through the web.  Although we have distance education more readily available at the college level, it hasn’t’ really even touched the lower levels of education which is an open market for it.  If this happens, I wonder who will be in charge of “baby-sitting” the kids then.  It seems that sometimes school is just a place to put the kids while the parent(s) are at work.  Would this bring about a needed change to our society that might keep a parent home to over-see their own child’s education?  Would this lead to less children being educated in the long run because if it?  Would the state have to provide the technology to every student to be assured that there was “no child left behind then?”  It will be an interesting future for certain.