This assignment gave me an
opportunity to write an educational technology vision statement for my
organization. I work as the Director of Educational Technology for the
Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE). In that capacity, I work with
RCOE’s own internal programs and with all 23 school districts in Riverside
County.
The
vision of the Educational Technology Services (ETS) unit is to support the
education of students in the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and practices
that will enable them to thrive in the digital world.
In
order to achieve that vision, ETS will:
- Provide
consultation and facilitation in the design, development, and
implementation of educational technology services and applications to
support the learning goals of school districts and the program goals of
RCOE
- Plan,
organize, design, support and deliver professional development to advance
the understanding and application of educational technology approaches in
the Common Core State Standards and the general instructional programs
- Facilitate leadership for administrators in the efficient and effective application of technology
- Keep
apprised of the current and emerging trends in educational technology
- Disseminate
best practices in educational technology with the Riverside County
community
Research supports both the
constraints and the affordances of educational technology. For example,
Clark
(2012) points out very simply that there is no evidence that media or media
attributes influence learning. When Clark wrote that he had reviewed 70 years
worth of research studies on the topic. That is a mountain of evidence that is difficult
to argue with. In counterpoint, Kozma (2012) argues that some students will
benefit from a particular medium’s characteristics. Kozma insists that both
medium and method are part of instructional design and are then tied together.
Though I give Clark the edge
in this debate, I did have a pretty strong negative reaction to one of his
claims. Clark (2012, p.175) stated that “...if different media or attributes
yield similar learning gains...we must always choose the less expensive way...”
I take that as a very narrow view of the mission of education. I think I
understand his point to be that if teachers can get the same results without
using computers (as an example of a media) then we should not be wasting money
on expensive computers. That argument assumes that achievement is the only goal
of education. We can certainly educate students without the tools of the 21st
century. It was done that way for a long time. However, by always doing things
the least expensive way possible, we are not doing our job of preparing
students for college and the workplace.
References:
Clark, R. E. (2012). The
media versus methods issue. In R. E. Clark (Ed.) Learning from media:
Arguments, analysis, and evidence (2nd ed.), (pp. 173-185). Charlotte, NC:
Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Kozma, R. B. (2012). Robert
Kozma’s counterpoint theory of “learning with media.” In R. E. Clark (Ed.) Learning
from media: Arguments, analysis, and evidence (2nd ed.), (pp. 103-145).
Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
