Overview of Instructional Technology in Education

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Table of Contents

Introduction
How to Implement Instructional Media
Factors to Consider in Instructional Media Selection
The key factors that should influence media selection include
Professional Organizations Involved In Instructional Technology
Benefits of using instructional technology and instructional media
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Technology is how well one uses his expertise in tools, crafts, and systems or methods of institutional organization to come up with a solution to ones problem. Organizations, companies or groups in providing education or training to its members or staff can use technology. When used this way, it is an instructional technology.

Instructional technology is the theory of the design, utilization and development of items or ideas in order to enhance the evaluation procedures for the enhancement of learning. This relatively new field utilizes technological advances in tackling challenges in education, in classroom instruction, training in the workplace and professional field, as well as in distance learning environments. The main intention of using instructional technology is promoting learning during the process of instruction and training. The Human Performance Technology, also referred to as HTP is an instructional method that focuses on the corporate environments.

In carrying out instruction using instructional technology, instructional media are applied. Instructional media involve the use of all the resources and physical means, that an instructor is able to apply in order to implement instruction and coordinate trainees recommendation of the objectives of the institution. This may include the use of traditional materials such as black boards or whiteboards, handout, slides, objects, and videotape or recorded material, as well as newer materials and methods. Some of these are computers, DVDs, flash disks, the Internet, and IVCs. Instructional media facilitates learning or increase understanding of material or content. It is obvious that the use of communication to facilitate learning is a process that can be very challenging, which requires one to use their creativity in the methods that they have chosen to adopt in the process of instructional goals achievement. The implicit goals that media can help achieve are attracting attention, developing interest, adjusting the learning climate and promoting acceptance of ideas (Ruben, 1996).

How to Implement Instructional Media

Once one has concluded that using instructional media will help achieve either explicit and/or implicit objectives, it is necessary to apply the fundamental steps in this development stage in order to choose and apply the appropriate form of media. The basic steps followed are:

Reviewing of instructional goals, objectives, audience and instructional strategy
Determining the best medium for the lesson components
Searching for and reviewing the existing media/materials
Adapting the existing media/materials if necessary, If the new media/materials need to be developed, determine the format, script, visuals, etc, draft the materials and the media, and check for clarity and flow of ideas
Conducting formative evaluation
Implementing or applying the media
Evaluating and revising the media/material if need be
Relationships between Instructional Technology and Instructional Media

Instructional technology is dependent upon the instruction media. Without the development of media materials, then instruction during education and training would seem difficult. Therefore, the instruction media aids instruction and the technology used in such instruction.

In the modern world, the costly traditional methods of instruction, for example, video cassettes, maps, charts and boards are rarely in use. Modern methods as computers and the internet are the most applied in instruction. Both the instructional technology and the instructional media promote understanding during instruction and training. They change the attitude of trainees and the groups or individuals under training by use of simplified elements of instructions.

The both of them are instrumental in determining the period of time that is necessary for giving information and instruction about the goals of learning, in effective communication between the learners and the trainers, setting up the appropriate performance standards and management of the learning process.

The most notable roles played by both instructional technology and instructional media include saving time and the total costs of instruction. The modern methods such as use of computers and the internet are time and money saving. Therefore, development of an effective instructional media results in a more advanced instructional technology criteria, which is a great advantage to the fields where that technology fundamental.

Factors to Consider in Instructional Media Selection

Selection of an instructional depends on various factors. An organization or a company has its appropriate instructional media dependent upon the goals and objectives (outcomes), the efficiency and reliability of the media, and other considerations depending on what the organization/company is dealing with.

Models used for media selection range from basic procedures called algorithms, to complex schemes. Some emanate from communication channels such as audio, visual, or the characteristics found in the media. Other models put emphasis on the outcomes to be addressed (Dick, 2001)

The key factors that should influence media selection include

Institutional/organizations resource constraints
Course content appropriateness
Trainee or learners characteristics
Instructors attitudes and skill levels
Course learning objectives
Location for instruction
Time (synchronous versus asynchronous)
The media richness level

The factors above are summarized into three key ones to select instructional media, which are mainly,

Practicality
Appropriateness
Constraints

Practicality checks the media availability, cost efficiency, time efficiency and if the instructor understands the media. In this case, the following questions need to be in mind before one comes up with the appropriate instructional media:

What is the number of trainees in the training room for every session?
What is the range of viewing and hearing distance when the instructional media is in use?
How easy is the interpretation of the media for the trainees responses, providing feedback to the trainees and other activities?
Is the presentation using the media adaptive to the trainees responses?
Do the desired stimuli require some motion, color scheme or theme, pictures, spoken or written words?
Is the sequence fixed or flexible? Can one be able to repeat every detail to the last of it?
Which instructional media provide the desired instructional events to the trainees?
Do the media under consideration vary in affective impact?
Is the use of the hardware and the software parts in the presentation accessible or easily reachable? Do they require storage, and what is the cost implication of the storage?
How is the rate at which that backup is available? What is the rate of its effective use in case of such occurrences as power blackouts?
Will instructors have to train in order to familiarize with the equipment before undertaking the instructional process?
What is the budget like when it comes to spare parts and other kinds of repairs, just in case some damages occur?
How do costs of the media compare with its probable effectiveness?

