CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

Spector (2019). Definition : Educational Technology,

retrieved from https://educationaltechnology.net/definitions-educational-technology Date
accessed: August 16, 2019 9:37 am

Overview

With education, we gain knowledge, awareness, and skills, in which we then are capable for
success and achieving our ambitions. However, technology has played an essential role in
enhancing and developing the educational process.

Educational technology is the use of technology in education.  It is the effective use of

technological tools in learning. As a concept, it concerns an array of tools, such as media,
machines and networking hardware, as well as considering underlying theoretical perspectives
for their effective application.
Educational technologies have been around many years ago up until now. Its purpose has been
felt since it started and that is to improve education. Educational technology also referred to as
instructional technology, is a field of study that investigates the process of analyzing, designing,
developing, implementing, and evaluating the instructional environment and learning materials
in order to improve teaching and learning. Now today, rapid technological developments are
transforming education. These developments include new hardware and software then new
innovative applications that have tremendous potential in transforming education to make it
more effective and efficient and hence with more benefit to student and teachers. Teachers can
help maintain students’ interest and excitement by using technologies to provide a variety of
instructional techniques and presentation in the class. With technology, it enhance relationships
between teachers and students making teaching and learning more meaningful and fun. Now, in
this modern and advancing age, technology is a powerful complement to traditional teaching
methods in education.

DEFINITION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

What is educational technology? There are a variety of definitions of educational technology.

The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT):

Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving
performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and
resources.

The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology:

Educational technology is a systematic, iterative process for designing instruction or training
used to improve performance.

Michael Spector
Educational Technology involves the disciplined application of knowledge for the purpose of
improving learning, instruction and/or performance.
Kurt (2015 ). Educational Technology: An Overview, retrieved from
https://educationaltechnology.net/educational-technology-an-overview/ Date accessed: August
16, 2019 9:40 am

History of the Definitions

Educational technology’s definition has evolved over the years as a variation of ways of dealing
with learning processes, a conceptual framework, theory and practice and the latest study and
ethical practices of dealing with technological processes and resources.

1963
Audiovisual communications is the branch of educational theory and practice concerned with
the design and use of messages which control the learning process. It undertakes: the study of
the unique and relative strengths and weaknesses of both pictorial and nonrepresentational
messages which may be employed in the learning process for any reason; and the structuring
and systematizing of messages by men and instruments in an educational environment. These
undertakings include planning, production, selection, management, and utilization of both
components and entire instructional systems. Its practical goal is the efficient utilization of every
method and medium of communication which can contribute to the development of the learners’
full potential.

1972
Educational technology is a field involved in the facilitation of human learning through
systematic identification, development, organization and utilization of a full-range of learning
resources and through the management of these processes.

1977
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.

1994
Instructional technology is the theory and practice of design, development, utilization,
management and evaluation of processes and resources for learning.
HISTORY OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

In some form or other, education has been around since the beginning of the human species. 
This is because education, the process of facilitating learning, has always been a necessity.
After all, without education, no generation can be adequately fitted for the duties to perform in
the world.  Each succeeding generation inherits the accumulated knowledge of the preceding
one, generally becoming increasingly better.
For most people today, school and education are considered synonymously.  This is not
surprising given that the experience most of us will have in schools is what is arguably the most
important part of formal education.  For example, it is within the school setting that most of us
learn to read, develop our skills in social interaction and encounter authority that does not come
from a parent.
Indeed, schooling, as it exists today, and therefore education, only makes sense if we view it
from a historical perspective.  Unlike other species, humans have always had the ability to
organise, store and transmit knowledge in sounds and language.  Prior to technology, word of
mouth communication was the only type of education that existed.  From the hunter-gatherer
communities to the invention of agriculture, beginning 10,000 years ago, people depended on
word of mouth communication to acquire vast knowledge of the plants, animals and land on
which they depended.
Our understanding about the way schools first operated comes from ancient Greece, in about
4th century BC.  In fact, the word ‘school’ comes from the Greek ‘schole’, which means leisure. 
Back then, when schools were available only to the aristocracy, the assumption would have
been that leisure was synonymous with learning.  Elsewhere in the ancient world, prominent
examples of formal education were evident in the middle east, China and India, and their
systems of education generally emphasised reading, writing and mathematics.  In these times,
speech was the primary means by which people learned and passed on learning, making
accurate memorisation a critical skill.

