Themes - Instructional Technology
Themes: Technology & Schools | Learning Systems | Culture & Communication
The Curry School of Education is nationally recognized for integration of technology in teaching. National leaders who contribute to the technology and schools theme include Joe Garofalo in technology and mathematics education, Randy Bell in technology and science education, Stephanie van Hover in technology and social studies, Sara Dexter in technology and educational leadership, Jim Cooper in curriculum and instruction, Zahrl Schoeny in the area of virtual schools, and Walter Heinecke in evaluation of technology innovations. Mable Kinzie is involved in development of online support for teachers through the innovative myTeachingPartner initiative, while Glen Bull has focused on diffusion of educational technologies in schools and related policy issues.
A program emphasis in this area offers the opportunity to take coursework with faculty members specializing in this area, and collaborate on related projects and initiatives. This community of faculty members work together with graduate students to identify and explore innovative technologies with the goal of developing the next generation of educational technology leaders. This affords participants in the program numerous opportunities to participate in national initiatives.
Each year, for example, the Curry Center for Technology and Teacher Education co-sponsors a National Technology Leadership Summit (held annually at the Library of Congress). Editorial internships are available in connection with the journal, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education. Graduate students enrolled in the program have the opportunity to develop, implement, and assess methods and materials to help teacher educators and teachers appropriately integrate educational technologies into their teaching. Other opportunities include assisting corporate partners in developing hardware and software for K-12 education.
Learning Systems Design refers to the foundational sciences that provide the underpinnings for effective incorporation of technology in teaching and learning. This area encompasses multiple disciplines, including learning theory, the cognitive sciences, and concepts of learning. This theme is anchored by foundational courses on instructional design offered by Mable Kinzie.
Will Davis facilitates inquiry into the philosophy and history of instructional technology while Harry Strang, a pioneer in development of teaching simulations, offers an orientation to concepts of learning. Stephanie Guerlain contributes a broad systems engineering perspective, with expertise in cognitive systems decision support, data visualization and user-centered design processes.
Technology offers a unique capacity for individualized instruction. John Lloyd is well qualified to address this promise through dual roles as the Curry School’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and a faculty member in special education, with particular expertise in single-subject research design.
There are numerous opportunities to translate theory into practice. These range from collaborations with schools of medicine and nursing to devise the next generation of consumer health education tools such as Health Heritage, developed in concert with Wendy Cohn in Health Evaluation Sciences, to the innovative myTeachingPartner project. The latter initiative is an on-line learning system collaboratively developed by Bob Pianta, Mable Kinzie, Steve Whitaker, and Carol Dudding to support teaching practice. Taken as a whole, the learning systems theme combines theoretical underpinnings of the profession with applied practice in the field.
Culture & Communication
Technology, culture, and communications are virtually inseparable. John Bunch, the Instructional Technology program director, anchors this program theme. His interests are grounded in visual communications, folklore and cultural studies, and the field of aesthetics as it relates to education. In addition to visual communication courses, he also directs the Museums in Education program which offers opportunities for internships in a range of non-profit educational iinstitutions.
Instructional technology has evolved over the past century from its origins in the visual instruction movement to contemporary manifestations in the form of web-based learning systems. Given the nature of our historical love affair with the machine, it is important to remember that a genuine technology of instruction is deeply embedded in the psychology and sociology of human learning.
Joanne Cohoon works within the Curry School and holds an appoingment in the Science, Technology, and Society program in Engineering. Courses relevant to instructional technology majors include Language Communication and the Technological Society as well as a seminar in Gender, Technology and Education.
Carol Dudding has pioneered development of distance education programs in the Curry School. In that role she served as a consultant for development of a program to provide on-line support to teachers, and also offers courses in this area that include the introductory offering, Teaching and Learning Online. Steve Whitaker also has a particular interest in distance learning, with a focus on digital consultancy and use of digital video as a tool for teaching and learning.
Ruth Ferree coordinates the Curry School’s foreign language education program, arranging both physical exchange programs and internships with other countries, as well as virtual exchanges via videoconferencing and asynchronous communication. She has a particular interest in brain, cognition, and learning.