Ecology of Educational Technology

If you missed our Elluminate session on Thursday, November 24th, we have prepared a narrated slide show to recap the ideas that were discussed and to hopefully promote further discussion on this topic in Vista.

Please visit our blog page Do We Need an Updated Ecological Model? You can use this link or the tabs above to access it.

See you in Vista!

Hello and welcome to DLG 10’s presentation on the Ecology of Educational Technology. Within this blog you will find links to this module’s readings, additional readings and some our group’s thoughts on this topic. For your convenience, we have included the discussion questions that we will be posting in Vista so that you may keep them in mind as you are exploring this blog.

Please join us for further discussion and a more in depth look at the ecology of educational technology on Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 7:00 pm (PST) in Elluminate. A participant link can be found in the side bar and in your Vista mail. If you are not familiar with Elluminate, please take some time prior to Thursday’s session to familiarize yourself with this interactive whiteboard and to set up your audio through this tutorial. You will need speakers and a microphone.

Happy exploring!

John, Colin, Tomoyo, and Jaki

Ecology is the study of the interactions between living organisms and their surroundings, both living and non-living. This includes the biotic features, i.e. 5 kingdoms of organisms (or 6 as the option is today) and the abiotic features (chemical/physical factors such as light, temperature, water, atmosphere, soil, pressure, sound waves) of an ecosystem.

Ideally within an ecosystem, living and non-living components of an environment interact with one another to produce a state of homeostasis, which is a natural tendency to maintain a sense of balance with both living and non-living components. If these components are not balanced, these interactions bring about change, often not seen as mutually beneficial change.

How does an ecological perspective impact our analysis of educational technology?

Using an ecological metaphor to analyze technology integration provides us with a method of analyzing the dynamic nature of an organic process. It also takes into account cognitive, social, and organizational factors that aid/hinder implementation.

The following quote still holds true in our current education system, even though it was mentioned nearly 40 years ago:

“If we view the ecology of education as the web of relationships between and among learners, teachers, and the environment in which they operate, then it becomes apparent that these relationships are large defined by prevailing technology of instruction.” – Engler

The intricate web of connections in a school can be compared to ecosystem webs found in nature, and as the educational system evolves further from a teacher-directed model towards a student centered one empowering the use of technology, the potential for developing an intricate array of networks within this environment increases. This means the application of an ecological perspective in our analysis of educational technology may more authentic than ever.

Engler, D. (1972). Instructional technology and the curriculum. In F.J. Pula and R.J. Goff (Eds.), Technology in education: Challenge and change. Worthington, OH: Charles A. Jones.