Education in ancient Greece stands out during this era though, because of its diversity.  It was
the Greeks who first created what we would now call primary and secondary schools.  There
was also a lot of emphasis from an early age on physical education, which was considered
necessary for improving one’s appearance, preparation for war, and good health at an old age
(Plutarch, 1927).  Roman schooling broadly followed the Greek model.  There were small
schools for privileged boys, which taught grammar.  Then, the boys attended rhetoric schools, to
prepare them for public life (Thomas, 2013).

The first examples of educational technology in the ancient world were the tools that students
and teachers used for writing.  Over thousands of years and across the continents, various
surfaces have been used as a medium for writing, including wax-covered writing boards (by the
Romans), clay tablets (in the middle east), strips of bark from trees (in Indonesia, Tibet and the
Americas), thick palm-like leaves (in South east Asia) and parchment, made of animal skin
(common across the ancient world).
Wax tablet and a Roman stylus
Clay tablets were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the
Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. Tens of thousands of written tablets, including many
fragments, have been found in the Middle East.   Students in ancient Babylonia and Sumeria
inscribed their writing on clay

tablets with a stylus. These could be used wet and erased to be used again, or baked to create
a permanent document.
After the fall of the Roman empire, from about the 8th century, education was mainly the
responsibility of the religious establishment.  This was generally the case throughout the ancient
world.  By the end of the Middle Ages, and after the invention of printing (a truly disruptive
technology), schools would eventually become common in many towns and villages across
Europe, with the main intention being to ensure children could read and write.  Then, by the time
of Shakespeare’s Europe, in the 15th century, schools had more or less become the education
system that can be recognised today.

On the back of the printing press, schools gradually developed a curriculum in which the
subjects considered most important were taught.  By the mid-1600s, the modern library and the
pencil were introduced, marking the first examples of educational technology.  Later still, the
19th century marked the advent of textbooks and improvements in writing tools available to
teachers and students, notably blackboards and chalk, as well as the use of ink pen rather than
just pencil.  During this period since the middle ages and until the latter half of the 20th
century, learning has primarily been focused on the curriculum rather than the child. 
In other words, for a great many children, compulsory education has been monotonous affair,
marked by rote learning and memorisation.
The 20th century saw many sweeping changes though, in politics (revolution and war),
economics (depression and boom), science (huge developments) and technology (radical
advancement), all of which quickly spilled over into education.  The 20th century was a key time
in education, when the ideas of philosophers like John Dewey really started to gain ground.
Essentially, John Dewey (1859 – 1952) championed the notion of the child as an instinctive
scientist: ‘the native and unspoiled attitude of childhood, marked by unspoiled curiosity, fertile
imagination, and love of experimental inquiry, is near, very near, to the attitude of the scientific
mind’.
For Dewey, like the philosopher, John Locke 200 years before him, reflective, critical thinking is
the centre of education.  Education is not (and should not) be about memorising facts – it is
about being trial-and-error thinking, testing and analysing.  Dewey went on to draw a distinction
between information and knowledge, noting that schools concentrate on the former at the
expense of the latter.  These ideas would eventually crystallise into what has become the
pedagogical movement, progressive education, setting the backdrop for constructivism. 
Although Dewey himself did not use the term ‘constructivism’, his point of view

can be considered a type of constructivism.  Dewey argued, for example, that if students learn
primarily by building their own knowledge, then teachers must adapt the curriculum to fit
students’ prior knowledge and interests as fully as possible.  He also argued that a curriculum
could only work if it related to the activities and responsibilities that students will probably have
after leaving school.  He said that schools should be concerned with the education of the whole
child, including the intellectual, social, physical, and emotional needs of each student.
To many educators nowadays, Dewey’s ideas appear common sense, but they were innovative
and progressive at the beginning of the twentieth century.  Educational reformers and thinkers
since Dewey have simply formalised, confirmed and tweaked his ideas.  Dewey’s core ideas
therefore, have persisted and continue to be the bedrock of educational practice all over the
world today.
Aside from the transition to a progressive pedagogy, digital technology over recent years has
had an enormous impact on education.  Representing the second main wave of disruptive
technology since the printing press, digital technology, such as computers, Learning
Management Systems (LMS) and the Internet, have fundamentally changed how students learn
and teachers teach.  Significantly, education is much more accessible now, and teachers have
the tools to communicate more engagingly than ever before.  Much of the content on
Technology for Learners also showcases examples of digital technologies, which help facilitate
the learning process.
Taken together, progressive education and digital technologies, bring us to where we are today
– moving ever closer to a flipped learning model, in which students are becoming increasingly
autonomous and active in their own learning.
 
