This video is the group presentation for Christian, Jozanne, and Katherine:
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This blog is my space for my Instructional Technology, Education, Video/TV production, and other thoughts. To give it a good professor-like name, it is my thought repository.
The first thought rumbling around in my head comes from the title of this blog. "So do you fix computers?" is a question I hear whenever I tell people what I'm studying or what my likely profession will be. I always have to answer: Yes, but not because of my degree or profession. I think that the Instructional Technology field needs to step up a little here to alleviate the confusion. Here are my thoughts on what needs to be done:
1. Quit calling ourselves "IT people." Although it is shorter and quick to say, we don't live in a vacuum. Everybody knows that the "IT person" comes and fixes your computer at work and they usually hang out in their nerdery. We can't do anything about this, so let us all accept it. Let's call ourselves "ET people" (Education Technologist). At first people will think of the cute lovable alien, but at least they won't think that we are aliens... at least we hope.
2. When we talk about our careers and programs, emphasize the learning sciences aspect of the field. I'm not ashamed of my Instructional Technology degree or the ISD process, but I feel that this helps to differentiate ourselves from the Information Technologists. An Instructional Technologist can fix computers if needs be, but I imagine that an Information Technologist would be hard pressed to create a meaningful constructivist environment which facilitates learning. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
3. I feel passionately about this, because I feel that future Instructional Technology is extremely valuable and will play in increasing role into people's lives. In order to foster that transition though, the field needs to recognize the need to connect to outsiders. As we market our field and efforts, there will be a shift from ET professionals from "trainers" or "computer guys" to what we actual are: educational professionals who facilitate instructionally-sound, well-produced, and effective instruction through technology and other methods.
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