Research Article
John Nworie
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 14, Issue 1, Article No: ep345
ABSTRACT
As recognition of the roles and contributions of Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) professionals has increased, so has the demand for their skills in the workplace whether in higher education institutions or business entities. However, there remains some ambiguity, especially in higher education, about who IDTs are and what they do. There are also questions about who is hiring them. This content analysis study of 250 advertised higher education and corporate IDT positions found no fewer than 9 job titles, 13 academic programs, 5 degree levels, work experience from 1 to 10 years, and compensation that ranged from an hourly pay to a six-digit annual salary. Required skillsets included not only technical and analytical expertise but personal qualities. This study was conducted to provide a current look at the employment opportunities for Instructional Designers and Instructional Technologists.
Keywords: higher education, IDT employment, IDT graduates, careers in instructional design and technology, IDT roles and responsibilities, IDT programs, instructional design, instructional technology
Research Article
Trang Phan, Mary Paul, Meina Zhu
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 13, Issue 3, Article No: ep307
ABSTRACT
This study portrays profile uses of technology in the classroom by faculty at a school of education at a university in Central California (N = 47). First, it describes their professional uses of certain technology on a frequency scale. Second, it reports the effects of faculty’s teaching philosophy and perceptions of instructional technology (IT) in their teaching practice with regards to use of technology. This study employed quantitative data analysis. The findings indicate that faculty’s teaching goals and perception of the learning environment play an important role in determining their uses of technology. Third, it reveals faculty’s motivation and challenges to use certain technological tools in their teaching. Specifically, the participants reported high levels of motivation for using various new technologies, minimal challenges to IT use in their classroom and their actual uses of such technology being unknown. Given the faculty’s high motivation (or absence of barriers) of using various innovative technology, one of the suggestions for future professional development programs is to offer training which moves beyond understanding how to use technology, and addresses the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching with technology.
Keywords: technological practice, perceptions, teaching philosophy, instructional technology, professional development
Research Article
Nuray Gedik
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 1, pp. 76-98
ABSTRACT
Instructional Technology is a field having approximately a century old past. From its initial
conceptualization to date, it has been in question in terms of its label, definition, and scope.
Parallel to international interest, Turkey has embraced IT as a field of study and practice.
This qualitative study aims to investigate the existing conceptions of experts on
Instructional Technology in Turkey and reveal the current status of the field from their
perspectives in terms of its definition, purpose, scope, and research approaches. The
experts were chosen from among Turkish academics having a PhD degree in the field. The
results showed that diverse definitions were made with an interchangeable use of the labels
“Educational Technology” and “Instructional Technology”. The emphasis for the purpose
was on “how to” best support/facilitate/enhance/improve instruction and learning in a
broad scope. The experts found gaps on the methodological aspects of existing studies. The
results showed that there existed a dilemma between the conception of what IT should be
and the practical use of what it really is. There were both common concerns with other
countries and concerns unique to Turkey. The main challenges were discussed for further
analysis.
Keywords: instructional technology, educational technology, instructional design, instructional systems design, conceptualizations of instructional technology
Research Article
Barbara Freeman, Kristina N. Higgins, Mark Horney
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 7, Issue 4, pp. 281-313
ABSTRACT
This article reports the findings of a study designed to examine the influence of multimodal
writing on the communication of mathematical ideas. Elementary school students (ages 8-13)
were required to write mathematics notes using two digital writing technologies, a personal
digital notepad and a social mathematics blog, in the context of a formal intervention. Fortytwo
students participated, across three schools. The study showed that when students wrote
notes that could be assessed for correctness, their answers were predominately right,
indicating that mathematical sense-making was taking place. It also showed that the digital
notepad and blog were used differently and that the type of technology influences the writing
content. Moreover, students’ mathematical writing were understandable by their peers and
students collaboratively explored solutions. Younger students were more likely to draw
pictures to represent their ideas than older students. These findings show that writing can
help students acquire mathematical understanding, and suggest that multimodal writing may
help them surmount difficulties often associated with learning math. Although this research
demonstrated that writing can help teachers gain an awareness of their students’
mathematical understanding, it also revealed that writing environments need to be monitored
and students require close guidance to bring about systematic improvement.
Keywords: mathematics education, instructional technology, elemantary education, digital writing tools, blogging
Research Article
Alexandra Salas
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 7, Issue 2, pp. 174-186
ABSTRACT
This article provides a literature review of the research concerning the role of faculty perspectives about instructional technology. Learning management systems, massive open online courses (MOOCs), cloud-based multimedia applications, and mobile apps represent the tools and the language of academia in the 21st century. Research examined illustrates how important understanding user attitudes can be in the technology deliberation process. Consequently, the faculty opinions should not be underestimated in technology acceptance discussions as coupled with ongoing education technological developments is the challenge of innovation adoption.
Keywords: e-tools, Distance Education, Faculty-perceived usefulness, Voice-authoring tools, Instructional technology
Research Article
Mustafa Jwaifell, Al-Mothana Gasaymeh
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 4, Issue 2, pp. 138-149
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to explain the use of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) by English female teachers in Modern Systems School in Jordan. Viewed from the lens of Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory, the study examined and reported teachers' use of IWB and its features that have impact on their decisions to adopt it in Modern Systems School . The study employed the qualitative case study approach. Data were collected through different ways such as semi-structured interviews, document reviews, and participatory observations. Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations theory was used to guide the investigation. The study concluded that the extent of teachers’ use of IWB is related to their perceptions of the five major attributes: Relative advantages, compatibility, simplicity, trialability, and observability. The regular use of IWB has shifted the teachers’ methodologies of teaching from traditional ways to using dialogues, open sources, and group work. The study finally recommended giving more attention to training workshops regarding how to integrate IWB into the educational process.
Keywords: Interactive white board, IWB, Diffusion of innovation theory, ICT tools, English teachers, Instructional technology.
Research Article
Nuri Kara, Nese Sevim
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 4, Issue 2, pp. 108-120
ABSTRACT
Since 1950s, teaching machines have changed a lot. Today, we have different ideas about how people learn, what instructor should do to help students during their learning process. We have adaptive learning technologies that can create much more student oriented learning environments. The purpose of this article is to present these changes and its effects on learning environment. First, after explaining the concepts of teaching machines and adaptive learning systems including their main features as well as integral components, similarities and differences between these technologies are discussed briefly. Then, following the discussion on weaknesses and strengths of adaptive learning systems, what instructional designers should consider in developing and using them are mentioned.
Keywords: Adaptive learning, Adaptive learning systems, Teaching machines, Instructional design, Instructional technology
Research Article
Robert D. Tennyson
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 1, Issue 1, pp. 1-16
ABSTRACT
Employing my research and practical experience in the field of educational psychology, with a specialty in instructional design and technology, I would like to reflect on the theoretical foundations of instructional design. My purpose is to show the growth of the field through theories associated with learning psychology and educational technology. Both human psychology and technology are the main foundations for instructional psychology. Evaluation and assessment continue to be integral to the field but more in the form of tools. Included is my view of the field in reference to work I and my colleagues have done in what we label as a linking theory of instructional design. That is, linking learning theory directly with research findings and practice I argue that educators need to clearly propose and define their own theoretical foundations when engaging in the design of effective learning environments.
Keywords: Instructional technology, Learning theory, Instructional design, Technology, Theoretical foundations