November 2005 — School Perspective
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The Rise and Fall of Educational Technology: Did We Miss the Point?
We need educational technologists who are developers of learning tools, not just software-installing computer practitioners.RECENT RUMBLINGS about the “death” of educational technology are sufficient reasons to examine the growth and direction of this young discipline. While the implementation of computer technology in schools or any other organization is a formidable task, it is not the only measure of educational technology’s success or failure.
First: The Educational Technologist
Perceptions about practice. Is it possible that students can
take a semester-long course in Instructional Computing and
not know how to turn on a desktop computer? You bet.
Today’s students enter labs filled with computers already
running and they log in, often simply by scanning their ID
cards. They never need to turn on the computer, so they
don’t learn where the monitor switch is or how networking
hookups work. Students in academic settings work with software,
not hardware. There is nothing wrong with this, but
pre-service teachers who enter a school system and show
their students and other faculty members that they cannot
start up the computer raise questions about college technology
programs. There is a chasm between what is seen as
important in an educational technology setting of a university
and what is seen as important in a K-12 setting.
Theory vs. practice. To an educational technology course designer, the world of modern computing is wide, and designing a program of study that covers a fair amount of the field is challenging. For example, there is the history of computing; using the computer for things such as word processing, building databases, making movies, creating music, developing budgets, creating charts, and carrying out other low-level tasks; doing educational “research” and becoming familiar with famous researchers; learning about laws related to computer use; understanding innovation diffusion; and much, much more. The question is: What is an educational technologist?
To be really useful in a K-12 setting, educational technologists have to be practitioners. They have to know how to set up computers, install software, and get students using the machines and programs. Yet, this interpretation of the educational technologist role shifts a great deal of power from educators to software companies, and not always to educational software companies. For training, schools increasingly rely on companies that apply a business model to education, and focus on software training rather than curriculum- based learning.
And even in a university setting, the definition of an educational technologist changes. When one interviews for a college position, he is asked questions such as: “Which researchers influenced you?” and “What have you published?” There is nothing wrong with this focus, but it d'esn’t take into account student creativity development and enhancing learning techniques using a computer.
Not surprisingly then, educational technologists fall into two camps: general practitioners who promote the use of commercial products in K-12 settings, and theorists who essentially talk about technology. Largely missing are developers who are interested in building effective simulations, refining interfaces that promote learning, and building softtools for learning.
