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Writer's pictureAmber
Jun 17, 20224 min read

Philosophy of Technology for Education

Updated: Mar 3


Introduction

I did not come to instruction via traditional means. Instead, my career began as a technical service specialist, teaching the public how to use their phones and handheld devices. That experience morphed my role into a mentor, then a facilitator, then a content developer (instructional design). I learned the value of a good ticketing system, search options, phone systems, and remote connections as a tech. Then, I learned to appreciate remote learning platforms, simple designs, lesson plans that allowed for personality, and “subject matter experts.” Ultimately, I learned that technology is ingrained into nearly every facet of my working life, and if that’s true, it’s likely true for others.


Purpose of Technology

During every class I teach, I always remind my students, “Technology is the bridge between what we want to do and what we do. When it breaks, our job is not to fix the technology, it is to get the person back to what they were doing. A password reset is a fix, but it doesn’t get them to the software they were trying to download.” This explanation is my ingrained belief in technology. In the words of Tim Cook, “Tech should be used to serve humanity, and not the other way around. (Thier, 2021)” In other words, technology’s purpose is to work for humanity to do the things it wishes to do as a tool or bridge. 


Technology in Education

Technology as a gateway or a tool serves education in four ways:

  1. Accessibility enablement

  2. Avenue to information

  3. Annex to other people

  4. Accessory to the facilitator


Accessibility Enablement

All accessibility tools are technology – from the wheelchair to the screen reader, accessibility levels the playing field by modifying the world around the differently abled. When a student cannot hear, there is text available as captions, visual notifications, or hearing aid enhanced speakers. When a student cannot write, there are keyboards, switches, and even retinal scanners to control assistive technology.

It is the job of an instructional designer to facilitate not only accessibility but also usability. Accessibility means that something is designed with the goal of being available, but usability means that it is feasible to use (Edyburn, 2015, p. 5). Designers should focus on adaptive web design (online and apps) and universal design (all media) so that people have access anywhere and anyhow they attempt to interact with the material.


Avenue to Information

Michael Moore in his 1989 editorial states, the learner-content interaction “is a defining characteristic of education” because “without it there cannot be education.” Students are only students because there is some sort of knowledge to impart from one to another.

But access is not our primary responsibility. The world wide web has introduced us to the “information age” and Merriam-Webster defines this as “the modern age regarded as a time in which information has become a commodity that is quickly and widely disseminated and easily available, especially through the use of computer technology. (2022)” Instead, as instructional designers and educators, it is our job to teach our students how to harness the deluge and focus it for their good. R.E. Mayer introduced several principles aimed at reducing extraneous processing in order to promote academic learning, and that describes exactly how we are to act as educators in the “information age.” (2017)


Annex to other people

As a Xennial (micro generation from 1975 to 1985), my earliest memories of the internet were internet chat rooms and instant messengers—the internet was immediately a gateway to people I’d never have access to any other way. In this way, students have access not just to information but also to informants and educators that they’d never have access to otherwise.

The world is awfully hard to interact with if you don’t have a way to get to it. Technology can ease resource deserts such as the one I live in currently. When my son couldn’t find a reading tutor, we found both learning programs and a tutor—online. My daughter needed speech therapy during COVID, and we found it via a remote therapist.

When COVID shut down the world, technology allowed us to remote in to classrooms, take part in healthy discussions, and facilitate collaborations.

It is then our responsibility to seek ways to connect people to people for the purpose of furthering education.


An Accessory to the Facilitator

The Secretary of the Department of Education published a guide on the role of technology and in it he points out that the digital divide is not about access any longer. Instead, he says, “… a digital use divide separates many students who use technology in ways that transform their learning from those who use the tools to complete the same activities but now with an electronic device (e.g., digital worksheets, online multiple-choice tests). (King, 2017)” Even the CEO of Apple worries about “endless, mindless scrolling” because it is can cause mental health issues (Fathi, 2021). When the Dept. of Education and the CEO of one of the largest tech companies agree, there’s something to it.

Simply put, technology cannot create an education, nor replace an educator. Technology unharnessed is just noise; composed, curated, and orchestrated? Technology becomes a magical combination of real learning and plugged-in students. Mayer talks about how even computer-based instruction required spoken words and graphics rather than graphics alone—and a specifically human voice rather than AI (2017).


Ultimately, technology should be used by, with, and for educators and instructional designers as a tool to foster education and not merely to create busy work. Extraneous use of technology for the sole purpose of using technology is a waste of time and resources for all involved. However, when technology enhances learning as an accessory that serves a purpose, it is valuable and can have an extensive return on investment.

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