Considering the development and definition of educational technology

Definitions
We often, in daily life, come to expect simple definitions of terms. Our experience and knowledge of a specific field of study give us further insight into specific terms and how they are understood and defined. Take my field of disaster management. What is a disaster? Most people commonly think of disaster as an event, and when asked for an example will suggest something such as a hurricane or tornado. These examples are based on a traditional hazard paradigm, which has a physical science orientation. A social science perspective, or a social constructionist view, considers the interactions between the natural, human and built environments in the definition of a disaster. With this lens we might consider that the Hurricane Katrina, for example, was a disaster not solely because of the physical properties of the storm and where it hit, but was a disaster because of other factors, such as land use planning, prior socio-political choices, the built environment, pre-existing social vulnerabilities, not to mention the challenges in the management response to the event. And so our perspective and orientation influences how we define, understand and give meaning to terms.

Definition of educational technology
I've come back to doctoral studies some 20+ years after completing my Master's degree. I remember using a computer with a big floppy disk, a dot matrix printer, and pulling journals and texts, in paper form, from the library. Such was the technology in those days. I have a strong bias and preference for visual media, stemming from my undergraduate studies in fine arts. When speaking at conferences, I use power point, but use mostly pictures, and narrative stories. It is not my style to read from a paper. My background and experience frames my consideration of the definition of educational technology provided by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology:

"Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate educational technological processes and resources."

While I have not yet read the complete book Educational Technology: A Definition with Commentary, I offer the following reflections, based on my reading of chapters 1,2,3 & 10.

Study
I appreciate that the conceptualization extends beyond research and is inclusive of other forms of systematic inquiry. Sparked by a conversation I had a year ago with Dr. Hanan Yaniv, I've been reflecting on how a body of knowledge is developed from both practitioner and researcher perspectives, and the nature of the relationship between the practitioner and the researcher in the development of the body of knowledge. Thus the term study is a more inclusive term, which recognizes that learning and knowledge may come from different sources.

Ethical Practice
I concur with Hlynka's (2008) critique of the inclusion of the term ethical in the definition. Januszewski and Molenda (2008) indicate that AECT has a Code of Professional Ethics. Most professions have some sort of ethical code, to which members are bound, either formally or informally. If a separate ethical code is already in existence, I would suggest such a code provides sufficient direction on ethical expectations and that the inclusion of the term in the definition is, as Hlynka suggests, problematic.

Improving Performance
While Chapter 3, Improving Performance, starts off stating " the term improving performance represents educational technology's claim of offering the societal benefit of accomplishing a worthy goal in a superior fashion", Molenda and Pershing quickly refine and limit improving performance to learners, teachers and designers, and organizations. This presumes these are the only contexts in which learning and teaching take place. This take me back to my earlier comment about how our own frames of references influence our perspective on a definition and our orientation to a field of study. How much do we learn outside of schools and organizations, and how much of this learning is supported by educational technology? My research interest lies in the area of climate change adaptation. The climate changes we are and will continue to experience are and will continue to have significant impacts on society, and vulnerable populations in particular. Most of us will learn about climate change and consider mitigation and adaptive strategies through informal or non-formal educational contexts and approaches. And the power and potential of educational technology to support our learning, build our knowledge, and shape our response to climate change is significant. And so I would argue that the AECT definition of educational technology, has an formal educational bias, which is expressed by the inclusion of the term improving performance. Our lens and experience shape our understanding, and I do understand that much of the work in the educational technology field has been shaped and influenced by formal educational practitioners and researchers, however the application and power of educational technology offers "societal benefit" other than performance improvement.

Hlynka, D. (2008). Educational Technology: A Definition for the 21st Century. Educational Technology, 48(6), 48 – 50.

Januszewski, A. & Molenda, M. (Eds.). (2008). Educational technology: A definition with commentary. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.