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Information and Learning Technologies Master’s Program INTE 6750, Current Trends and Issues in Instructional Technology Under Direction of Professor Brent Wilson, Ph.D.

Stephenie Buehrle, Deborah Crowder and Aimee Willis November 2011

Part I: E-Learning: Emergence of the Profession

Part II: Trends

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Part I: E-Learning: Emergence of the Profession

E-Learning is experiencing a great evolution and growth as the capacity for education is

no longer limited by time, physical or technological constraints. Part I of this narrative

provides an historical overview of instructional design and technology, distance learning,

E-Learning and emerging technologies. Additionally, several key models and terms

central to these practices are summarized. Part II of this report will focus on three current

technology trends, including cloud computing, mobile learning and social media and how

they relate to the field of E-Learning.

Parent Field: Instructional Design and Technology Instructional design and technology (IDT) is a vast subject that can be likened to a deeply

rooted tree that has, over time, towered and branched into various practices and models

that continue to define what it is and how it has developed. Truly understanding IDT

requires examining the seeds that were planted in order to give rise to such a hybrid field.

Educational technology, instructional technology and instructional design are all alternate

labels defining IDT. Instructional technology utilizes technological processes, systems

and resources, which can include media, to facilitate learning; whereas educational

technology encompasses not only hardware, software, applications and activities, but also

contemplates instructional and learning theory in order to develop a learner’s capabilities.

If instructional and educational technologies are contributing factors in defining IDT,

then instructional design is another cornerstone. Designing instruction that applies

research, theories and strategies to increase the appeal and effectiveness of learning is

integral to IDT (Horton, 2006). Although instructional design and instructional media are

often addressed together, these practices have developed separately. The design aspect of

the profession includes the approaches by which educational problems are solved,

whereas the media side of the profession signifies the resources utilized to deliver

instruction (Reiser, 2001).

The most notable implications of IDT within the United States are concentrated within

the last century. The first quarter of the 1900’s saw important developments in audio and

visual media, including innovations in radio and film. The need to quickly train military

personnel served as a catalyst for new instructional designs and audio-visual media in the

form of training films. As a result of this demand, educational and psychological

professionals entered into the field and applied their expertise to design instruction and

assess learning success (Reiser, 2001).

Throughout the 1950’s and 60’s, behavioral objectives were popularized to aid in

designing instruction and were inspired by models such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, which

theorizes that there are levels, or domains, of intellectual behavior that are critical to

learning. Robert Gagné’s Conditions of Learning drew from fundamental concepts in

Bloom’s Taxonomy and set forth nine instructional events necessary to achieve

successful learning (Reiser, 2001). Both of these models are foundational to the field of

IDT and are highly regarded as a basis for the design of instruction.

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During the 1970’s the ADDIE model of learning provided a five phase process by which

learners approach problems. These phases include analysis, design, development,

implementation and evaluation and are still a staple of the instructional design process.

Again, we find learning objectives playing a key role, here within the analysis phase of

the process. It is in this phase that the instructional problem is clarified, along with the

learning objectives and goals. Objectives and former theories are evident as building

blocks to the continuation of solution models within the field.

The select few milestones, models and influential figures discussed above are by no

means more important than many others not mentioned. However, this sampling provides

a sound basis to illustrate the interwoven nature of the ideas and solutions that have been

influential in improving instructional design, as well as the foundation upon which the

field continues to grow.

Instructional design and technology continues to be an ever changing, ever growing field

that caters to both business and educational sectors and the military in order to improve

the knowledge and performance of learners. If “knowledge is the single most important

commodity in the prosperity of [a nation]”, then the design of instruction and the

technology utilized to design and deliver it is a platform on which success and prosperity

are built (Saba, 2008, p.13). Distance learning and the emergence of E-Learning are

notable offshoots of IDT worthy of in depth discussion because they share history with

and embrace the professional spirit of delivering knowledge and enhancing the learning

experience.

