Page 27 - Educational Technology A Primer for the 21st Century

14 1 Introduction to Educational Technology
Edsger Dijkstra in 1972 argued that computers had yet to solve a single problem;
they had only introduced the new problem of learning to use them effectively. That
claim seems especially applicable to educational technology in light of the history
and the recent explosion of new technologies. The reason for including a brief
history of educational technology is not to highlight how far the discipline has
come. Rather, it is to remind those entering the discipline and contributing to its
continued growth and success that:

• It is seldom the case that there is one right solution or approach to a learning
problem or situation involving educational technology, especially given the rich
variety of situations and technologies.
• What worked for Plato in his academy may not work well in a
twenty-first-century school; it is clear that what people call the Socratic method
and then praise did not work out that well for Socrates (Plato’s teacher) given
how the citizens of ancient Athens reacted (for those not familiar with Socrates,
he was jailed and executed due to his peripatetic teaching; the city leaders
accused Socrates of corrupting the youth).
• Planning for the effective and efficient use of educational technologies involves
planning for the future replacement of a particular technology and the resources,
processes, and pedagogical approaches associated with that technology.
• Planning for the future is especially challenging given the rate of change in
available technologies; however, educational technologists should plan for the
future and subsequent chapters in this volume will suggest new technologies
that are emerging and what their impact might be (spoiler alert—smart learning
environments and personalized learning may be coming soon to a theater near
you).

For the instructor: Direct the class to the UNESCO Web site on education for
the twenty-first century (see http://en.unesco.org/themes/education-21st-century)
and discuss the ways, means, and implications of what UNESCO is recommending.

1.2 The Scope of Educational Technology

The scope of educational technology is quite large as it involves the application and
practice of using technologies (in the form of tools, techniques, resources, pro-
cesses, etc.) to support, facilitate, and enhance learning, performance, and
instruction. While educational technology has emerged as a recognized discipline
and profession in the last 50 years, it is a dynamic, complex, and interdisciplinary
enterprise. It is dynamic in part due to the rapid changes occurring in technology. It
is complex due to the many interacting factors, components, and people involved in
an education system or learning environment; moreover, many of the relationships
among those factors, components, and people are nonlinear and change over time.
Educational technology is inherently an interdisciplinary enterprise involving,