Defining the Field

All of the definitions that the book talked about all hope to do the same thing: explain to our mother’s what we do, and explain to our father or spouse how we think we will make money doing it. I am not joking, talking about the “emerging field of Instructional Design and Technology” is so important, because unlike doctor, lawyer, and teacher; no one has any idea what an instructional designer or a educational technology specialist does- not to mention the fact that is smacks of A/V club sponsor.

Worse, though very few no what we are doing; every teacher needs help learning how to utilize modern instructional design and technology. So, what is it? Are we just the sorters of the media: librarians, overhead projector clerks, and laptop watchdogs? Are we (as popular in 1950s, 60s, and 70s) some subset of anthropologist studying the process that the class uses when they get new chalk and blackboards in the room? Don’t even think of handing Mom Instructional Technology: The Definitions and Domains of the Field, and not hearing about how your childhood friend is making a name for themselves as a podiatrist. No, we need a simple clear definition that reassures our loved ones and focuses us.

Instructional Design and Technology is studying how students learn, teachers teach, and what tools we can use to make the process as successful as possible. We can take our expertise into the classroom, the administration office, the district/regional/state level, or even out on the practice field. There will always be a need for people who study our educational system and how the tools we use can be best applied.

Instructional Design in Freshman English








The internet and the World Wide Web will not be leaving anytime soon, they will only become more attuned to our real world lives and gather more purpose. In K-12 we will see teachers cashing in on the use of social networks and personal communication devices to teach, because as current college students and high school students enter the work force they will continue to demand jobs that integrate their technologies. Already schools see the attractive benefits of issuing laptops to students; we can expect this to lead to textbooks being replaced with eBooks and instructional video games. Blogs and wikis will replace papers and hardcopies for my class; and this also will let parents have a new level of interaction at school.