What is Educational Technology?

Earlier in the MET program, I had the opportunity to examine in detail the AECT's definition of educational technology (2004).  As a start to Theoretical Foundations of Educational Technology, I added to that what other sources had to say in order to develop my own definition of educational technology.  During my reading, two major themes caught my attention.

The first theme is the definition of technology.  I tend to define technology in the same way as engineers, likely because of my original background in physics.  According to Luppicini (2005), engineers view technology as the systematic application of knowledge regarding how to design and construct material artifacts.  Under this definition of technology, the knowledge of how to construct a computer as well as the computer itself would fit, but the process of using a computer would not.

In the social sciences, which includes educational technology along with other areas of education, technology has a much broader definition.  According to Januszewski (2001), technology is not only the objects produced, but "...a process and a way of thinking."  This definition is arguably more relevant to the field of educational technology than the one typical of engineers.  The view of technology as the systematic process of design and construction is relevant in only a few educational settings, but the way the objects and artifacts are used matters in every setting.  It is a shift for me to think of technology in this broader sense, but it is a valuable shift.

The other major theme that struck me is the importance of including the theoretical underpinning in any definition of educational technology must include the theoretical underpinnings.  As a science teacher, I try to pass on the habits I gained from my background in physics where you begin with data and objective observations, then gradually generate testable explanations.  This approach is simply not viable in the social sciences, including educational technology, in which the nearly infinite variables affecting human behavior make it difficult to generate quantifiable data and firm explanations.  Any interpretation of observations will be guided by the social context and the theoretical grounding simply because the data would be otherwise unintelligible.

The way a social scientist thinks about what educational technology is, by necessity, different than my instincts as a scientist would like it defined, but there are good reasons for the approach a social scientist uses.

References

Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Definition and Terminology Committee.  (2004).  The definition of educational technology.  Advance publication.  Retrieved from http://ocw.metu.edu.tr/file.php/118/molenda_definition.pdf

Luppicini, R.  (2005).  A systems definition of educational technology in society.  Educational Technology & Society, 8 (3), 103-109.  Retrieved from http://www.ifets.info/journals/8_3/10.pdf.

Januszewski, A.  (2001).  Educational Technology: The Development of a Concept.  Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.