{"id":227,"date":"2014-12-05T14:11:48","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T19:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/part\/chapter-8-understanding-technology\/"},"modified":"2014-12-05T14:11:48","modified_gmt":"2014-12-05T19:11:48","slug":"chapter-8-understanding-technology","status":"publish","type":"part","link":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/part\/chapter-8-understanding-technology\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 7: Understanding technology in education","rendered":"Chapter 7: Understanding technology in education"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"bcc-box bcc-highlight\">\n<h3>Purpose of this chapter<\/h3>\nWhen you have completed this chapter you should:\n<ul>\n \t<li>be able to understand the difference between media and technologies in educational contexts;<\/li>\n \t<li>be able to place different media and technologies, including new and emerging technologies,\u00a0within an analytical framework.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_17\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"203\"]<a href=\"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/teachinginadigitalage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2015\/04\/Tony-in-Rio.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-18\" src=\"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2025\/05\/Tony-in-Rio.jpg\" alt=\"For a my personal introduction to the next few chapters, please click on the podcast below.\" width=\"203\" height=\"271\"><\/a> For a my personal introduction to the next few chapters, please click on the podcast below.[\/caption]\n\n[audio mp3=\"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/teachinginadigitalage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2015\/10\/Intro-to-media-selection-2015-10-06-4.56-PM.mp3\"][\/audio]\n<h2>What is covered in this chapter<\/h2>\nUnderstanding the nature and role of media and technologies in education, and being able to use media and technologies appropriately, are\u00a0critical to teaching well in a digital age. This is the first of three chapters that discuss\u00a0media choice and use.\n\nIn this chapter, which focuses on the foundations of educational technology, you will cover the following topics\n<ul>\n \t<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/section-8-2-chossing-technologies-for-teaching-and-learning-the-challenge\/\">7.1 Choosing technologies for teaching and learning: the challenge<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/section-8-1-a-short-history-of-educational-technology\/\">7.2 A short history of educational technology<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-6-media-or-technology\/\">7.3 Media or technology?<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-4-synchronous-vs-asynchronous\/\">7.4 The time and space dimensions of media<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-3-broadcast-vs-communicative-technologies\/\">7.5 Broadcast vs interactive media<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-7-media-richness\/\">7.6 Media richness<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-8-understanding-the-foundations-of-educational-media\/\">7.7 Understanding the foundations of educational media<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nAlso in this chapter you will find the following activities:\n<ul>\n \t<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/section-8-2-chossing-technologies-for-teaching-and-learning-the-challenge\/\">Activity 7.1\u00a0How do you currently make decisions about what technology to use for teaching?<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/section-8-1-a-short-history-of-educational-technology\/\">Activity 7.2 What does history tell us?<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-6-media-or-technology\/\">Activity 7.3 Media or technology?<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-4-synchronous-vs-asynchronous\/\">Activity 7.4 Time and space dimensions of media<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-3-broadcast-vs-communicative-technologies\/\">Activity 7.5 Broadcast or interactive?<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-7-media-richness\/\">Activity 7.6 How rich is your medium?<\/a><\/li>\n \t<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-8-understanding-the-foundations-of-educational-media\/\">Activity 7.7 Analysing your current use of technology<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"bcc-box bcc-success\">\n<h3>Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n<ol>\n \t<li>Technologies are merely tools that can be used in a variety of ways. What matters more is how technologies are applied. The same technology can be applied in different ways, even or especially in education. So in judging the value of a technology, we need to look more closely at the ways in which it is being or could be used. In essence this means focusing more on media \u2013 which represent the more holistic use of technologies \u2013 than on individual\u00a0tools or technologies themselves, while still recognising that technology is an essential component of almost all media.<\/li>\n \t<li>By focusing on media rather than technologies, we can then include face-to-face teaching as a medium, enabling comparisons with more technology-based media to be made along a number of dimensions or characteristics.<\/li>\n \t<li>Recognising that in education media are usually used in combination, the six\u00a0key building blocks of media are:\n<ol>\n \t<li>face-to-face teaching<\/li>\n \t<li>text<\/li>\n \t<li>(still) graphics<\/li>\n \t<li>audio (including speech)<\/li>\n \t<li>video<\/li>\n \t<li>computing (including social media, animation, simulations, virtual reality and artificial intelligence).