What is Instructional Technology?
Instructional Technology (IT) is a field concerned with improving the efficiency and effectiveness of instruction.
IT involves:
- designing instruction (including all the phases of activity from needs assessment to evaluation)
- applying learning theory to instructional design
- selecting delivery systems and designing techniques for a given delivery system
- assessing
human characteristics
- conducting
process and product evaluation
- managing
change and adopting innovations
- building
teams and managing projects
- integrating
instruction with other factors that influence human performance
- implementing
delivery to reach learners when they need it
- using
technology in support of the development and delivery of instruction
Ways to Define Instructional Technology
There are
many ways to explain IT. The current AECT definition is:
“Instructional Technology is the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management and evaluation of processes and resources for learning.” (Seels & Richey)
- Instructional Design seeks to teach how to plan, develop, evaluate and manage the instructional process effectively to ensure improved performance by learners.
- Instructional Technology's goal is to understand how people learn and how to best design instructional systems and instructional materials to facilitate that learning. We also use appropriate technology to aid us in the design and delivery of the instruction.
- Instructional Technologists are today's problem solvers. They look to understand performance problems and design solutions to those problems. Sometimes the solution is instructional; other times the situation requires a non-instructional solution. (Reiser & Dempsey)
“The Instructional design approach considers instruction from the perspective of the learner rather than from the perspective of the content, the traditional education and training approach.” (Morrison, Ross, Kemp)
Additional Resources
To learn more about what Instructional Technology (IT) is, start with these resources:
- American
Society for Training & Development (ASTD)
- International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI)
- Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)
- International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (ibstpi)
You can find links to more information on our Professional Organizations page.
Sources
Anglin, G. (ED.). (1995). Instructional technology: past, present, and future (2nd ed.). Edglewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.
Seels, B.A., & Richey, R.C. (1994). Instructional technology: the definitions and domains of the field. Washington D.C.: Association for Educational Communication & Technology.
Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (2002). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
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