Distance Education: Another Set of Roots Distance education shares a common history (see Figure 1) with and employs the bulk of

the principles of instructional design. It differs primarily through the way learning is

delivered.

Several key features define distance education. Many definitions of distance education

are

available, but one that is pure and simple is, distance education is learning without the

physical

presence of the instructor. Distance education is characterized by the following (Mantyla

and

Gividen, 1997):

Separation in place or time, or both, of one or more of the following: instructor and

learner, learners from one another, and learners and learning resources.

Interaction of one or more of the following: the learner and the instructor, learners

and other learners, and learners and learning resources conducted through one or

more media.

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Processes that employ a multiple set of delivery methods

in the learning experience, such as written

correspondence study or electronic media.

Processes may be synchronous meaning “real time” or

simultaneous participation of all students and the

instructor (Moore and Kearsley, 1996) or asynchronous,

which signifies instruction that does not require the

simultaneous participation of all students and instructors

(Moore and Kearsley, 1996).

There are three types of interactions typically seen in

distance education applications (Moore, 1989). Each type of

interaction could have different effects on learners or the

effectiveness of a course. These interactions are:

Learner-Content Interaction. The first type of interaction

is interaction between the learner and the content or

subject of study. This is a defining characteristic of

education. Without it there cannot be education, since it

is the process of intellectually interacting with content

that results in changes in the learner's understanding, the

learner's perspective and mind.

Learner-Instructor Interaction. The second type of

interaction is interaction between the learner and the

instructor. The learner is able to draw on the experience

of the instructor to interact and respond in a way tailored

to the needs of each individual. The instructor is

especially valuable in responding to the learners'

application of new knowledge.

Learner-Learner Interaction. The interaction is inter-

learner interaction, between one learner and other

learners, alone or in group settings, with or without the

real-time presence of an instructor.

In application, distance education assumes the learner is

capable of self-direction, and the instructor is more

facilitative than directive.

Garrison’s Community of Inquiry model incorporates

elements of both the constructivism and connectivism

models which see the learner in active terms:

cognitive presence (the ability to construct meaning

through sustained communication)

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social presence (the ability to connect on a meaningful level with other learners and

teachers)

teaching presence (the creation and facilitation of cognitive and social processes that

lead to meaningful educational outcomes)

This approach is more holistic and attempts to capture not only the content, but also the

context in which we learn and work in today's world. Therefore, learning is dynamic,

ongoing, and dependent on internal cognitive processes as well context and social

interaction, whether face-to- face or online (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000).

Regardless of the delivery method, level of interaction or model used, technology is

penetrating all aspects of education and changing it dramatically especially as E-Learning

moves to the forefront.

E-Learning: Emergence of the Field The first use of the term E-Learning was in commercial applications. In the 1990s, the

International Data Corporation saw great prospects for booming investments in

businesses that leveraged the Internet to deliver their distance learning modules to

corporations, thereby meeting the market need to keep the knowledge base of existing

employees current (Morri, 1997).

Of course, educators saw the opportunity in E-Learning, as well. While some still “view

E-Learning as that learning facilitated on-line through network technologies” (Garrison &

Anderson, 2003), others apply the term more broadly to include all forms of knowledge

transfer in formal and informal settings using any type of electronic media such as

television, telephone and the Internet (E-Learning Fundamentals).

As previously described, educators have worked tirelessly to incorporate the latest

developments in instructional design as it applies to traditional classroom and distance

education settings alike. With the advances in technology and adoption of E-Learning,

participation in distance education has erupted—recognized not only as a highly

accessible means for learning, but also as a reputable one. This reputation is due, in part,

to the offering of “E-Learning” and online education by accredited institutions, but also

due to the ongoing application of instructional design.

While the early applications of E-Learning (in the 1960s and 1970s) were largely

behaviorist in nature with the distribution of electronic lessons that provided

straightforward positive or negative feedback to a learner’s input, later implementations

grew much more complex. With the technological development of wikis, platforms for

discussion threads, the increased accessibility of audio and video technology and other

media that promote interaction, educators moved on to employ a wide range of

instructional design models.

