Introduction
Before any strategies for using technology to improve instruction are provided, it is important to clarify what the concepts technology and instruction mean in the context of these resources.
In the field of education, technology can mean two very distinct things. It is most commonly used to describe “electronic media.” Media are the physical elements that the teacher/instructor arranges or makes available within the learning experience to facilitate learning. Computers (desktops, laptops, mobile devices), calculators, video projectors, and other electronic devices reflect media commonly regarded as technology. But another important use of the word technology in education reflects the application of scientific methodology in the process of solving problems. For educators, problems solved through educational technology represent variations along the line of “What is the most effective way to facilitate learning?” One of the most important aspects of a teacher's job is to arrange learning environments to maximize the probability that students will learn what the teacher intends for them to learn. Instruction is a term used to describe the manner in which an environment is arranged for the purpose of facilitating learning. Though instructional designs vary based on the types of skills to be learned, most effective learning environments include the following components in one capacity or another:
Additionally, elements of effective learning environments may also include a variety of scaffolding measures designed to support or scaffold learners throughout different learning experiences, collaboration strategies designed to support effective learning in groups or teams, communication strategies designed to increase the amount and type of interactions among and between students and teachers, and the structuring of learning contexts designed to provide meaning and purpose to the learning of targeted skills. These different aspects of designing effective instruction will be addressed in more detail throughout these resources, and they are represented below in a schematic graphic depicting the different elements that constitute effective instruction: |
Strategies for Improving Instruction
Use the menu above to access specific information and examples associated with the following specific strategies for improving instruction with the aid of technology.
1.1 Fully accept your two PRIMARY ROLES as a professional educator (Instructional Technologist) 1.2 Identify and choose WORTHWHILE learning outcomes 1.3 Define meaningful, purposeful learning CONTEXTS 1.4 Use technology to improve INTRODUCTIONS 1.5 Use technology to improve ACTIVITIES 1.6 Use technology to improve INFORMATION PRESENTATIONS 1.7 Use technology to improve SCAFFOLDS 1.8 Use Technology to improve PRACTICE with FEEDBACK 1.9 Use technology to improve REFLECTIONS and REVIEWS |