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DOMAINS

Educational Technology is the theory and practice of design, development, utilization,

management and evaluation of processes and resources for learning." (Association for
Educational Communication and Technology)
Components of the Definition

The Theory and Practice

A profession must have a knowledge base that supports practice. Theory consists of the
concepts, constructs, principles, and propositions that contribute to the body of knowledge.
Practice is the application of that knowledge to solve problems. Practice can also contribute to
the knowledge base through information gained from experience.
Both theory and practice in Instructional Technology make extensive use of models. Procedural
models, which describe how to perform a task, help to connect theory and practice. Theory can
also generate models that visualize relationships; these models are called conceptual models.

Design, development, utilization, management and evaluation are the five basic domains of the
field.

1. Design – establishing a framework to guide in planning the educational technology. In this

pace you have to develop the curricula to be implemented and plan how long it will take to
finished the program.

2. Development – using design and framework; materials are produced and developed.It also
occurs after you plan what curricula to be used and develop materials that will help you and
benefit the student to learn more about the topic.

3. Utilization – implementing and using the learning materials to enhance knowledge and skills
of learners. After developing the materials, you have to use this as a tool for your teaching
learning process. It also helps you to know if it was really having a great impact to them

4. Management – it is applied in the implementation of all domains and its effects on the
outcomes of the students learning. 
5.Evaluation – monitoring, assessing and giving judgement on the extent of usefulness of
learning materials in achieving the expected outcomes.
Bottom of Form

These terms refer to both areas of the knowledge base and to functions performed by
professionals in the field. Each domain of Instructional Technology includes a body of
knowledge based on both research and experience. Each has sufficient uniqueness and scope
to have evolved as a separate area of study.
The domain of design represents the largest theoretical contribution of Instructional Technology
to the larger field of education. The domain of development is also mature and represents the
largest contribution to practice. The other domains are not as well developed or rely heavily on
theory and research from other fields.

Processes and Resources

A process is a series of activities directed towards a particular result. Examples of instructional
technology processes include models for the development of instruction, such as instructional
systems design; models for teaching, such as the discovery approach; and use of delivery
systems, such as teleconferencing;
Resources are sources of support for learning, including support systems and instructional
materials and environments. Resources are not only the devices and materials used in the
process of teaching and learning, but also people, budget and facilities.
For Learning.
The purpose of Instructional Technology is to affect and effect learning. Learning is the goal and
instruction is a means to learning. Learning, as evidenced by a change in knowledge, skills or
attitudes, is the criterion for meaningful instruction.

The Domains of the Field

The domains of the field provide a common conceptual framework and agreement on
terminology. Without this framework it is difficult to make generalizations, or even communicate
easily across subfields. Common understandings are especially critical since much of the work
of instructional technologists is done in teams.
While defined separately, the domains are interrelated. Each domain contributes to the other
domains and to research and theory that is shared by the domains. A researcher may
concentrate her work in one domain while a practitioner is likely to work in several domains,
even within one project. As instructional projects become more sophisticated, the lines between
domains blur and the activities of one domain are increasingly dependent on the activities of
another.
Each domain has subcategories which represent common areas of interest for researchers,
theorists, and practitioners. These subcategories are not exhaustive, but together they
represent most the work instructional technologists are doing in the recent past and present.
A Description of the Domains
The Domain of Design
Design is the process of specifying conditions for learning. The purpose of design is to create
strategies and products at the macro level, such as programs and curricula, and at the micro
level, such as lessons and modules. The domain of design encompasses at least four major
subcategories of theory and practice. These subcategories are described below.
Instructional Systems Design
Instructional Systems Design (ISD) is an organized procedure that includes the steps of
analyzing, designing, developing, implementing and evaluating instruction. Analyzing is the
process of defining what is to be learned; developing is the process of authoring and producing
the instructional materials, implementing is actually using the materials and strategies in
context, and evaluating is the process of determining the adequacy of the instruction. While ISD
may seem to include all the other domains, design emphasizes the parts and the whole of the
planning function.
Message Design
Messages are patterns of signs or symbols that modify cognitive, affective or psychomotor
behavior. Examples are symbols, type faces, visuals, textbook pages, and web pages. Message
design must be specific to both the medium (e.g., photograph, computer graphic, billboard) and
the learning task (attitude formation, motor skill development, memorization). This subcategory
emphasizes the planning of a message to fit the medium and the learning task.

