Instructional technology

History of instructional technology
Instructional technology was born as a military response to the problems of a labor shortage during WWII in the United States. There was a definitive need to fill the factories with skilled labor. Instructional technology provided a methodology for training in a systematic and efficient manner.

With it came the use of highly structured manuals, instructional films, and standardized tests. Thomas Edison saw the value of instructional technology in films but did not formalize the science of instruction as the US military did so well.

Definition
(From )

The definition of instructional technology prepared by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and Terminology Committee is as follows: Instructional Technology is the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning. ... The words Instructional Technology in the definition mean a discipline devoted to techniques or ways to make learning more efficient based on theory but theory in its broadest sense, not just scientific theory. ... Theory consists of concepts, constructs, principles, and propositions that serve as the body of knowledge. Practice is the application of that knowledge to solve problems. Practice can also contribute to the knowledge base through information gained from experience. ... Of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation ... refer to both areas of the knowledge base and to functions performed by professionals in the field. ... Processes are a series of operations or activities directed towards a particular result. ... Resources are sources of support for learning, including support systems and instructional materials and environments. ... The purpose of instructional technology is to affect and effect learning (Seels & Richey, 1994, pp. 1-9).

Instructional technology today
Instructional technology is a continually growing field of study and practice utilizing technology as a way to solve educational challenges. For example, many universities are embracing instructional technology methods to help increase enrollment while decreasing overhead costs. Other IT tools provide the opportunity for students to interact with experts in the field, even if they are not located physically close to each other.

However, while instructional technology promises many solutions to educational problems, resistance from teachers and administrators to the use of technology in the classroom is not unusual. This reaction can arise from the belief - or fear - that the ultimate aim of instructional technology is to reduce or even remove the human element of instruction. Instructional technology enthusiasts would counter with the claim that human interaction will always require human teachers and facilitators.

Educational technology designed with the tenets of constructivism in mind in fact foregrounds "the human element." In such cases, teacher-student and student-student interactions become just as significant as the conventional and increasingly outmoded model of teacher-student transmission.

Either way, the role of computers in education - the role of machines in the transfer of knowledge - raises many issues for students of ethics.

The degree to which instructional technology is used as tool to enhance student-teacher interaction versus a tool to increase and enhance student-content interaction is a contentious issue. Value of mentoring; role modelling and community (socially supported by the technology) is balanced by restrictions in time and place access. Human interaction seems to be valued differently in different learning contexts and by different individuals and cultures. Anderson (2004) proposes that one form of interaction can be substituted for another in many learning contexts.

However, evidence based on the growth of human interaction simulators like ELIZA and ALICE suggest a time where human interaction can be successfully simulated as well. The future of cognitive expert systems will be the ability to achieve and maintain statefulness or consciousness at a low computing and build cost.

Areas of focus
Within the field of instructional technology, there are many specific areas of focus. While Instructional Technology can apply to the military and corporate settings, Educational technology is instructional technology applied to a school setting (including charter schools, public schools, online and home schooling environments). Razavi(2005) advocates that educational technology cover instructional technology. It includes instructional technology and the field study in human teaching and learning. So educational technology is broader than instructional technology. Instructional technology itself is consisted from two major parts. One is teaching technology and another is learning technology.

Human performance technology has a focus on corporate environments. Learning Science is the area of focus dealing specifically with learning methods and theories. Autodidacticism is another word that can describe instructional technology when it is used independently.