Emerging Technologies August 31, 2010
Posted by Julie Bridges Moustafa in new technology.add a comment
New technology is such a funny thing. Many of us crave new and slick technologies that allow us to teach our classes while seamlessly integrating new technologies. The only problem is that human beings HATE CHANGE. Try to introduce a new technology into your repertoire and you will find yourself saying and doing things in frustration. As instructional designers, we try to do some of the hard work for teachers before the integration begins. We choose technology based on pedagogy so our choices for technology are based on the affordance of a particular technology. In the world of instructional design a technology can give us an affordance (Rowland, 2004) that we previously did not have. For example, an application like Twitter allows an instructor to send instant updates to multiple communication devices at one time. One entry in twitter will send messages to the mobile phones, facebook, MySpace, and blogs of students. The affordance comes in the form of convenience. In the “old days” teachers wrote homework assignments on the board, sent notes home, etc. If the teacher wanted to remind you to do your homework the night before, they would have to call home to each individual student. Students could have asynchronous discussions in Blackboard in between classes (affordance) or written journal entries could be passed around on paper for students to read (old way). Better yet, consider the real issue of the process used to develop the instructional product and the strategy used to accomplish the learning (Morrison, 1994).
Instructional Design and Technology research is rich with information about technology use but before the latest tools goes the way of the laserdisc, consider why you want to use this tool. A research word to the wise about technology “no significant differences” may be in your future if you are measuring a technology affordance in terms of learning outcomes. Instead, investigate an instructional strategy inside a technology tool such as requiring students to summarize vs. generate examples inside of a discussion board.
