I chose to examine Instructional Design Technology in the
contexts of business and industry, health care education, and P-12
education. Several similarities that I
saw were how money and time were a driving factor in IDT. I also noticed that support from superiors
was important and necessary for successful technology integration. In both health care and education there is a
huge push for problem based curriculum and technology affords ways to introduce
these simulation type experiences into the classroom. One issue that was addressed in the business
chapter that I believe to be very relevant for both education and health care
education is cultural trends. We have to
work to understand the global audience we will encounter and IDT is a great way
to meet the needs of people from all backgrounds. Technology opens doors to quick and easy
instruction in many languages, opportunities to communicate with people worldwide,
and insight into customs that might influence the learner. I am a teacher and IDT is very important in
what takes place in my classroom. I
would say the number one issue facing me personally is time constraints. We have a strict curriculum that we must
adhere to in our district, and often I am racing to meet those standards. Technology is very useful to help me do my
job as a teacher, but also as a tool for my students to use in their
learning. I love integrating new
technology but struggle finding time to introduce new equipment or programs and
then deal with the troubleshooting that comes with any technology.
I believe that our current education system is in trouble when it comes to preparing our students to compete with billions of people globally for the same jobs. I think that teachers are faced with tremendous challenges and are asked to play way too many roles to help students succeed. My theory is that the education system today attempts to problem solve for students and make everything go their way. However, what I have seen personally and what I know to be true, is that in order to succeed you have to adapt and show that you are able to meet the needs of your potential employer. I think far too often we try to adapt the education to meet the need of the student. I am a firm supporter of making sure students have the proper supports to learn, but at some point, they have to take initiative to do so themselves. I love how in Asia there is a huge push for e-learning. This enables learners to choose what and when they learn. This takes initiative on behalf of the students to figure out what will help them accomplish their goals. In e-learning, teachers teach subject matter and students have to figure out how to learn what they need to be successful in that class. This does seem like it is very relevant and would help prepare students for the competitive society they are going to face. I also liked how the government of Japan supported training teachers through e-learning. E-learning allows students to individualize their instruction through their choice, not by forcing the teacher to come up with 27 different lessons for one objective. I do think that this option provides students with a platform to be successful. In Europe students are faced with the fact that there are so many differences in such small spaces. The diversity that classrooms face is causing the trend of dumbing down curriculum to meet student needs. I believe that this is also taking place in America. Instead of offering students avenues to be successful at their stage in the education process, we are teaching to the average student hoping for buy in across the board. I believe that strong IDT training and support would help teachers boost the rigor in the classroom while not compromising students from different educational and cultural backgrounds. Technology is opening doors to reach groups of students like never before. My hope is that we choose to utilize these tools and excel in our calling to educate the future generation.
I believe that our current education system is in trouble when it comes to preparing our students to compete with billions of people globally for the same jobs. I think that teachers are faced with tremendous challenges and are asked to play way too many roles to help students succeed. My theory is that the education system today attempts to problem solve for students and make everything go their way. However, what I have seen personally and what I know to be true, is that in order to succeed you have to adapt and show that you are able to meet the needs of your potential employer. I think far too often we try to adapt the education to meet the need of the student. I am a firm supporter of making sure students have the proper supports to learn, but at some point, they have to take initiative to do so themselves. I love how in Asia there is a huge push for e-learning. This enables learners to choose what and when they learn. This takes initiative on behalf of the students to figure out what will help them accomplish their goals. In e-learning, teachers teach subject matter and students have to figure out how to learn what they need to be successful in that class. This does seem like it is very relevant and would help prepare students for the competitive society they are going to face. I also liked how the government of Japan supported training teachers through e-learning. E-learning allows students to individualize their instruction through their choice, not by forcing the teacher to come up with 27 different lessons for one objective. I do think that this option provides students with a platform to be successful. In Europe students are faced with the fact that there are so many differences in such small spaces. The diversity that classrooms face is causing the trend of dumbing down curriculum to meet student needs. I believe that this is also taking place in America. Instead of offering students avenues to be successful at their stage in the education process, we are teaching to the average student hoping for buy in across the board. I believe that strong IDT training and support would help teachers boost the rigor in the classroom while not compromising students from different educational and cultural backgrounds. Technology is opening doors to reach groups of students like never before. My hope is that we choose to utilize these tools and excel in our calling to educate the future generation.
Oh Wow! I really enjoyed reading your post. I also chose Business and Industry, Health Care, and P-12 education to compare. They are very much similar in their IDT. As a district administrator, I've learned when making technology purchases. I need to be proactive instead of reactive. Many district purchasers of technology and equipment wait until things get really bad before they look into making a new purchase. You are also correct on who our audiences are for technology needs. I think a lot of pieces go out of the window when technology request and needs come up in school systems. You are correct as well in speaking about where our students need to be in order to be competitive and ready for the workforce. Your post was an awesome read. Great job!
ReplyDeleteWinston
I think you hit the number one reason teacher's struggle with technology. Time. Time for the teacher to become familiar and comfortable with something new and time to become really skilled in using something new.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time comparing education in America with education in Asia. The cultural traditions are so different and attitudes towards education.
You are correct when you say that e-learning puts the student in charge of lesson their own learning, works well in Asia and coming into it's own here in the United States.
Loved your post. You write very well.
See ya in class,
Joe
Ruth your post is inspiring, money and time are issues that will always give us a set back, it is sad that teacher try to problem solve for students, this will not help the students to prepare for the job market.
ReplyDeleteRuth,
ReplyDeleteYou make some excellent points and I especially like how you made the correlation that money and time were a driving factor in IDT. I think too often we like IDT and we want to make it happen but many forget the time and money that are involved with making it happen. I also like how you stated that superior support is necessary to make IDT successful. I think that if our superiors are not supporting their staff how will IDT every be truly successful? In response to how we should use this information to make changes in our education system or thought of that we should, I could not agree more with your thoughts. I especially appreciate your two closing statements and agree that technology is needed to enhance the rigor and relevance in our classrooms. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I really enjoyed reading your post.
Best,
Taylor