An organization should not select an instructional media that are not practically applicable or those that will bring confusion to both the trainee and the instructor. The instructor must have extra knowledge of an instructional media before commencing an instruction process.

Appropriateness of the media is dependent upon the learning/training and the instructional outcomes. For that matter, one needs to apply some exclusion and inclusion criteria before making a final decision on the appropriate medium of instruction. The exclusion and inclusion criteria depend mainly on the following learning/instructional outcomes:

Attitudes: One should select the instructional media that present a realistic picture of any model and the models message and exclude real equipment or simulators, which have no verbal accompaniments.
Motor skills: One should select the instructional media that promotes direct practice of skills, with informative feedback and exclude those having no provision for trainee response and feedback.
Verbal information: The execution of the selection of instructional media that is able to present verbal messages, and elaborations, together with those with no verbal.
Intellectual skills: Always select the media that are able to provide feedback to the trainee responses and exclude those which do not have interactive features and are intellectually motivating.
Cognitive strategies: One should also select the media that are able to provide feedback to the trainee responses and exclude those which do not have interactive features.

If the appropriateness of the instructional media is considered, the instruction process becomes quick and time saving, resulting in a substantial reduction of expenditure during instructional process. The most indispensable media of instruction are expensive to adopt but once adopted; the successive instructional processes are at minimum costs possible.

Constraints: During instructional media selection, various constraints may pose a serious challenge to the organization in need of the media. The main constraints, which may impede the selection process include

Instructor facilitation: Since most forms of instructional media/materials involve instructor modeling, documentation, implementation, or a process of facilitation. The amount or difficulty of these processes of media facilitation may inhibit the instructors ability to utilize the media.
Production/media creation: Sometimes production or Creation of quality instructional media/material can be costly, in both time and money, enterprise. It is vital to consider the level of media quality that is acceptable with regard to time and cost efficiencies as well as instructional effective.
Availability/unavailability of the media: Sometimes the instructor might be required to create instructional units using the already available/existing instructional materials. If no appropriate materials exist to do this, then the instructor usually faces a production/media creation constraint.

All these factors may compel the instructor to use unsophisticated, uncomplicated but ineffective instructional media that are easily available. To avoid these constraints, the organization involved must ensure proper instructor preparedness through thorough training also avail all the necessary materials to the instructor before the instruction process can commence. Through this, there is the observation of time and cost efficiencies.

Professional Organizations Involved In Instructional Technology

Various organizations have taken in instructional technology as their profession. They are providing various services to other organizations that require them during training of their staff or members. Other organizations are offering training to instructors and human resource managers to equip them with various techniques and instructional strategies. Examples of these professional organizations are (Heinich, 1993).

Agency for Instructional Technology (AIT) (www.ait.net) is an organization whose objective is to provide products and services, for the enhancement of learning. It provides instructional TV programs and develops other educational foray; it makes use of online software facilities, instructional software, DVDs, and CDs. Instructional resources or AIT learning resources are currently in use in most, if not all the continents, and reach Millions of inhabitants in North America annually. Sound instructional design is the basic basis for the organizations products. The organizations management and leadership comprise of prominent and professionals from business and educational fields.

The leaders from the business sector are responsible for resource/instructional media development that suit the entire business and corporate environment. In all the countries in the different continents, the organization is in collaboration with private and public organizations to come up with interactive products, video tapes, and online and print materials. It also aims at making products that are in existence to become more useful to the educational market while encouraging technological application in education. AIT products are available in all continents in DVD series, journals and internet and are by organizations that need to use them in instruction/training process.

Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT) (www.aect.org) is another organization, which aims at providing essential skills of leadership. Bringing together professionals having the same interests in the application of educational technology achieve this. The organization has an interest in leadership, defining what leadership entails and professional practices that enhance educational communication as well as technology. It deals with accommodating, providing services and representing professionals in the field of educational communications and technology. The associations interests are in the development of attributes and elements that are necessary in the promotion of professional stature in educational technology and communication. It has also helped in promoting the improvement in learning/instructional environments with educational communications and technology.This organization can be of considerable help in the provision of instructional strategies and design to other organizations in educational, business and corporate fields. Its products are available in publications also online.

