"What are you studying again?"

“So, what is it you’re studying, again?” is the question I’ve been asked a few times over the last few weeks in anticipation of the first semester of my EdD in IST program starting at IU. Since I feel like I haven’t had a good answer to that question, asked so sincerely by those who know and care about me, I decided to use the readings this week to try to develop, in my mind, a relationship, connection, and understanding of what I was studying, so I could better explain it to others. After reading several articles explaining various definitions, evolutions of the field, and, in essence, the non-static-nature of the field of instructional technology, educational technology, instructional design and technology, or any other iteration of the name of the field, I have come to the conclusion that I may still be searching for a good answer to the question of what I am studying.

In an attempt to define what Januszewski and Molenda coin educational technology in their book of the same name, I found the AECT’s definition, “Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources” (2). They go on to explain further that “study” is continual knowledge construction and refinement through research and reflective practice, information gathering and analysis, research both quantitative and qualitative, theorizing, philosophical analysis, historical investigation, development projects, fault analysis, and the list goes on (2). So, in essence, EdTech is made up of study in all of its forms and ethical practice, which includes media, intellectual property, not merely rules and expectations, but a basis for practice, and an essential component of professional success (3). Maybe I’m more confused than I was before I read these three pages. As I continued to read, the visual summary provided in Figure 1.1 resonated with me more than all the words I read.

Educational Technology is:

· Creating

· Managing

· Using

Intersecting at Processes and Resources

In a cyclical relationship with:

· Facilitating Learning

· Improving performance

All within the scope of Study and Practice.

Now I think we’re getting somewhere….a little closer to comprehension, yet still so far away.

After reading this chapter, I embarked upon two articles that gave some historical definitions and explanations by decade. Robert Reiser continues my understanding of the AECT’s definition mentioned above of EdTech by explaining the word “ethical” in a very concise way. He says, “The term focuses attention on the fact that those in the profession must maintain a high level of professional conduct” (6). Reiser also expounds on the figure used above when he explains that the “new” definition (albeit from 2006) focused on “instructional interventions” as intended to facilitate learning (instead of previous definitions that stated instructional solutions would control or cause learning). Facilitating learning is all we are trying to do – there’s no way we can cause or control learning. As educators, we are facilitating learning with some onus on the learner to learn. Which is the third point I got out of this article, that this new definition puts emphasis on the responsibility of the learner in what they learn. We can throw so many different technologies, strategies, “instructional interventions” at the learner, but ultimately, it’s up to them what they learn (6).

After hearing Terry Anderson speak to our class, I was intrigued with EdTech from the distance education perspective. In his article with Rivera-Vargas, their definition, through the lens of distance education states that “Distance education is commonly defined as formal education….in which the students and teacher are separated in time and/or distance. The experience may occasionally include face-to-face gatherings for the purpose of support, remediation or examination. However, the majority of the educational experience is mediated by some form of technology” (212). Honestly, I think this definition fits more what the general population of people asking me “what are you studying” think I’m studying – online, virtual, distance education – how to teach it, what tech is used, and how to learn it.

On a side note from my search for meaning in this realm of what I’m studying, reading Anderson & Rivera-Vargas’ article, where they described the “Evolution of distance education” (212) reminded me of my first trip to Hualtulco, Oaxaca, Mexico back in 2007 and my first introduction to “tele-escuela”. We traveled by car the 11 hours from Mexico

City to Huatulco, and that put us driving through a lot of small towns. Throughout these small towns, I kept seeing signs for “tele-escuela” outside of small buildings at the side of the road. My husband explained that these small towns did not have schools and the children attended “school” via television programs that were broadcast for the children in town. The government of Mexico set up this system of distance education for secondary and high school students in rural Mexico. They started in 1968 with 304 classrooms. Now the lessons are pre-recorded, in color and transmitted via satellite. By the end of 1993, “Telesecundaria” was broadcast to over 9000 schools in Mexico serving 600,000 students (Incrementa Telesecundaria…).

As I try to tie up my “Trahyn of Thought” on what it is we’re studying, I still don’t have a concise answer for anyone. I will continue to learn, read and try to narrow down my explanation as we dive deeper into literature on the topic.

References

Anderson, T., & Rivera-Vargas, P. (2020, June). A critical look at educational technology from a distance education perspective. Digital Education Review, 37, 208-229. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1344/der.2020.37.208-229; Retrieve from https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/der/article/view/30917

“INCREMENTA TELESECUNDARIA SU COBERTURA AL ATENDER A MÁS DE UN MILLÓN DE ALUMNOS.” Secretaría De Educación Pública, 27 July 2004, https://web.archive.org/web/20060115133245/http:/www.sep.gob.mx/wb2/sep/sep_Bol2990704.

Januszewski, A., & Molenda, M. (2008). Educational technology: A definition with commentary. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Reiser, R. A. (2018). What field did you say you were in? Defining and naming our field. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (4th Ed.), (pp. 1-7). New York, NY: Pearson Education.