As I write this final blog, I first want to thank everyone in my small group for guiding and supporting my learning these past 13 weeks. I enjoyed reading your posts, sharing in stories with you, and appreciated your comments and questions on my ramblings, helping me dig deeper and propel forward as I navigate the complex world of Educational Technology.
Although I did not have as many connections this week to the readings due to IST being my minor and not a specific career path I am embarking on (at least not right now), I did enjoy the content and discovered a few questions as I read. For starters, if the majority of job postings for ID professionals consider this role to bridge "the gaps between traditional instruction and emerging online learning" (Basdogan, Ozdogan, Bonk; 2020), why is there not a greater emphasis on the foundational teaching component in IST? As an instructional designer for a learning environment with children, one would think education would be the primary coursework for this field, but I feel like that's not the case, and my question is why, why the disconnect? It's almost as if there could be IST for professionals and IST for educators--the coursework and end result being extremely tailored (and different) from one another. Am I crazy for thinking this?!
It's funny to me that even at the end of this course, I still have so many questions. But I think that highlights how in-depth and diverse the Ed Tech/IST field truly is and why one semester barely grazes the surface. And hopefully it demonstrates my desire to want to know more, rather than my naivety.
Once again, thanks for a wonderful semester!
Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you. :)
Hi Rebecca,
I enjoy reading your blog because you always have interesting questions and unique ideas regarding each week’s topic. You mentioned that there is a disconnect between IST for professionals and IST for educators, this is a very critical observation! After reading so many papers about the concepts, theories, history, and practices of IST, I felt like there is an inclination for some people to apply IST beyond the educational field, so there is a thriving of HPT. In my view, HPT is a system that utilizes IST's theories and methods for business and industry applications. I am not sure if this is a good trend for the development of IST, but what I am sure of is that…
Rebecca,
I have genuinely enjoyed our group and the support we provided each other. It has been a fantastic journey. I agree that there should be two different pasts within IST, one education focuses, K-12 and higher education, and the other is professional-based. You could tie even more HPT-specific ideas into the professional side of the house. I think this would draw more people into the programs. Though, younger students may not have an idea if they want to enter the educational side of the workforce or the professional side of the workforce yet. I personally feel like this class has been very K-12 education-focused, but that is just me.
Again, thanks for all your kind words and advice! I…