Thoughts - Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology by R. Reiser and J. Dempsey

Robert A. Reiser and John V. Dempsey, Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology, 2nd Edition, breaks the definitions of Instructional Technology into a time line which spans from the 1920s until now. My thoughts about instructional technology have always revolved around its use, at the time I have been introduced to it. For instance, my earliest memories of technology were in the banking industry, working as a word processor. We had IBM computers and used telex machines and dedicated word processors. Having recently graduated from high school (1976), the term used was computer technology. It wasn’t for instruction; it was a tool of work. We worked in computer labs. Programming languages I learned, in college, 1976-1979, were FORTRAN and ITRAN and we were working towards becoming Computer Scientist. My earlier years in high school, we had media centers, located in the libraries. There wasn’t any cross-over between these media centers and departments which ran the main frame computers which the school districts, I assumed housed in some secret lab somewhere. Students did not have computer labs in school, as we have today.

I am not impressed with inner-profession squabbles over how best to name the field. I can suffice satisfaction that its practical use and applications have broadened over time. I see how terminology has evolved and changed with the introduction of new technologies and their uses. Technology is evolving so fast, naming the field, would seem to be a trivial event.

A few other tidbits of interest to me include the fact that the inclusion of a standard of ethics, “the AECT Code of Ethics (Welliver, 2001),” had not been introduced earlier within the field. Another thing I did not know was that the study of the field of technology went as far back as the early 20’s.

Social Bookmarking - Tart or Tastee "Delicious"

Social book marking is another technology tool that allows for the creation of tags, and gives you the ability to save web pages within a centralized source. There are a few features that I would find useful as both a teacher and a student. To have the accessibility of your bookmarks from any computer, would be helpful to anyone who has experienced the frustration of sitting down at a computer and suddenly realizing when going into favorites that what you are looking for is not there. It has happened to me both as a teacher and a student. I can also see using the feature of bookmarks that allows the sharing of the information that you bookmark. In my Reading Strategies class I teach, I always group students and these groups are responsible for the exchange of information and documents in preparation for presentations. Being able to share resources, it appears to be similar to the wiki in this regard, can be an advantage to students working on collaborative efforts, as they decide on resources that can be used for their presentations. Being able to find your collaborators and others that have bookmarks on the same topics, to be able to rapidly gather pertinent information through others bookmarks are beneficial to teachers preparing lessons as well as students who are preparing their lessons. I am still learning what “Delicious,” does and can probably come up with other apropos things to say about its usefulness to the educational field, but I am still working at it, (i.e., tagging, book marking, networking, subscriptions, searching, navigating). My fear is that once I learn and become familiar with its uses, Delicious will have changed.

Understanding Web 2.0 Technologies

Tim O’Reilly in his article What Is Web 2.0, Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software, speaks about the transition of emerging technologies. He starts this article with commentary on the era of the “dot-com,” making the point that these web applications had their time and have been replaced by new technologies and applications. These new technologies through a process of thought, development, marketing and distribution, emerge and integrate into an every changing competitive system that is driven by the consumer market. O’Reilly uses the term “shakeouts,” defined as “the point at which an ascendant technology is ready to take its place at center stage.”

As the frenzy for space and place in the industry continued, a niche in the market emerged. This niche consisted of companies who could provide web services. Program Models discussed in the article include, RSS, which has emerged as one of the most viable in the area of “highly reliable programming environments for distributed applications,” and Amazon.com web service of which their “REST,” application is most widely used. Google Map’s simplicity of use is presented as an example of how pirating can occur. Their concept was “remixed,” by hackers and their data was redistributed “into new services.” Google Maps also is an example of a free application, which others took inspiration from and created their own web-services. The article outlines several lessons learned that can be derived from these models.

The article presents the “competencies,” of Web 2.0, and breaks them down into what O’Reilly identifies as “seven principles.” These competencies are considered a litmus test whereby other company’s features can be compared. Web 2.0 is considered to be the future of emerging technologies and provide these competencies for our consideration if we want to be cutting edge. It purports to be the future of the internet.

[Wiki Site]