Educational Technology

The theoretical foundations for modern-day educational technology were laid by the early Greeks, arguably the creators of the world’s first computer. The emerging field of educational technology has been intimately intertwined with the growth of learning and human development theories and research throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The rapid creation and field deployment of military and industrial technology during the world wars marked the marriage of technology and education. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, research and development regarding the use of technology to develop skills and competencies was driven by businesses and industries seeking higher productivity. In more recent years, the boom in communication and collaborative and social media has propelled and responded to contemporary problems of human learning. Educational technology as an academic domain is relatively new, and much debate exists as to how to clearly define the discipline (see Lowenthal and Wilson 2010, cited in Definitions and Overviews). The debate, at its core, is a discussion about how to incorporate studies regarding the ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources (Richey 2008), cited in Definitions and Overviews) with the ongoing and constantly changing development of software, hardware, and Internet applications that can be used to improve teaching and learning. The selections of citations for this topic were determined partially in response to Walter B. Waetjen’s paper, “Shaping the Future of a Profession” (Waetjen 1992, cited in Definitions and Overviews), which has challenged technology educators who have been helping to shape this emerging field to remember the four core elements common to all disciplines: domain, history, mode of inquiry, and instructive capability. The section Definitions and Overviews recommends articles related to the difficulty of defining educational technology as a domain. This section includes prominent journals, textbooks, and associations related to both education and technology. History and Pioneers offers a brief history of educational technology and of the early pioneers of technology in education and training. The Research and Methodologies section presents sources of quality information regarding models of inquiry into the field and introduces some of the researchers that have significantly influenced this evolving field. The sections on Teaching and Learning address how technology is currently being used in education to enhance teaching and learning. The section on Assessment puts forward a few examples of articles pertaining to the tools and the infrastructure necessary to use technology in the service of teaching and learning. The Educational Tools, Implementation and Integration, International Perspectives and Impact of Educational Technology in the Future sections provide glimpses, from international and futuristic viewpoints, of the potential impact of educational technology.