Class Reflections

Instructional Technology ia a way to enhance learning through the use of technology. It is not the study of technology. It is the study of learning and how technology can improve learning. It is the study of instructional strategies that work well with all kinds of technology…new technology as well as old technology. Technology is the tool…learning is the desired  end result and creative instructional strategies is the way the technology produces the learning.

I attended a meeting the other day which included a discussion of traditional instructional strategies versus 21st century strategies. The following chart was used to summarize the different techniques common to the each:

Traditional strategies typically involve reading, listening, and watching while 21st century strategies focus on writing, speaking, showing. The traditional strategies are summarized as learning by “absorbing” while the 21st strategies are defined as learning by “creating. ” Typically traditional strategies involve passive participation…learning by absorption …while 21st strategies involve active participation with the learner required to work with and process information to create a product…a writing, a speech, an oral presentation or a video/ multimedia product.

It was a  good discussion and it reminded me of all the research that indicates that learners show more learning when they are forced to organize, process and think about the information available to them in order to create a product. And instructional technology’s goal is to facilitate this process.