Sections Model

S – Students: What is known about the students – or potential students – and the appropriateness of the technology for this particular group or range of students?

E – Ease of use and reliability: how easy is it for both teachers and students to use? How reliable and well tested is the technology?

C – Costs: what is the cost structure of each technology?  What is the unit cost per learner?

T – Teaching and learning: what kinds of learning are needed? What instructional approaches will best meet these needs? What are the best technologies for supporting this teaching and learning?

I – Interactivity: what kind of interaction does this technology enable?

O – Organizational issues: What are the organizational requirements and the barriers to be removed before this technology can be used successfully?  What changes in organization need to be made?

N – Novelty: how new is this technology?

S – Speed: how quickly can courses be mounted with this technology?  How quickly can materials be changed? (Bates and Poole, 2003)

For the last 17 years I have taught, developed and adapted technology to computer courses.  I have also been a technology coordinator for much of that time as well.  As a result I have had to consider the implications of choosing technology carefully over the years while also being able to adapt to shrinking school board budgets and the politics of Dromology.

The two must striking elements of the Bates and Poole model that I have faced over the years have to be Costs and Organizational issues.

Costs are always an issue when it comes to implementing new technology.  Governments develop curriculum requirements and suggested tools and strategies, and then, at least in the public system, they systematically strip away funding.  Programs that suffer the most seem to be the arts, music and technology, since they are the hardest to standardize and often the most difficult to quantify.  Being able to keep labs of computers up-to-date as well as providing software that fits the requirements course work and prepares students well for their future endeavours is key to my teaching practices.  Another aspect around cost is the fact that decision makers no very little about technology and implementing new educational directions, and are often unwilling to learn, and make their financial decisions based on dated knowledge of education and technology.

This ties in directly with Organizational issues.  If a school system is to provide innovative teaching and learning opportunities for students and teachers, it needs to be properly organized to implement funding for technology that solves the issues and needs at hand, instead of political issues.  For example, in the Vancouver School Board, Desire to Learn was implemented at a great cost, rather than using Moodle.  The Adult Ed. Section was not allowed to use it, so we developed Moodle for free instead and it has had a greater, lasting effect on the delivery of course material and mixed-mode learning than could have been possible with Desire to Learn.  This is one of many examples of the troubles of bureaucracy.  The new model in business is to involve all elements of an organization in the decision-making process, and to open up opportunities for all levels.

Another aspect of Organizational Issues is Dromology and the politics of CHANGE.  Innovative use of technology can be politically charged as teachers work either together or individually to implement change and deliver a different educational product via new technology.  Norway, for example, has required that all students attain a high level of technological ability before they graduate.  Schools have begun moving towards a model of a learning organization, where teachers and students learn new technology and adapt to it continually.  Bureaucracy and organizational issues are definitely a problem regarding Dromology, the politics of change and implementing new technology.

If you are interested in Dromology, please see: http://www.ferviddesigns.com/kenbuis/dromology-and-ocularcentrism/

Bates & Poole. (2003). “A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology.” In Effective Teaching with Technology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.