Definition of the Educational Technology Field - Essay Example

The education and instructional technology is a link between available technologies and the educational/instructional needs by means of looking for ways to make the technology useful to both the student and the teacher. Usually, there is a need to have a clear definition of the field of instructional technology. First, a clear definition offers the people involved, especially the professionals in the field, a better understanding of what their roles are (Hall, Meyer & Rose 2012). Unless there is a clear definition of the field and what it entails, there is a very high chance that the productivity of such professionals, in terms of what they learn, research and implement will be an issue.

At the same time, as more and more technologies come out, there are issues of technology hype. Technology hype is the promises that most technologies offer to do, but that do not add any value. In instructional and educational technology, the best thing to know is that not all technologies will offer any quality to the education and instructional process. Taking these technologies on their face value would lead to expensive investments in educational technology, but with little or no return. In this regard, having a good definition of the instructional technology is also a good way to create a better understanding of what this field is about.

It also creates the awareness that in involving technology in education and especially in instruction design, the needs of the teacher/students drive the use of technology and not the other way round. Technology should not be the one driving the needs of the teacher/student in class, but technology should only be applied where and when necessary. This can only be best understood by having a clear understanding of instructional what technology is and how it relates to instructional design (Spector et al, 2013).

Professionals who understand this principle are