For example, a design may include the introduction of a perceived problem or issue in the

form of an assigned reading, podcast or video followed by student participation in a

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discussion hosted in an electronic thread. In an E-Learning lesson such as this, educators

can encourage and monitor the engagement of learners and their collaboration with their

peers to construct a resolution to the issue. Educators can utilize a range of electronic

formats to interject in these discussions, providing resources that further each student’s

understanding of the concepts. Furthermore, one of these more complex E-Learning

designs might incorporate the requirement for students to blog or otherwise capture their

reflection demonstrating their cognitive learning.

And so it goes, the innovative spirit that inspired educators to exploit the demonstrative

capabilities of film (Reiser, 2001, p. 55), utilize audio technology for language labs

(Wilson, Orellana & Meek), and harness the power of the Internet and all of the tools

deployed therein to cultivate rich learning experiences for students continues to instigate

new developments in E-Learning.

Perhaps the definition of E-Learning will become widely accepted as the use of all things

electronic and digital to enhance the learning and mastery of skills. In the same way that

educators have exploited and become the primary consumers of technology in the past,

they may embrace the “idea that technology is doing for learning what it has done for

pretty much every other aspect of living, which is to say that it has dismantled the walls

between spaces” (Corbett, 2010). Instead of schools with classrooms, grade levels and

subjects, educators may come to foster “learning spaces” and “discovery spaces” where

children collaborate to build, play and deploy their own electronic games—all the while

refining their reading, writing and mathematics expertise (Corbett, 2010). This could

characterize the application of social constructivism in an E-Learning environment.

E.O. Wilson, a Harvard educated evolutionary biologist, would certainly see this as the

education of the future. If he is right, Thomas Edison’s prediction that “books will soon

be obsolete in the schools” (Reiser, 2001, p. 55) will come to fruition about 100 years

after the time that he made it. Rather than the motion picture revolutionizing the

institution of education, Wilson predicted that “games are the future in education

[and]…we’re about to leave print and textbooks behind” (Corbett, 2010). While it is

unlikely that print materials and books will become obsolete, it might very well be true

that game development and application will be incorporated in the instructional designs

of the future.

Concluding Thoughts Instructional design, distance education and E-Learning have certain similarities. All

three traditions feature a common shared history and all have been influenced by many of

the same key contributors and models. However, each tradition in application presents

itself with different perspectives and nuances.

Instructional design at its core is a reasoned approach to developing training and

education solutions to pass knowledge. The theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of

modern instructional design and technology are supported by many contributors,

especially the works of Bloom and Gagné. Not only did Bloom and Gagné’s work

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influence the instructional design field, but it is also evident in today’s distance education

and E-Learning practices. The significance of distance education is in the way technology

began to be harnessed to provide non-traditional learning.

E-learning is opening up an entire new world of opportunities and challenges. Maturing

technology is bringing about an interactive environment for learners. Examining

emerging trends in E-learning provides insight into approaching and impending

developments in the field.

As the industry moves forward, the interaction and individual contribution of these core

practices make it possible to deliver sustainable educational and training solutions that

produce results in a complex, ever-changing world. Ultimately, these three practices have

demonstrated that they are sufficiently dynamic enough to allow for the implementation

of viable new technologies and models that make their way into the instructional

landscape. These new technologies and platforms are evident in the emerging trends that

continuously shape and redefine the field of E-learning.

Part II: Trends

It is clear that E-Learning is a mainstay in 21st century learning environments. Part I of

this narrative provides an historical overview of instructional design and technology,

distance learning and E-Learning. In this section, or Part II, we will present emerging

technology trends that are currently influencing and affecting instructional design and

learning professionals.

