Instructional Technology Definition

The definition of Educational Technology is dynamic and flexible in nature due to constant technological development and innovations that in many ways affect the processes of teaching and learning.

In 2008, ACET committee updated the new 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” (AECT, 2008).

My Definition

Instructional technology is a learning process led by technology applications. Design and develop educational software or platforms through the application of technology to enhance the effect of teaching and learning and provide more learning opportunities for students.

IT History

Everyone's understanding of the IT's history is different. In my opinion, the division of IT history can be summarized into four most representative periods:

1920s-1940s

In the 1920 s, the media appeared in the public schools, is used as a visual teaching material (Reiser, 2012). In the 1930s, due to the outbreak of world war ii, the development of the teaching media become slow. However, in the 1940s, the education technology was developed rapidly through a series of education activities due to the need for many teaching techniques in the squadron，until the 1950s.

1960s-1970s

"During the 1960s and 1970s, a number of leaders in the field of education started discussing instructional technology in a different way—rather than equating it with media, they discussed it as being a process"（Reiser, 2012）. In this period, the definition of education technology has been redefined. "In 1963, it was regarded as not only the media, and later in the 1970s, the definition of it was constantly updated: Educational technology is a complex, integrated process involving people, procedures, ideas, devices, and organization, for analyzing problems and devising, implementing, evaluating, and managing solutions to those problems, involved in all aspects of human learning" (Reiser, 2012).

1990s

"Instructional Technology is the theory and practice of de- sign, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning"( Reiser, 2012). The focus shifted from process analysis to a more design and resource focus.

The Latest AECT Definition

The Latest AECT Definition This period is which where we are, after decades of development and perfection, we better definition of IT, a new definition not only emphasizes the IT's goal is to improve the teaching level, and to moral request, educators should abide by the professional moral standards.

Learning Theories

      Behaviorism was proposed by B. F. Skinner in the 1950’s. Behaviorism believes that the key factors of knowledge accumulation are stimulation and response. Learning is to build a connection between stimulus and response through reinforcement. The teaching goal of behaviorism is to allow students to respond correctly to stimuli. In the teaching process, the learning materials are broken down into small steps that can be mastered in order, and feedback is given at each step to help students complete the final learning goals.
     Cognitivism is a learning theory that focuses on “how information is received, organized, stored, and retrieved by the mind.” Instruction should be organized, sequenced, and presented in a manner that is understandable and meaningful to the learner. Cognitivsim emphasizes retention and recall through the use of quality teaching practices. Gagne categorized learning outcomes by defining the types of capabilities of human learning; differentiated the internal and external conditions which lead to different outcomes; and proposed nine events of instruction aiming to facilitate learning process (Gagne, 1985; Driscoll, 2012).
  Constructivism is a learning theory that “equates learning with creating meaning from experience.” Learning is more meaningful to students when they are able to interact with a problem or concept. Constructivism combines cognitive with social interaction with others (Christensen, 2008). Constructivism can help rngage and motivate students by making them take a more activetole in the learning process.

Many educators have their own opinions about the meaning of learning. As an educator, I think the role of teachers should break through the traditional education model, not only to provide information, but also to guide students how to study in a right path. While students are searching for answers of their doubts and confusions, they are actually learning how to learn. So, I think my philosophy of education is constructivism. What is constructivism? “The term refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves---each learner individually (and socially) constructs meaning---as he or she learns” (George, 1991, p1.).

My Ed Philosophy

Robert Gagne & Nine events of instruction

Gagne suggests that learning tasks for intellectual skills can be organized in a hierarchy according to complexity: stimulus recognition, response generation, procedure following, use of terminology, discriminations, concept formation, rule application, and problem solving. The primary significance of the hierarchy is to identify prerequisites that should be completed to facilitate learning at each level. Prerequisites are identified by doing a task analysis of a learning task. Learning hierarchies provide a basis for the sequencing of instruction.

Nine instructional events

Gaining attention (reception)
Informing learners of the objective (expectancy)
Stimulating recall of prior learning (retrieval)
Presenting the stimulus (selective perception)
Providing learning guidance (semantic encoding)
Eliciting performance (responding)
Providing feedback (reinforcement)
Assessing performance (retrieval)
Enhancing retention and transfer (generalization).

These events should satisfy or provide the necessary conditions for learning and serve as the basis for designing instruction and selecting appropriate media (Gagne, Briggs & Wager, 1992).

IT Trend & Reflection

The continuous development of education and teaching technology supports the globalization and internationalization of education to a certain extent. Students can find a variety of learning resources through the Internet and interact with learners from different countries and regions with the same interests. IT will greatly facilitate personalized learning, learners can learn whatever they are interested in and whatever way they like.

It also provides more possibilities for technology integration in teaching. With the development of information technology and the continuous accumulation of open educational resources, the potential of hybrid learning model is also increasing.

References

Christensen, T. (2008). The role of the theory in instructional design: Some views of an ID practitioner. Performance Improvement, 47(4), 25-32. DOI: 10.1002/pfi.199

Driscoll, M. A. (2012). Theorie and models of learning and instruction. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (3rd ed., pp. 35-44). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

George, E. (1991). Constructivist Learning Theory. The Museum and the Needs of People.

Gagne, R., Briggs, L. & Wager, W. (1992). Principles of Instructional Design (4th Ed.). Fort Worth, TX: HBJ College Publishers.

Reiser, R. A. (2012). 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 (3rd ed., pp. 1-7). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.