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n \t<li>Media\u00a0differ\u00a0in terms of their formats, symbols systems, and cultural values. These unique features are increasingly referred to as the affordances of media or technology.\u00a0Thus different media can be used to assist learners to learn in different ways and achieve different outcomes, thus also individualising learning more.<\/li>\n \t<li>There are many dimensions along which some technologies are similar and others are different. By focusing on these dimensions, we have a basis for analysing new media and technologies, to see where they \u2018fit\u2019 within the existing landscape, and to evaluate\u00a0their potential benefits or limitations for teaching and learning.<\/li>\n \t<li>There are probably other characteristics or dimensions of educational media that might also be identified, but three\u00a0key characteristics or dimensions are particularly\u00a0important:\n<ul>\n \t<li>synchronous (live) vs asynchronous (recorded)<\/li>\n \t<li>broadcast vs interactive<\/li>\n \t<li>single vs rich media<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n \t<li>However, the identification of where a particular medium fits along any specific characteristic or dimension will depend in most cases on how that medium is designed. \u00a0On the other hand, there is usually a limit to how far a technology can be forced along one of these dimensions; there is likely to be a single, \u2018natural\u2019 position on each dimension, subject to good design, in terms of exploiting the educational affordances of the medium.<\/li>\n \t<li>These characteristics or dimensions of media then need to be evaluated against the learning goals and outcomes desired, while recognising that a new educational medium or application might\u00a0enable goals to be achieved that had not been previously considered possible.<\/li>\n \t<li>Over time, media\u00a0have tended to become more interactive, asynchronous, and \u2018rich\u2019, thus offering teachers and learners more powerful tools for teaching and learning.<\/li>\n \t<li>The Internet is an extremely powerful medium because through a combination of tools and media it can encompass all the characteristics and dimensions of educational media.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"bcc-box bcc-highlight\">\n<h3>Purpose of this chapter<\/h3>\n<p>When you have completed this chapter you should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>be able to understand the difference between media and technologies in educational contexts;<\/li>\n<li>be able to place different media and technologies, including new and emerging technologies,\u00a0within an analytical framework.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17\" style=\"width: 203px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/teachinginadigitalage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2015\/04\/Tony-in-Rio.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18\" src=\"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2025\/05\/Tony-in-Rio.jpg\" alt=\"For a my personal introduction to the next few chapters, please click on the podcast below.\" width=\"203\" height=\"271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2025\/05\/Tony-in-Rio.jpg 331w, https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2025\/05\/Tony-in-Rio-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2025\/05\/Tony-in-Rio-65x87.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">For a my personal introduction to the next few chapters, please click on the podcast below.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-227-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/teachinginadigitalage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2015\/10\/Intro-to-media-selection-2015-10-06-4.56-PM.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/teachinginadigitalage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2015\/10\/Intro-to-media-selection-2015-10-06-4.56-PM.mp3\">http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/teachinginadigitalage\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2015\/10\/Intro-to-media-selection-2015-10-06-4.56-PM.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n<h2>What is covered in this chapter<\/h2>\n<p>Understanding the nature and role of media and technologies in education, and being able to use media and technologies appropriately, are\u00a0critical to teaching well in a digital age. This is the first of three chapters that discuss\u00a0media choice and use.<\/p>\n<p>In this chapter, which focuses on the foundations of educational technology, you will cover the following topics<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/section-8-2-chossing-technologies-for-teaching-and-learning-the-challenge\/\">7.1 Choosing technologies for teaching and learning: the challenge<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/section-8-1-a-short-history-of-educational-technology\/\">7.2 A short history of educational technology<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-6-media-or-technology\/\">7.3 Media or technology?