As evidence of the viability of E-Learning, one can look to the U.S. Department of

Education, which devotes a significant amount of resources to the development of its

National Education Technology Plan (NETP). The plan “calls for applying the advanced

technologies used in our daily personal and professional lives to our entire education

system to improve student learning, accelerate and scale up the adoption of effective

practices, and use data and information for continuous improvement” (U.S. DOE, 2010).

Teaching professionals, by their nature, do not tend to wait for policymakers to prompt

them or to provide the means to adopt new tools and methodologies to reach their

participants. They certainly are applying advanced technologies to their classrooms. What

might be more difficult is keeping up with the advances in technology and their impact

on trends in education. In Part II, we are highlighting just three trends that are having a

significant impact on teaching and learning, but make no mistake, these trends are but a

sample of the creative applications of instructional technology.

Cloud Computing

There is a movement underway that will affect most everyone who uses computers called

“the cloud”. Seen as a cheaper, faster, more convenient alternative to traditional

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information technology (IT) infrastructure and services, the “cloud” is similar to paying

for any other commodity, such as electricity, cable TV, or cell phone service. In “the

cloud”, fundamentally, a provider’s computing resources, service and expertise are

pooled to serve multiple consumers with varying needs for a cost.

Cloud computing is not Web 2.0 tools or networking. Rather, it is the enabling

technology. Cloud computing can be viewed as digital outsourcing or the farming out of

computing capabilities and software applications to another company on pay-per-use or

pay-only-for-what you need basis from anywhere at any time without requiring much in

the way of consumer expertise or human interaction with the service provider (Shor,

2011).

The advantage is the consumer gets the service at a stable, predictable cost and

computing capabilities are rented and no hardware or software assets are purchased

outright by the consumer. The business or educational institution does not have to invest

capital in building organizational computer infrastructure and support staff. Additionally,

convenience, cost, reliability, scalability and environmental factors are other benefits

anticipated in the deployment of cloud-based workplace and learning solutions (Marks,

E. & Lozano, B., 2010).

Cloud computing falls under three

categories: Software as a Service (SaaS),

Platform as a Service (PaaS), and

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) (see

Figure A).

Software as a Service (SaaS) provides

consumers with software over the

web. The time savings that come with

on-demand software, where nothing

needs to be installed on a PC and new

users can be added easily – along

with the pay-per-use business model –

have made SaaS a success (Miller,

2010). A popPopular and familiar examples of SaaS are Google Apps and

Blackboard Learn.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides consumers with a stable online environment

to develop custom applications using visual, point-and-click browser-based software

development tools like Google’s AppEngine and Microsoft’s Azure rather than a

programming language. There is less work involved in creating an application using

PaaS than the traditional approach, which involves procuring and managing one or

more servers for development, testing and production, and installing and configuring

server software (Miller, 2010).

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides consumers with administrative, web-

based access to fundamental computing resources such as processing power, data

storage and high-speed networks.. The low entry costs and the pay-per-use

charging model make it attractive to businesses. More importantly the web interfaces,

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empower the consumer to administer the computing resources as if they owned them

(Miller, 2010) Amazon is a leading provider with its AWS (Amazon Web Services)

offerings and learning professionals may utilize this type of service to host files like

large online training videos (Miller, 2010).

Cloud computing represents a radically different way of procuring a full range of IT

capabilities. It is the service nature of cloud computing that makes it such a disruptive

force in the IT industry. Although there are multiple cloud computing services that the

learning and performance professional can immediately apply in a practical way, almost

everyone is now grappling with how to best take advantage of cloud computing

capabilities to reduce costs and enhance productivity. What is certain is path-breaking

and people-centric technologies continue to be experimented with and established to

empower and address situational needs that provide for the developmental growth and

value for learners. There is no doubt that learning equity issues with cloud computing

relate to the availability of financial resources to purchase the devices that utilize this

technology.

Perhaps unwittingly, many across the globe have been participating in cloud computing

for social purposes and some for educational purposes for quite some time by utilizing

applications on their smartphones. Mobile devices greatly contribute to cloud computing

implications, as the use of tablets and smartphones for mobile learning increases. “Some

colleges have even begun distributing tablets to all of their students” (Madan, 2011)

which rely on cloud computing for storage and bandwidth. The best way to serve learners

is to establish environments that incorporate this type of integral technology.

