Having played with my social bookmark tool a small amount, I can see it impacting teachers and students in a few different ways. First of all, it would be a wonderful way for teachers to connect and share their favorite sites. As I began to play with my site, I thought to myself, “What sites to I use often?” I realized that most of the sites I use on a consistent basis are teaching websites. For that reason, my social bookmark has mostly school related websites. I put links to the websites I use most and find the most useful.
Additionally, using a social bookmarking website would be a wonderful communication tool for students, parents, and teachers. On my school website, I have a space for useful websites. However, linking students to my social bookmark would be much easier because it is so easy to add sites and find new sites. I would be able to go to the same place to find useful sites and then link them for my students. Plus, parents would then have access to websites that reiterate what we are teaching in school. So many times, especially when discussing math, I have parents say, “That’s not the way I learned it. I’ve been teaching them (their child) the old way I learned and it’s more confusing to them!” Thus, using this social bookmarking tool, I could not only put links of activities for my students to use at home, but also links to places where parents can get explanations for the new teaching methods we use.
The last way I see myself using this social bookmarking site is simply for me. Whenever I use a different computer, I forget that it doesn’t have my bookmarks on it! I am so accustomed to simply having what I need right there. Therefore, when I use a different computer and don’t have the websites I want, and of course I don’t remember the URL, I get frustrated. With this tool, I can eliminate that frustration because I can get to all of my favorite sites simply by remembering my social bookmarking site.
In addition to creating a social bookmark this week, we read the first chapter of Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology the 3rd Edition by Robert Reiser and John Dempsey. This chapter discussed the various definitions the field of Instructional Technology has had over the years. After reading the chapter, I found that my understanding of the profession was still connected to the first definitions of the field. When I think of Instructional Technology, I often think of the different pieces of “media”. I think my understanding of the field fell right along with the definition from the 1970s. The first part of that definition says, “In its more familiar sense, it [instructional technology] means the media born of the communications revolution which can be used for instructional purposes alongside the teacher, textbook, and blackboard…” I guess that’s how I viewed Instructional Technology, as the media a teacher can use to help reinforce the lessons. Many of the definitions included that the technology should be used to improve learning. All of that made sense to me, that is how I saw the field.
As time went on, the definition placed more focus on a “systematic design process”. The 1977 definition discusses using technology to analyze problems. It says, “Educational Technology is a complex, integrated process involving people, procedures, ideas, device, organization for analyzing problems and devising, implementing, evaluating, and managing solutions to those problems involved in all aspects of human learning.” This definition brought about a lot of questioning as to whether I use technology properly in my classroom. Am I using it as a way for my students to analyze problems? I would like to do that, but how? For me to better understand how to do that I need to see or hear an example of what that looks like.
As time went on there were several more definitions, one in 1994, one in 2008, and one created for the textbook. The definition created for the textbook made sense to me. It said, “…the management of instructional and non-instructional processes and resources intended to improve learning and performance in a variety of settings, particularly educational institutions…” I love that it includes, “intended to improve learning”. As teachers, why would we do anything unless it is intended to help improve our students’ learning? That’s why I think that line makes a lot of sense in the definition. The definition continues to say, “Professionals in the field instructional design and technology often use systematic instructional design procedures and employ instructional media to accomplish their goals.” This line hit home too because I think it reverts back to the definition from 1970 where it discusses using media to accompany lessons. It seems more like my vision of Instructional Technology.
There were some things that surprised me in this chapter and in reading the definitions. The first surprise being that I have had an incomplete understanding of what exactly Instructional Technology is. I have always thought of it as what this book calls Instructional Media. The other major surprise to me was that the newer definitions of Instructional Technology seem to be more differentiated and student based. The 2008 definition is where this really stood out to me. The definition reads, “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 term “facilitating” stood out. To me, that means that my students would be using technology to create a more inquiry based learning experience and my job would be to simply facilitate that learning. The book states, “The new perspective [definition] recognizes the important role that learners play in determining what they will learn, regardless of the instructional intervention they are exposed to.” This surprises me most because I’m not sure that’s how it is used in the classroom. I think for the most part it is used as a supplement to other learning. Furthermore, this definition alludes to a deeper goal of technology to get students past simply gaining knowledge to a place where they can apply the knowledge. That is such an important goal, a goal I know all teachers have in teaching, but also such a difficult task. How do we get these kids to see how what we are teaching applies in different situations? Hearing this definition brought back all of those questions again, how am I using technology? How can I use it more efficiently? And most importantly, how can I use technology to help my students start to apply knowledge rather than just gain knowledge? This is what I would like to learn in order to improve as a teacher and to better prepare my students for their future in a world filled with technology.
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