<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-4-synchronous-vs-asynchronous\/\">7.4 The time and space dimensions of media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-3-broadcast-vs-communicative-technologies\/\">7.5 Broadcast vs interactive media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-7-media-richness\/\">7.6 Media richness<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"chapter type-1\"><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-8-understanding-the-foundations-of-educational-media\/\">7.7 Understanding the foundations of educational media<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also in this chapter you will find the following activities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/section-8-2-chossing-technologies-for-teaching-and-learning-the-challenge\/\">Activity 7.1\u00a0How do you currently make decisions about what technology to use for teaching?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/section-8-1-a-short-history-of-educational-technology\/\">Activity 7.2 What does history tell us?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-6-media-or-technology\/\">Activity 7.3 Media or technology?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-4-synchronous-vs-asynchronous\/\">Activity 7.4 Time and space dimensions of media<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-3-broadcast-vs-communicative-technologies\/\">Activity 7.5 Broadcast or interactive?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-7-media-richness\/\">Activity 7.6 How rich is your medium?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/chapter\/8-8-understanding-the-foundations-of-educational-media\/\">Activity 7.7 Analysing your current use of technology<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"bcc-box bcc-success\">\n<h3>Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Technologies are merely tools that can be used in a variety of ways. What matters more is how technologies are applied. The same technology can be applied in different ways, even or especially in education. So in judging the value of a technology, we need to look more closely at the ways in which it is being or could be used. In essence this means focusing more on media \u2013 which represent the more holistic use of technologies \u2013 than on individual\u00a0tools or technologies themselves, while still recognising that technology is an essential component of almost all media.<\/li>\n<li>By focusing on media rather than technologies, we can then include face-to-face teaching as a medium, enabling comparisons with more technology-based media to be made along a number of dimensions or characteristics.<\/li>\n<li>Recognising that in education media are usually used in combination, the six\u00a0key building blocks of media are:\n<ol>\n<li>face-to-face teaching<\/li>\n<li>text<\/li>\n<li>(still) graphics<\/li>\n<li>audio (including speech)<\/li>\n<li>video<\/li>\n<li>computing (including social media, animation, simulations, virtual reality and artificial intelligence).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Media\u00a0differ\u00a0in terms of their formats, symbols systems, and cultural values. These unique features are increasingly referred to as the affordances of media or technology.\u00a0Thus different media can be used to assist learners to learn in different ways and achieve different outcomes, thus also individualising learning more.<\/li>\n<li>There are many dimensions along which some technologies are similar and others are different. By focusing on these dimensions, we have a basis for analysing new media and technologies, to see where they \u2018fit\u2019 within the existing landscape, and to evaluate\u00a0their potential benefits or limitations for teaching and learning.<\/li>\n<li>There are probably other characteristics or dimensions of educational media that might also be identified, but three\u00a0key characteristics or dimensions are particularly\u00a0important:\n<ul>\n<li>synchronous (live) vs asynchronous (recorded)<\/li>\n<li>broadcast vs interactive<\/li>\n<li>single vs rich media<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>However, the identification of where a particular medium fits along any specific characteristic or dimension will depend in most cases on how that medium is designed. \u00a0On the other hand, there is usually a limit to how far a technology can be forced along one of these dimensions; there is likely to be a single, \u2018natural\u2019 position on each dimension, subject to good design, in terms of exploiting the educational affordances of the medium.<\/li>\n<li>These characteristics or dimensions of media then need to be evaluated against the learning goals and outcomes desired, while recognising that a new educational medium or application might\u00a0enable goals to be achieved that had not been previously considered possible.<\/li>\n<li>Over time, media\u00a0have tended to become more interactive, asynchronous, and \u2018rich\u2019, thus offering teachers and learners more powerful tools for teaching and learning.<\/li>\n<li>The Internet is an extremely powerful medium because through a combination of tools and media it can encompass all the characteristics and dimensions of educational media.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"media-attributions clear\" prefix:cc=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/ns#\" prefix:dc=\"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/\"><h2>Media Attributions<\/h2><ul><li >epistemology       <\/li><\/ul><\/div>","protected":false},"parent":0,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_part_invisible":false,"pb_part_invisible_string":""},"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-227","part","type-part","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/part"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/227\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=227"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/teachinginadigitalagev3m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}