The Field: Foundations of Educational Technology

Psychologists have various views and ideas about what learning means and what learning

is. Something that can be a commonality is that a change in behavior does not necessarily

indicate learning. If a young child matures and learns how to grasp things with both their hands

because of muscle control and coordination, it is not considered learning (Driscoll, 2011).

Defining learning is an interesting concept to me and made me really think about the goals and

objectives that I set for myself and for my students. There should be an importance of design and

research and also an important emphasis on learning more so than on instruction (Jonassen,

2011. This is important to me as a constructivist educator because the focus should be more on

the learning and less on the process of the teaching. This also helps to make my classroom more

student-centered, rather than educator-centered. Instructional design can evolve now because of a

focus on new learning theories, and constructivism. Together, instructional design,

constructivism, and other learning theories provide useful guidance for designing effective

instruction. With that being said, systematic processes are used in the design, development,

implementation and evaluation of successful instructional design. It needs to be a systematic

approach, regardless, of it being student-centered (Hoadley, 2011). This is where I tend to know

that I struggle. I know one of my strengths is making my classroom a learning-centered

environment and using technology to enhance the learning of my students. However, when it

comes to systematically designing my instruction with a full and complete plan, I struggle to

make decisions. I find myself just wanting to try things and go with it and not have a full plan.

When planning instructional design activities in a previous course, I struggled to know the
direction I wanted to go. In my experiences, my students are so different each year that the

planning direction needs to reflect who they are and systematically planning design projects

overwhelms me. Is that a good excuse? Probably not. As I learn more about how learning should

be defined, and the direction that instructional design and educational technology has evolved

towards, I want to learn more about being a better designer. In constructivist learning

environments, goals can be created ahead of time from the teacher, or they can be generated

solely by the learner. A Variety of resources and tools should be available, and guidance from

the teacher to the learner as they go through the process should be offered. (Hoadley, 2011). A

21st learning environment needs to be student-centered, ever-changing, learning-centered, and

flexible. Educational technology provides resources and tools necessary to help create learning

goals, achieve learning goals, and reflect upon learning goals. In my classroom, one of the most

important aspects of our learning process is the reflection and sharing step. I want my students to

be able to share what they are learning and really reflect on the connections they are making and

can continue to make throughout their learning journey. I want my students to understand that

learning is a continuous cycle that doesn’t end when they reach a certain age, grade or degree.

Instead, learning is something that keeps them curious, entertained, successful, and living.

Educational technology has changed beyond a desktop computer with a floppy disk and typing

program into a wide range of tools, web-based programs, coding, connections, and experiences.

Educational technology tears the walls of the classroom, and opens the door to a wide array of

worldly experiences for students. Educational technology builds a strong foundation for learners

to be prepared to face challenges, solve problems, and communicate with others near and far.

Educational technology is continuing to evolve into an important necessity in the learning

process for people of all ages. Learning itself is indicated by a change. Educational technology

continues to change and help learning.

Resources

Driscoll, M. P. (2011). Chapter 4. Psychological Foundations of Instructional Design. In Reiser,

R. A. & J. V. Dempsey, (Eds.), Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and

Technology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Hoadley, C. & Van Haneghan, J. P. (2011). Chapter 6. The Learning Sciences: Where They

Came From and What It Means for Instructional Designers. Epistemology and the Design

of Learning Environments. In Reiser, R. A. & J. V. Dempsey, (Eds.), Trends and Issues

in Instructional Design and Technology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:

Merrill Prentice Hall.

Jonassen, D. (2011). Chapter 7. Designing for Problem Solving. In Reiser, R. A. & J. V.

Dempsey, (Eds.), Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (3rd ed.).

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.