Mobile Learning

Mobile devices are closing the gap between resource and recipient at a dizzying pace.

Today, information is available at the touch of a button in the palm of one’s hand.

Information seekers do not have to physically travel anywhere to access a continually

growing catalog of information. The implications that mobile access to information has

on learning is exponential. Delivering the right information to the right people at the right

time is positioning today’s learners at the greatest vantage point, which is “where they

can find what they need when they need to know it” (Lykins, 2011, p. 2).

The advent of the Internet was, indeed, the precursor to mobile learning. Just a mere

decade ago users were dependant on a “fixed line” in a “static location” in order to gain

online access (Lykins, 2011, p.2). Users’ increasing expectations for unlimited access, as

well as the fact that “cellular access to the Internet [has outpaced] more traditional

networks”, has spawned this age of rapid expansion and development of mobile learning

(Horizon, 2010, p.22). The trend in mobile learning is made apparent by the fact that

access to the Internet via mobile devices exceeded desktop access in 2008 and each year,

thereafter. By the end of 2011, market research firm Nielson forecasts that more than

50% of phones sold in the United States will be smartphones (Lykins, 2011).

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The handheld, mobile devices that bring mobile learning to the user represent an

incredible extension of the learning environment, be it the classroom or the workplace.

Smartphones, netbooks, PDA’s, tablets and pads deliver learning in smaller, “just-in-time

chunks”, which results in improved retention of information (Woodill, 2011). Senior

technology consultant at Stanford University, Tim Flood, agrees that the mobile web has

definite advantages over the traditional web, as made apparent by the comparative chart

in Figure B (Lykins, 2011, p.3). These advantages are contributing factors to the upswing

in mobile learning and the shift toward “asynchronous… and individualized consumption

[of information]” (Carroll, 2011).

Distributed anytime and anyplace learning via remote devices has increased the

popularity of multimedia as learning resources. Access to Youtube for video content,

Stitcher for podcasts, and sites like Facebook and Edmodo for social networking is

gaining in mobile user activity due to application software that allows users to bypass a

browser and go directly to the site. Direct access to multimedia and social networking

resources reinforces the trend in mobile learning.

Despite the obvious advantages of mobile learning, there are some drawbacks to “going

mobile”, as well as negative social implications. These include…

1) Individual ownership of mobile devices varies greatly depending on

socioeconomic class. For this reason, educators should be wary of assuming that

learners will “arrive equipped to access a mobile pedagogy” (Carroll, 2011).

2) Mobile learning is in a constant state of flux and development. Planning for and

utilization of mobile learning should be “future-oriented”, which means

continuously revisiting best practices, content and resources (Woodill, 2011, p.2).

3) Mobile learning can collide with security concerns, and the difficulty to deliver

sensitive content via mobile devices can inhibit its efficiency (Lykins, 2011).

4) Mobile devices, themselves, can be seen as distractions instead of learning tools,

especially among educators not trained to design instruction that embraces mobile

learning.

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Ultimately, however, the ability to adopt and leverage mobile learning in the appropriate

situations will result in positive learning experiences. The portability, any time, any place

connectivity, flexibility and timely access to resources, and immediacy of communication

not only engages, but empowers learners (Woodill, 2011). To ensure best practices, it is

recommended that mobile learning be viewed and utilized as complementary to other

forms of learning, not as a replacement.

Social Media

Similar to the impending adoption of cloud computing and mobile technology to extend

learning opportunities, learning institutions are taking advantage of the widespread and

growing adoption of social media.

In more and more learning environments, it is becoming just as likely that you might

observe participants “tweeting” in their responses to questions as raising their hands.

More instructors are distributing assignments via Facebook, and participants are all too

eager to engage in “homework” that involves posting a two minute video on YouTube.

