Kerry Whitehead

ETEC 562 Article Review #2

Instructional Technology Specialists and Curriculum Work

Technology integration is organizing the goals of curriculum and technology

into a coordinated, harmonious whole. Truth comes when students learn through
computers, not about them. (15) I think that this is the essence of Instructional
Technology. This describes theoretically what my job should entail.

The objective of this article was to relate the job of instructional technology
specialists and that of curriculum. The author discusses briefly the themes and
categories for both curriculum work and instructional technology work. The author
compares the two. The five themes that were discussed were as follows:
curriculum and instruction, technical expertise, program management, coordination,
and communication. When looking at the comparison, curriculum work and
instructional technology work overlap in so many areas. If they dont overlap, then
instructional technology work is an extension of the curriculum work.

The main argument of this paper is that curriculum should know technology
and technology should know curriculum. The two departments should work
together. However, many times this is not the case. Instructional Technology tends
to be isolated from the rest of administration. I can definitely testify to this. Our
administration building is an old elementary school. It has a couple of wings that
are removed from the main building. One wing houses the G/T Academy and other
houses Instructional Technology. We are physically removed from the rest of
administration. Not only are we physically removed but we are not asked to join in
curriculum development. To prove the case that instructional technology and
curriculum should work together the researcher used interviews, a focus group,
shadowing, and document analysis (9). The interviews were with the focus group.
All four that were interviewed felt that technology and curriculum were directly
related to each other. One of the participants remarked that he saw technology as
a tool that could help accomplish the goals of the curriculum (13). Many times the
instructional technology specialists do know curriculum; however, their work tends
to not be fully realized by administration. The purpose instructional technology is to
help the teachers integrate technology into their classrooms (and have it stick).
To be able to accomplish that goal instructional technologists must be familiar with

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Kerry Whitehead
ETEC 562 Article Review #2

the curriculum to be able to understand the tools that will work best in the
classroom and help raise student achievement. Not only that but instructional
technologists have to understand the curriculum to be able to develop lessons to
present to the teachers.

There are many barriers that the instructional technologists in this study
perceive that keep them from getting their work done and having their work valued.
A few of the barriers are as follows: exclusion to decision-making, a lack of time
being spent in the schools, communications, relationships with leadership, etc (14).
I can attest to these barriers. We are not a part of the curriculum meetings even
though we have tried many times to be included. We feel that we have to know
what is going on in the way of curriculum so that we know what we need to train.
We have access to the state objectives but how are they teaching it in class? How
have our curriculum specialists decided to implement lessons to address those
objectives? We dont know. Another big issue for us is being on campuses. We
want to be on campuses and available for teachers in helping implement technology
in the classroom. But our skills are not valued and so we are in the classroom half
of the day.

I really love what I do, or what I have the capabilities to do. However, until
we can change the minds of our administration my partner and I will be in the same
situation that we have been in for the last two years. This article gave me some
validation as to what my job responsibilities should be. It gives credence that the
two departments should work together and not separately.

This is a quote from one of the participants of the case study that I feel sums
everything up, Technology has to be a part of the curriculum for our students
todayit has to be part of the curriculum for them to achieve and to learn to live in
the world they are to live in, I dont think today you can have curriculum without
technologyWe cant teach today without including technology. (12).

Ausband, L. (2006). Instructional Technology Specialists and Curriculum Work.

Journal of Research on Technology In Education, 39(1), 1-21.

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Kerry Whitehead
ETEC 562 Article Review #2