Professional Journals for Instructional Technology, Apart from putting instructional technology products in DVD series, internet and web, it is useful in journals. They serve the same purpose as those online and in DVD series. Examples of these journals are International Journal of Instructional Media (IJIM) which is a professional journal directly looking into the need for precise information on the application of media in instructional and training needs. When it comes to all forms of instructional media, it is an innovative source of research, which is in use today for training.

The journals function is to bridge the distance that exists between practice and theory. The current growth experienced in educational technology leaves the instructors with a wide range of instructional media but does not define the guidelines clearly concerning their use. The journal focuses on good quality research and the presentation of articles that involve the programs that are going on in education and instructional media.

IJIM looks into and highlights the problems involved in the use of distant learning approaches. It also looks at the use of instructional media in the course of instruction and learning. The journal discusses methods and skills that are relevant and advantageous to the use of instructional media for a particular program in both learning and instruction. There is the adoption of a prestigious journal to both the instructor and trainees in any organization.

The journal, Learning, Media and Technology is a global journal, which serves the purpose of inspiring discussions on the use of innovations in the application of educational technology and media in the improvement of educational theory. In this journal, the analysis of media and technology is in a detailed format in order to cover all the online and internet resources. It also details other resources such as digital broadcasting including other emerging media applications and technologies in the field of educational instruction. The traditional print media, radio and television transmissions are also dicussed.

The journal concentrates on analyzing debates like how media and technologies are changing views of knowledge, learning/training and pedagogy. The journal highlights the facilitation of opportunities for new learning through the engagement of learners in the media production process, previously a preserve of the rich.

Most of the journals articles are online while others are in print material/publications. This journal is of enormous purpose to instructors in the application of media technology in education, training and instruction.

Benefits of using instructional technology and instructional media

The main aims of using instructional technology/media especially the up-to-date ones in instruction/training are:

Information Access: They give instructors and trainees chance to work with a wide range of authentic materials together with real-time information that is absent in training/instruction rooms were it not for the development and advancement in technology. This easy access to information leads to relevant discussions in class that are up-to-date and well informed in terms of the details of the occurrences.

Assessment; Helping instructors efficiently and effectively use data to improve the instruction process. The instructors are able to investigate new ways of transferring knowledge as well as conduct fair and accurate assessments on the learners behaviours.

Expression: In addition, Technologies create new avenues in which trainees/learners can express and communicate their ideas. Through the expression of their ideas, the trainees become creative, gain self-confidence, which leads them to trying out new things, and engage them in the learning process.

Instruction costs reduction: the up-to-date media and technologies are time saving and cost efficient to use. They make training/instruction simple, quick and appropriate money saving techniques. Course materials is sent to students at very little cost, amounting to only the cost of internet and the content can be sent to very many learners.

The retention of information is higher in this case owing to the fact that instructional media offer concrete examples, which as opposed to abstract examples, students retain for longer. Learners relate more to what they can see and touch and instructional technologies employ a lot of these.

The use of technology allows there to be unlimited access to knowledge. Traditionally, instructors relied on limited resources as well as applied traditional methods whose effectiveness was questionable.

Instructional technology and instructional media provide an avenue for overcoming the traditional classroom setting which result in the improvement of the instructor and learner productivity.

The technology that is applied the learning process enhance learning in terms of actively involving the learners in the learning process as well as assist the instructor in the delivery of the content.

The addition of technology and media enhance research, leading to new information and evolution of instruction in class, which would lead to the learners actively participating in the learning process though talk, writing, listening, and reflecting on concrete ideas.

Conclusion

To meet the instructional and training requirements of Organizations, businesses and companies, training professionals or instructors and those who instruct designers ought to be cognizant of the ever-increasing heterogeneous labor force, which depends a lot on its highly advanced technology to meet their needs. There is the adoption of the new and current training methodologies, to alter the nature of the workforce. In the designing and development of instructional materials, workforce diversity is considered. A learning lesson, which is more stimulating, requires little investment on the part of the employee. It helps to achieve the best training mileage for a business investment in education and instruction.

References

Dick, W. C. (2001). The systematic design of instruction. New York: Longman.

Heinich, R. M. (1993). Instructional media and the new technologies of instruction. New York: Macmillan Pub. Co.

Ruben, R. L. (1996). Instructional Media: Design and Production. Atlanta: Kendall/Hunt.

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