The use of social media is fast becoming a mainstay in education (see Figure C).

New Milford High School is one of the

institutions engaging and connecting with

digital students of the 21st century. The

principal of this New Jersey school, Eric

Sheninger, “and his teachers use Facebook

to communicate with students and parents,

and students use it to plan events” (Toppo,

2011). Sheninger shares company with a

growing number of education professionals

who maintain that “social networking tools

offer us unprecedented ways to connect,

share, participate, and contribute in a

variety of activities” (Dunlap & Lowenthal,

2009).

More compelling may be the wave of

recently conducted studies that show the positive effects of social media in schools. One

study at Lock Haven University provided evidence of the value of integrating social

media into teaching. In the experiment, students who were asked to tweet about their

experiences relative to assignments demonstrated “more than twice the improvement in

engagement than the control group” of students who were given the same assignments

and information, but did not incorporate Twitter (Kessler, 2010, Twitter Increases

Student Engagement[STUDY]).

Those advocating for the incorporation of social media in schools also have strong

backing documented within the latest release of the U. S. Department of Education’s

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(DOE) National Education Technology Plan (Ray, 2011). Among the Department of

Education’s priorities is “participating in efforts to ensure that transitioning from

predominantly print-based classrooms to digital learning environments promotes

organized, accessible, easy-to-distribute and easy-to-use content and learning resources”

(U.S. Department of Education, 2010, Executive Summary). Alongside several other

initiatives to meet this priority, it is stated within the document that the DOE can

encourage “institutions to experiment with such resources as…social networks both

within and across education institutions to give students guidance and information about

their own learning progress and strategies for seamless completion of a comprehensive

P–16 education” (U.S. Department of Education, 2010, Executive Summary).

The use of social media for learning and instruction is not without its detractors. Many

parents and educators, too, have concerns about online bullying and they fear that sexual

predators may gain access to students via social media. Legislation and model policies

have been proposed in a number of states to address these concerns and to provide

guidance to educators regarding appropriate social networking behavior (Paulson, 2011).

More prevalent may be those voices that encourage responsible use of the media. The

American Library Association, for example, would not support a ban on social media in

schools as it “does not teach safe behavior and leaves youth without the necessary

knowledge and skills to protect their privacy or engage in responsible speech” (Toppo,

2011).

Another detractor is the issue of equitable access to social media—and to computers, in

general—for educational purposes. The scope of the concerns is wide and raises many

questions.

Do education institutions have equal access to and support for the incorporation of

technology in their plans?

Do some educators assign work outside of the school day and classroom while others

provide direct access to the materials and equipment within the school day?

Do ethnicity, socioeconomic background and even gender play a role in equal

access?

On the other end of the spectrum are those that argue the incorporation of technology in

schools actually closes the equity gap, particularly where the internet is concerned, as it

provides all students with access to the same information. While advocates for equity are

sure to continue developing solutions to narrow the gap in learning institutions, among

educators and learners, it is undeniable that social media and social networking will also

establish its utility for instruction and learning.

Concluding Thoughts

If history is any indication, new technologies and associated learning opportunities will

continue to proliferate. Learners will persist in exploring and adopting technological

advances in their daily lives and will likely press educators and teaching professionals to

be more fluid in adapting to the evolving technological landscape.

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The question is no longer whether a particular technological innovation is disruptive to

the traditional model of education. Instead, the discussion surrounds the fact that

technological innovations, in general, have disrupted the traditional model of education.

As students become unleashed from the physical learning space by way of cloud

computing, mobile technology, social media and other emerging technological trends, the

challenge for teaching professionals is to identify the key designs that will most

effectively impart the intended knowledge, skills and competencies.

Upon the exploration of these trends, our previous assertion that E-learning is opening up

an entire new world of opportunities and challenges seems grossly understated. Education

and training solutions are, indeed, experiencing a paradigm shift. Like the agricultural

and industrial revolutions before it, this time might very well come to be marked as the

educational revolution.

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