Instructional Strategies
Instructional strategies are specifications for selecting and sequencing events and activities
within a lesson. A designer uses instructional strategy theories as principles for instruction, and
chooses them based on the learning situation, learning environment, learning task and learner.
Again, the focus is on the choice and planning of a strategy to fit the situation.
Learner Characteristics
Each learner has past experiences or even innate qualities that impact the effectiveness of a
learning process. A designer uses theory and research about learner characteristics to plan for
modifications in instruction to support increased effectiveness for that learner or one like
him/her.
The Domain of Development
Development is the process of translating the design specifications into physical form. It
includes hardware, software, visual and auditory materials, as well as the programs or packages
which integrate the various parts. The sub-categories of the development domain reflect
chronological changes in technology, with new overlapping but not replacing old.
Print Technologies
Print and visual materials, including books, photographs and graphics involve the most basic
ways of producing and delivering instructional materials. They also provide the foundation for
both the development and utilization of other instructional technologies. Text displayed by a
computer is an example of the use of computer-based technology for production. When that text
is printed in hard copy to be used for instruction, it is an example of delivery in a print
technology. Development of text materials and visual materials relies upon theories related to
visual perception, reading and human information processing as well as theories of learning.
Audiovisual Technologies
Audiovisual instruction is most obviously characterized by the use of hardware in the teaching
process, that is, using mechanical or electronic machines to present auditory and visual
messages. There is an increasing overlap of AV Technologies with Computer-based
Technologies. For example, a video is an audiovisual technology. However, when video
information is available on a videodisc, it becomes randomly accessible and may demonstrate
most of the characteristics of computer-based or integrated technologies.
Computer-based Technologies
Computer-based technologies use screen displays to present information to students.
Information is stored electronically in the form of digital data rather than as print or visuals. The
various types of computer applications are generally computer-based (CBI), computer-assisted
(CAI), or computer-managed (CMI).
Integrated Technologies
Integrated technologies are ways to produce and deliver materials which encompass several
forms of media under the control of a computer. An example of an integrated system would be a
computer which has a hypermedia lesson running under an authoring system such as
HyperCard or Toolbook. This lesson would include information on a videodisc, audio system or
the WWW. As controlled by the learner’s interaction with the computer keyboard and monitor,
the computer would access these various resources and deliver the output to the computer
screen. The learner doesn’t have to be concerned about the delivery of the resources, but can
concentrate on the content of the lesson.

The Domain of Utilization

This is the oldest of the domains because regular use of AV materials predates even concern
for production of instructional media. Utilization is the act of using processes and resources for
learning. Bringing about change, through instructional innovation is incorporated within this
domain. Those engaged in utilization are responsible for matching learners with specific
materials and activities, preparing learners for interacting with the selected materials and
activities, providing guidance during interaction, providing for assessment of the results, and
incorporating this usage into the continuing procedures of the organization. The subcategories
of this domain explain these activities further.

Media Utilization
The media utilization process is a decision-making process based on instructional design
specifications. Those engaged in media utilization are taking what was planned by the
instructional design process and carrying it out with learners in the classroom. For example,
how a film is introduced to learners or "followed-up" with activities would be tailored to the type
of learning desired. Learner characteristics and learning styles may also influence how media is
utilized.

Diffusion of Innovation
The goal in this area of utilization is to bring about change . The first stage of the change
process is to create awareness through dissemination of information. From this awareness
comes interest, trial and adoption.

