Issue #1
Definition and Research
Robert McClelland
Current Issues In Instructional Technology
Fall 2003

Definition of Instructional Technology

The field of Instructional Technology concerns the development of quality instruction that can take place in traditional and nontraditional learning environments and is characterized by an instructional design that is implemented towards the use of specific technologies to achieve specific learning objectives. Instructional Technology may encompass one or many technologies depending upon the goals of the instructional design. Instructional technology is also the study and implementation of learning theories and a bridge between those theories and the many tools and techniques available to deliver knowledge to a learner.

Instructional Technology Research vs. Educational Psychology Research

I believe that the most prominent distinguishing factors in research in the fields of Instructional Technology and Educational Psychology are a combination of topics that are researched and methods used. In Educational Psychology much of the research focuses on what effects existing influences have on the ways that people learn. Some examples of this are gender, language, learning disabilities, psychological disorders, etc. In Instructional Technology, the researchers are actually implementing controllable influences to see how they impact learner performance. Although both disciplines employ both quantitative and qualitative research methods, it is the instructional technologist that determines the implementation of variables rather than the educational psychologist that often studies existing influences that are beyond the control of both researcher and subject.
The combination of methods and topics as distinguishing factors combine to form a larger factor that distinguishes these two disciplines and that is the distinguishing factor of purpose. Educational technology research is driven by the desire to implement instructional change in society, while educational psychology research is often driven by a desire to understand the effects of existing influences that affect learners.

Research Study on Online Testing Performance

The purpose of my research study would be to determine if students that were given the exact same instruction would perform better on online examinations than they would on written examinations. The theory behind this study is that students today are fairly comfortable using computers as a media of communication and are also fairly adept at using the Internet. Conversely, traditional testing situations create a high stress environment and can contribute to poor testing performance. Also results of traditional standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, and Proficiency often seem “far off” due to the time it takes these tests to be scored. As a result, students don’t always focus as well as they would on an online test which would give them instant feedback. Thus, due to a situation of increased comfort and instant feedback students should perform better on online tests.
I would set up a quantitative study using high school students that come from similar racial and socioeconomic areas within Ohio. Urban, suburban, and rural districts all could be used, but would only be compared to each other for the final evaluation. For Example: Cleveland Public School students could be compared to students from Columbus Public Schools, while suburban districts such as Solon and Westlake may be compared. The test selected for study would be the Ohio Proficiency Test because preparation for it should be standard throughout the state. It would be very important to only compare districts whose previous scores were similar. Each district would be paired with a similar district, and one would take The Ohio Proficiency tests online while the other will take it using traditional paper and pencil procedures.
When test results are finalized they will be analyzed statistically to determine if the hypothesis concerning online testing was correct or if other conclusions could be reached. One example of another conclusion might be varying levels of improvement between different types of districts. For example: Did students in suburban districts have increased performance on the online tests while urban district students didn’t? Racial, or socioeconomic advantages to the online testing may also be noticed if one type of district performed better on the online tests than another type of district.

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