Page 40 - Educational Technology A Primer for the 21st Century

1.5 Emerging Technologies and Changing Contexts 27
meaningful feedback to develop learner competence and enhance the application
and transfer of knowledge to solving meaningful problems.
Other changes are occurring as well. Whereas literacy used to focus on reading,
writing, and basic arithmetic, the concept of literacy has expanded considerably to
include digital literacy, which includes multiple literacies (e.g., information literacy,
technology literacy, visualization literacy). This means that the notion of basic skills
typically taught in primary and secondary school settings has been enlarged, and
supporting the development of digital literacy skills using technology is one
obvious approach.
Pedagogical approaches are also changing. Since the introduction of interactive
simulations in the last part of the previous century, there has been a growing
emphasis on learning by doing, sometimes also referred to as authentic or situated
learning. Augmented and virtual realities and immersive environments have sig-
nificantly enhanced the power of interactive simulations. As a result, such appli-
cations are expected to continue to change and influence how knowledge and
expertise are developed.

1.6 Roles of Educational Technologists

Those trained in the area of educational technology end up in various professional
positions with a variety of responsibilities. What follows is a brief review of the job
titles, roles, and responsibilities associated with educational technology profes-
sionals; it is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive of the various roles in
which educational technologists are placed.

• Instructional designer—responsible for planning, analyzing, designing, devel-
oping, modifying, implementing, evaluating, and/or managing a variety of
courses, instructional systems, and learning environments
• Instructional project manager—responsible for leading instructional develop-
ment projects, directing educational programs, and/or managing the creation of
learning environment efforts
• Media specialist—responsible for creating, finding, modifying, and/or using a
variety of media artifacts in various formats
• Technology coordinator—responsible for helping teachers and instructors find,
modify, use, and/or integrate a variety of educational technology resources
• System administrator—responsible for managing and supporting an education
system, content management system, learning management system, and/or a
network environment used to support learning and instruction
• Developer/programmer—responsible for coding instructionally related software
and/or developing mediated objects and resources to be used in support of
learning and instruction