What Exactly Is Ed Tech?
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina.
Ed tech…. ed tech skills… ed tech tips and tricks… ed tech capacity… ed tech meme… ed tech chat… when I type ed tech into the search bar of my blog it literally brings back over 100 results. But what exactly is educational technology and what should we know about it? The Type A, straight-forward part of me wants to go to the Oxford dictionary when it comes to defining anything but I don’t actually agree with it in this instance.
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
“digital technology used to facilitate learning”
Oxford Learning Definitions
So lets step back for a moment and disect:
TECHNOLOGY
“the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes”
Oxford Learning Definitions
This definition already sits better with me as it removes the digital requirement. Yes, at this point in time MUCH of what we consider technology is digital; fueled by electronics and tied into the internet of things. I think we would be remiss to simply forget the years in which technology was NOT digital or the fact that digital inequity exists not only around the world but also within our own communities.
So where does that lead us, from a definition standpoint?
This week in class we had an opportunity to debate this with our peers and it was brought up that during a recent infrastructure outage their entire school was left without access to their regularly used technologies: computers, projectors, interactive boards, tablets, etc. There was, however, one teacher who had retained an overhead projector and quickly transitioned to that medium to continue their programming through the day. At that point in time, that overhead projector became the peek exemplar of educational technology within that building.
This reflection reminded me of a video I was introduced to through my M.Ed journey in 2016. [YouTube video embedded below]
With this in mind, I argue that we shouldn’t have the “digital” requirement as part of our operational definition of educational technology. Education, as we all know, is never black and white but rather a spectrum of colours that are influenced by factors such as our environment, resources, student demographics, pedagogical philosophies…. to name just a few. So what about this:
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
“the application of scientific knowledge to facilitate learning”
For some classrooms, that scientific knowledge may be a math kit with protractos and rulers. In some classrooms, that scientific knowledge may be a graphing calculator. In other classrooms, it may be a VR headset running Desmos.
With a working definition of educational technology in mind lets know move forward to contemplate some of the questions raised in this week’s readings:
- Postman reminds us that educational technology will produce winners and losers: it cannot be ignored that the nature of technology itself has been programmed in a way that clearly marginalizes and even harms specific groups of people
- Clark and Kosma go to head over the media debate: can educational technology be a cure-all or is it a waste of time?
- Watters highlighted what they consider to be some of the worst ed tech debacles: what should you ask yourself before implementing a new tech tool?
What definition do you apply to educational technology/”ed tech” and what questions are raised as you eplore the role it fits within your practice?
Hii, thank you for sharing your post!! as per my perspective, i believe, education technology is that tool which helps to enhance our teaching and learning by using various digital tools and digital applications in our classroom. from my personal experience, i agree that digital tools really makes our classroom more interesting and engageable, because i am the student who used books only till 12th and got my digital devices during my undergrad.
I really appreciate your terminology of educational technology by removing the digital component to it. I had always simply considered ed tech as the use of digital equipment to facilitate learning, but many of the posts this week, as well as last week’s discussion has helped me to view ed tech in a different light, and I agree that the digital should not be a per-requisite for defining educational technology. As for your question on considerations before implementing new technology –
I think the first question to ask is, “who is this serving?” Is it for the teacher or is it for the students? I always ask these questions before I do anything new in my classroom. It’s important to know your kids and know them well enough to understand whether or not they would benefit from implementing something new. Further, we also need to ask ourselves, “who won’t benefit from this in the class?”. I think we often times get caught up in the convenience of new tech, that we work under an assumption that everyone will benefit. But when we consider the diverse needs of our students, we need to consider that something may be hurting students as well.
I also tend to ask whether or not a new tech is, “cool, or useful, or both?”. I’m not saying that cool new tech isn’t great, but again, going back to the needs of our students, what is the practicality of whatever it is we are introducing? Will it have longevity, or like the Watters article, will it end up on a top 100 list sometime of things to never introduce into the classroom?
Hi Kirsten!
First off, I love your TikTok and glasses collection! I have made a few Instagram reels but have yet to tackle the world of TikTok. I tell myself I have TikTok for “educational research purposes” when in reality its a hodgepodge of dog, renovation, gluten free, teacher and dark humor videos.
I like that you highlighted Postman’s statement that in educational technology there are winners and losers. This is something I struggle with when it comes to my own definition, use, and practice of Ed Tech in my classroom. I am trying to find a balance of how I can use Ed Tech without harming students in my classroom. It has become glaringly obvious since the pandemic which students were left behind when everything shifted to digital. I like to compare it to a math class. In math (so I am told) you start with an initial assessment to see where your students are and build a plan from there. When it comes to technology in my classroom initial assessments show some students who can build their own code, but also some who do not know how to turn on a Chromebook or use the copy and paste keyboard function. I am finding more than ever I have to figure out a way to incorporate technology so all of my students can feel like winners because just like a math class, once you feel you are behind, it is a difficult journey to feel successful.
Once again, awesome TikTok!
Nikki
I believe that educational technology is anything that helps my students learn. That said I couldn’t help but reflect on your video link – the way students learn is constantly evolving and I cannot help but think that I am falling behind the times. In many ways my classroom is reflective of the classroom that I sat in 30 years ago as a student. I worry that the small things that we take for granted are shaping the learning environment more than we’d like to admit. Is seating students in rows (an arrangement from the factor school model of almost a 100 years ago) optimal? Is the lecture method that I often default to even effective? Why are my classes 1 hour long – is this reflective of student attention spans? Why don’t I use cell phones more often when they are the primary method with which students communicate with one another? On the other hand I wonder what technologies are a “flash in the pan” and not worth investing our time in (will TikTok be around in 5 years?). Sometimes their is a penatly to being an early adopter.
Kirsten, I really enjoyed reading your post this week. I also appreciated your input into defining technology during our breakout session last week during class. It really pushed me to reevaluate my own definition of technology as more than the electronic component, to one that includes the use of scientific knowledge to the application of solving a problem, creating more practical and efficient ways of completing a task.
Bret
Kirsten,
I really appreciate the time you took to dig deeper into a definition of educational technology. I also did a double look at the educational technology definition – only referring to digital technologies. Removing the digital aspect of that definition opens up what technology means for our classrooms and learning. I love your definition and will be taking it into my personal dictionary for this course and my understanding of technology and learning. I wonder if the “scientific knowledge” piece may leave out other kinds of knowledge and technological possibilities through this.
I do think that the “scientific” piece begs us to ask questions about all aspects of the technology, including who this technology is impacting, how, and what is being left behind or forgotten as Postman and Watters made poignant.