Educational Technology

Educational Technology Defined

Any item, mechanism, system, electronic device, or combination of hardware and software that is designed for, or used for, the supposed purpose of enriching or contributing to the learning process may be referred to as an educational technology. This definition is simple, yet flexible enough to accommodate everything from chalk or an abacus to laser pointers and virtual-reality headsets. Although discussions about technology may conjure up images of cogs, machines, and other mechanical devices, educational technology in today’s classroom is not always tangible. For example, today’s online course management systems (ANGEL, Blackboard, Moodle, or Canvas) that allow for the dissemination of information (syllabi, course readings, and videos) or facilitate correspondence (e-mail or group chat) have as much potential to be an educational technology as the hardware (laptop computer or tablet) from which the platform is accessed. The Internet, another educational technology, exists in the abstract as the largely undefined cyberspace and is made tactile only through the keyboards, hardware, and input devices designed to navigate it.

In the latter part of the 20th century, discussions involving educational technology in higher education focused on chalkboards, transparency projectors, tape recorders, VCRs, and television sets. In today’s collegiate classrooms, examples of educational technology can be overwhelming. Overhead projectors, DVD players, smart-boards, laptop and desktop computers, digital cameras, video games, social media websites, cellular phones, MP3 players, tablets, virtual-reality headsets, and other combinations of hardware and specialty software for different majors, careers, and trades are common.

The education part of educational technology inherently implies that some learning process is being triggered by the use of a technology. The methods through which users are able to activate cognitive processes are as numerous as the technologies themselves. Educational technologies may be used to provide access to information (the Internet or library search databases), to disseminate information (course management systems), [Page 404]to display information (overhead projectors), and to acquire information (digital recorders or laptops to take notes). These technologies may also be used to provide repetition and practice of a skill set (math and English skill-and-drill games), used for their capacity to provide immediate feedback (positive and negative reinforcement), used for their abilities as content-creation tools (using digital cameras to shoot and edit a class project), and adopted for the rehearsal of knowledge in a situated environment (virtual reality environments that allow a person to practice the doctor–patient relationship). These technologies may also support the achievement of educational outcomes by allowing learners to manipulate information (think data analysis) or interact with the environment (using a microscope to look for microorganisms in water sources) in order to generate knowledge or accomplish a task. Technologies such as webcams and Internet connections can also be used for networking to create communities of practice (e.g., a class working with students in another country to facilitate foreign language skills).

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