Foundation
The definition of Instructional DesignTechnology
As defined by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), educational technology is the theory and ethical practice of promoting learning and improving performance through the creation, utilization, and management of appropriate technological processes and resources (Reiser, 2012). Instructional design and technology employ systemic procedures to involve the application of theory in diverse fields, developing learning materials, and evaluating the outcome of the learners and teachers to enhance and facilitate the learning process.
My definition of IDT
Instructional Design and Technology emphasize the creation of teaching materials to improve learning performance. It is a systemic process of designing, creating, and delivering digital instructional experiences to effectively achieve academic goals in institutions or workplaces to help the individual to better understand the concepts and topics while being taught.
History of IDT
1940's
During World War II, psychologists and educators helped the military to develop training materials, methods, and evaluations through audiovisual devices.
1950's
Television as a medium for instruction significantly impacted audiovisual movement. B.F. Skinner proposed programmed instructional materials in small steps, requiring a response to frequent questions, and immediate feedback allowing students to dictate the pace of instructions. During this time period, Benjamin Bloom developed Bloom's taxonomy, which emphasized learning assessments should follow the objectives to measure the behaviors (Armstrong, 2010).
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1960's
In 1965, Robert Gagne developed a systemic approach to Instructional design and was best known for his learning theories, five types of learning, nine events of instructions, and eight conditions of learning, which impacted instructional design practice today (Curry, Johnson,& Peacock, 2020).
1970's
Instructional design models based on systemic information processing are widely adopted in the fields of the military, academia, and business to incorporate computerized networks.
1980's
The first general computer-aided teaching system allowed the integration of computers into teaching. Meanwhile, there is growing interest in the principles of cognitive psychology.
1990's
The theory of constructivism had been affected the field of
instructional technology to emphasize the real-world learning
to develop the knowledge.
2000's
E-learning became widespread to deliver instruction with social media tools in the late 2000s.
2010's
With the infusion of smartphones and tablets into corporations and homes, mobile and social learning become started to penetrate the industry.
2015 - Present
Today instructional materials emphasize the learning experiences and improve learner-centered learning processing to effectively achieve the learner's goals.
Learning theories of IDT
Behaviorism
Burrhus Frederic Skinner emphasized the theory of reinforcement that people would change their response after stimuli by the environment. Skinner stated, “how learning is affected by changes in the environment and sought to prove that behavior could be predicted and controlled”. He contributed the reinforcement theory to develop programmed instruction (Cherry, 2022).
Cognitivism
It is the information processing theory that helps the learner’s memory when the information is needed to be used in a particular situation. Gagne’s nine events focus on attention, objectives, connection with prior knowledge, presentation of stimulus material, guidance, performance/practice, feedback, assessment, and retention/transfer. All of the factors have affected to IDT field.
Constructivism
Theory indicated that the learners utilize their previous knowledge as the foundation and develop their new knowledge. In the IDT field, constructionism can be at an advanced level for learners to use their prior information and applied it to relevant topics. Moreover, the instructor can be an enabler to support the learner’s learning process.
Contributors of IDT
B.F. Skinner
1904 – 1990
Advocacy of Behaviorism and its Application to Psychology and Life
Robert M. Gagné
1916-2002
Gagne identifies five major categories of learning: verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills, and attitudes.
Benjamin S. Bloom
1913-1999
An American educational psychologist who made contributions to the classification of educational objectives and to the theory of mastery learning.
Trends of IDT
There is no doubt that education has a strong association with technology. As evolution both in education and technology, the instruction requires change and innovation to qualify the trends emerging in certain fields. In order to boost the diverse learning styles, there are massive effective approaches in instructional design and technology to facilitate the learner’s engagement and motivation. For instance, personalized learning, digital learning, and immersive learning. Over the years, technology has been employed in education to create personalized learning to meet the individual’s knowledge level, performance, and preferences. Personalized learning incorporates self-directed and goal setting to promote the learner’s learning process. Moreover, digital learning also becomes prevalent to assist both instructors and learners. There is no limitation on time, location, and pace for students to learn. The instructors can also track the learners’ learning progress. Importantly, immersive learning, augmented reality and virtual reality, become popular to increase learners’ learning experience and embody complex objects and concepts. Those learning experiences provide different ways to stimulate the learning process and assist the learners to achieve their learning goals.
Reflection
After attending ETEC5000, I learned different definitions of technology and realized how the technology affected education field. For educational technology, the learning models, analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation, facilitate the course. I could apply those five steps to my future study or teaching materials. Additionally, those five steps could help me to create a teaching process completely and provide me with adequate information to go through all the resources. Moreover, the learning theory of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism, provide me with a deeper understanding of how those learning theories are applied to instructional technology and effectively implemented in my teaching materials.
References
Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/.​
Curry, J. H., Johnson, S., & Peacock, R. (2020). Robert Gagné and the Systematic Design of Instruction. In J. K.
McDonald & R. E. West, Design for Learning: Principles, Processes, and Praxis. EdTech Books. Retrieved from
https://edtechbooks.org/id/robert_gagn_and_systematic_design
Cherry, K. (2022, August 23). B. F. Skinner: The Life of Psychology's radical behaviorist. Verywell Mind. Retrieved
September 27, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/b-f-skinner-biography-1904-1990-2795543
Reiser, R. A. (2012). What field did you say you were In? Defining and naming our field. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey
(Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
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