Implementation and Institutionalization

The goal in this area of utilization is to continue the change process. Instructional technologists
implement the use of instructional materials or strategies in real (not simulated) settings. They
also institutionalize, that is establish continuing, routine use of the instructional innovation in the
structure and culture of the organization. Both processes depend on changes in individuals and
changes in the organization. Implementation does, however, concentrate on the proper use of
the innovation by individuals. Institutionalization serves to integrate the innovation in the
structure and life of the organization.

Policies and Regulations

Generating, refining, interpreting and disseminating rules which affect the use and diffusion of
instructional technology is also a part of the utilization domain. Some rules, like laws, come from
outside the field and must be applied within the field. Some rules, like ethical standards, are
formulated within the field and communicated to those within the field. Instructional technology
has been involved in policy generation related to instructional television, copyright law, and
standards for equipment and programs.

The Domain of Management

Instructional technologists are often called upon to manage. Programs, projects and settings
may differ greatly, but the basic skills necessary to manage remain constant. These skills
include planning and organizing programs, supervising personnel, planning and administering
budget and facilities, coordinating policies and procedures, and providing leadership. Four
subcategories of management are especially important in instructional technology.

Project Management
Project managers plan, monitor and control instructional design and development projects. Their
jobs are limited to ensuring the success of a particular project, but they are generally
responsible for managing all aspects of the project.

Resource Management
Resources can include personnel, budget, supplies, time, facilities, and instructional resources.
An example of a manager in this area would be the Director of Media Resources at a university.
He would, through management, make instructional resources accessible to those who need
them.

Delivery System Management

Distance learning projects, such as GSAMS, provide requirements for this type of management.
Delivery system management focuses on product issues, such as hardware/software
requirements and technical support to users and operators, and process issues, such as
guidelines for designers and instructors.

Information Management
Information must be accessible to users when, where and in whatever format best serves their
needs. Information managers plan, monitor and control the storage, transfer or processing of
information in order to provide resources for learning.

The Domain of Evaluation

Within this domain, evaluation is the process of determining the merit, worth or value of an
instructional program, project or product for the purpose of making a judgment. The focus is on
the instructional program, project or product (material) not on the learners. Personnel evaluation
may play into the evaluation of an instructional program or project, but is also not the focus
within this domain. Three subcategories of evaluation are of particular interest for study and
practice within instructional technology.

Problem Analysis
Evaluation starts as the program, project or product is being planned. The first step in evaluation
is problem analysis. This process includes identifying needs, determining to what extent the
problem can be classified as instructional in nature, identifying constraints, resources and
learner characteristics, and determining goals and priorities (Seels and Glasgow, 1990). A need
has been defined as "a gap between ‘what is’ and ‘what should be’ in terms of results"
(Kaufman, 1972).

Criterion-Referenced Measurement
Because of the emphasis on achievement of specific competencies within the field of
instructional technology, criterion-referenced measurement is of interest. The criterion for
determining adequacy is the extent to which a learner (or a program, project or product) has met
the objective.

Formative and Summative Evaluation

An emphasis on both formative evaluation (in the early stages of product development) and
summative evaluation (after completion of instructional program) is a prime concern of
instructional technologists. Formative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy
and using this information as a basis for further development. Summative evaluation involves
gathering information on adequacy and using this information to make decisions about
implementation or institutionalization.

References :

Cornell University Library (Rare & Manuscript Collections)

retrieved from : http://rmc.library.cornell.e-du/Paper-exhibit/¬paper3.html

Gary Thomas (2013). Education: A Very Short Introduction

retrieved from : https://educationaltechnology.net/educational-technology-an-overview

Kaufman 1972: Department of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology: IT Domains

https://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/education/curriculum-leadership-and-
technology/documents/Domains_Document.pdf

Kurt 2015 : Educational Technology: An Overview

https://educationaltechnology.net/educational-technology-an-overview/

Plutarch (1927). The Training of Children. Moralia. Loeb Classical Library. p. 7.

retrieved from : http://-www.masterofartsintea¬ching.net

Spector 2019 : Definition : Educational Technology

retrieved from :
https://educationaltechnology.net/definitions-educational-technology