Thursday, January 28, 2010
History Rant
The authors give us a lovely history lesson about instructional media in Chapter 3. After taking us through the advancements over the last century, they confess that the advancements have had a minimal effect on instructional practices, but they offer no reason why this may be the case. They then pose the question, "Will the impact of media on instruction be greater in the future than it has been in the past?" I am going to have to go with YES. First, we have to take into consideration the training of teachers and preservice teachers. How do we learn how to teach? Sure, we take all of these classes where we learn about learning theory, recite Bloom's taxonomy, practice writing lesson plans, etc., but we learn how to teach like we learn how to do many other things. We watch, we imitate, we adapt. And, for the most part, teachers are still teaching like they did a hundred years ago! In my opinion this is one of the reasons why media has had such a minimal impact in the last century. Being a teacher is hard work, keeping the attention of your students is even harder, and coming up with creative ways to teach is the hardest. When we get stuck, we revert to what we know...the basics of reading, regurgitating, lecturing, and testing. But, we can't do that anymore. Technology is developing at such a high rate that we are preparing students for jobs that don't even exist yet. We are faced with a very real problem. One that cannot afford to dismiss technology. We must focus on giving preservice teachers a foundation in instructional design and technology...one that can guide them as they enter the classroom. I think we have to show them new and improved ways to teach so that perhaps technology does not just become a tool to show powerpoint presentations, but it forces students to develop a foundation for learning this way and ultimately prepares them for the work they will do in the future...
So, what do you do? Wait, what is that?
So, what do you do?
This used to be so easy to answer. For the last few years my answer was simple, "I am a teacher." Of course that prompted the standard follow-up question, "Oh, what grade do you teach?" And then my favorite part...the shocked look on the person's face when I said that I taught high school English and that yes, I loved it. I have to admit, it was pretty easy to keep the conversation going for a while with the interesting stories of my kids and the trials and tribulations of teenage life: the laughs, the tears, and the enormous amount of fights (many which I have personally broken up). Now, it has become increasingly more difficult to answer that question.
Last weekend, my friend and I went to a local bar. As it is customary for men trying to start a conversation with a woman, the two that eased their way into sitting at our table asked, "So, what do you do?" Nervously I answered, "I am PhD student at LSU." Follow up: "What are you studying?" I took a deep breath and loudly declared, "Educational Technology." And then, as if I was in some Bill Murray film reliving the same thing over and over again, I heard the all too familiar words being muttered from the guy's mouth as if he was genuinely interested, "Wait, what is that?" I took a deep breath and for the next ten to fifteen minutes I tried to explain the many facets of the field. When I saw the guy's eyes wandering around trying to find his next prey, I ended the torture and decided that I wasn't really too sure about anything I was saying.
Chapter 1 of Reiser and Dempsey attempts to define and name the field, describing the various definitions and changes that have occured through the years. Although, their personal definition of Instructional design and technology is lengthy one, they do a good job of trying to incorporate all of the elements...even though it seems like one big run-on sentence! The chapter did help me to focus on the most important aspects: analysis, design, development, implementation, and management. One key part of the definition was that they mentioned that through the field professionals intend to improve learning. It reveals the ultimate goal and of course that is one of the major reasons that I am so passionate about the field. I believe in its ability to improve learning and facilitate learning in a better way.
There is no doubt in my mind that this definition will continue to change as advancements continue to be made. However, reciting Reiser and Depsey's definition or even the AECT definition is not going to help me get a date anytime soon. I think I will have to come up with my own definition...not one that I expect to be published, but one in layman's terms that includes the major elements, but also focusses on my specific interests within the field. I'll save the history lesson for date five and learning theory for date nine.
This used to be so easy to answer. For the last few years my answer was simple, "I am a teacher." Of course that prompted the standard follow-up question, "Oh, what grade do you teach?" And then my favorite part...the shocked look on the person's face when I said that I taught high school English and that yes, I loved it. I have to admit, it was pretty easy to keep the conversation going for a while with the interesting stories of my kids and the trials and tribulations of teenage life: the laughs, the tears, and the enormous amount of fights (many which I have personally broken up). Now, it has become increasingly more difficult to answer that question.
Last weekend, my friend and I went to a local bar. As it is customary for men trying to start a conversation with a woman, the two that eased their way into sitting at our table asked, "So, what do you do?" Nervously I answered, "I am PhD student at LSU." Follow up: "What are you studying?" I took a deep breath and loudly declared, "Educational Technology." And then, as if I was in some Bill Murray film reliving the same thing over and over again, I heard the all too familiar words being muttered from the guy's mouth as if he was genuinely interested, "Wait, what is that?" I took a deep breath and for the next ten to fifteen minutes I tried to explain the many facets of the field. When I saw the guy's eyes wandering around trying to find his next prey, I ended the torture and decided that I wasn't really too sure about anything I was saying.
Chapter 1 of Reiser and Dempsey attempts to define and name the field, describing the various definitions and changes that have occured through the years. Although, their personal definition of Instructional design and technology is lengthy one, they do a good job of trying to incorporate all of the elements...even though it seems like one big run-on sentence! The chapter did help me to focus on the most important aspects: analysis, design, development, implementation, and management. One key part of the definition was that they mentioned that through the field professionals intend to improve learning. It reveals the ultimate goal and of course that is one of the major reasons that I am so passionate about the field. I believe in its ability to improve learning and facilitate learning in a better way.
There is no doubt in my mind that this definition will continue to change as advancements continue to be made. However, reciting Reiser and Depsey's definition or even the AECT definition is not going to help me get a date anytime soon. I think I will have to come up with my own definition...not one that I expect to be published, but one in layman's terms that includes the major elements, but also focusses on my specific interests within the field. I'll save the history lesson for date five and learning theory for date nine.
Monday, January 25, 2010
My Very Own Blog!
Welcome everyone...or should I say classmates. I'm not sure if anyone else will be reading this blog except those who are forced to...but I hope to offer my thoughts and ideas about Educational Technology...a field I am extremely passionate about. Feel free to comment or contact me with any questions or ideas you may have. I wish you all a successful semester...
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