The technology/inquiry typology: defining Instructional Technology.

Instructional Technology is an ill-defined field of study. This paper proposes a definition of Instructional Technology that embraces the artifactual nature of technology and its application in the work of instruction. Technology, in all its forms, is a means for accomplishing work. Instruction is a multifaceted process that involves a variety of types of work; each requiring qualitatively different types of tools and instruments. The selection, construction, and application of those tools is the unique domain of the field of Instructional Technology. It will be argued that inquiry, seen from a Deweyan perspective, is an activity that isn't entirely cerebral and requires technology for its operation. To the extent that education is synonymous with inquiry then it is a technological activity. The implication being that the quality of one's instructional experience is directly related to the quality of one's tools. To that end, a typology of technologies, as they relate to inquiry is presented to assist with the selection of appropriate instructional technologies.

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The Association for Education Communications and Technology has defined Instructional Technology as "the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management and evaluation of processes and resources for learning" (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 1). Their definition avoids a direct reference to computers, artifacts or instruments, which may be a source of confusion for those who hold a commonsensical belief that Instructional Technology is synonymous with the application of technology in education. It is likely that the Seels & Richey (1994) definition avoids these terms explicitly in an effort to highlight the notion that technology isn't exclusively manifested in physical products. As will be discussed, technology, to be a useful variable in instructional research, needs to be defined as specifically as possible.

The definition suggested by Seels and Richey (1994) can be viewed in the Deweyan tradition. Dewey's definition of technology is central to his instrumentalist philosophy (Hickman, 1990). Instrumentalism is the idea that anything that is used to accomplish work can be considered a tool, technology, or instrument. Hickman (1990) summarizes Dewey's conception of technology when he states, "something becomes a tool only when it is used to do some kind of work" (p. 22). For our purposes, when it is used to conduct the work of instruction then it is an Instructional Technology.

Instrumentalism does not make a distinction between the physical and the mental. A mathematical equation or idea may be considered to be a tool, as might a hammer or saw. Even an institution or social program can be conceptualized as a technology if they are implemented for an active and ongoing purpose (Moore & Burton, 1995). Nor does Instrumentalism make a distinction between the organic or inorganic. The use of the lens in one's eye to examine the world is not much different than using the lens of a telescope or a microscope (Moore & Lieberman, 2005); each changes the field of potential observation and each accomplishes some type of work. The mind has a limited reach but is enhanced and extended by organic technologies such as the eye, ear, and hand. And when problems that can be addressed with those nascent instruments are exhausted then one may attempt to extend one's reach inorganically with what we commonly refer to as artifacts.

Conducting the work of instruction is no longer solely thought of as what is done to the learner, but what the learner does in their own process of knowledge construction and inquiry. For example, Jonassen (2000) has introduced the idea of Mindtools, which he describes as "computer applications that require students to think in meaningful ways in order to use the application to represent what they know" (p. 4). A student using a spreadsheet program to organize data or searching the Internet to research a topic of interest are examples of the instructional use of Mindtools. The term Mindtools highlights the fact that all instruction requires a number of different technologies to present, communicate, organize, and construct knowledge.

It was Dewey who established that solving a problem was essentially the search for an appropriate tool (Hickman, 1990). The work of instruction is, particularly with regard to constructivism, a process of inquiry. Dewey (1938) describes inquiry as "the controlled or directed transformation of an indeterminate situation into one that is so determinate in its constituent distinctions and relations as to convert the elements of the original situation into a unified whole" (p. 104). Different problems require different tools for their transformation and certain technologies have affor-dances that encourage their application to different types of problems. The following section discusses how technologies may be classified according to different stages in the inquiry process.

Technology/Inquiry Typology

A particular tool is selected, modified or generated in a manner similar to that of a hypothesis. The tools act upon the facts of the case and have a specific purpose, as Hickman (1990) states, "The purpose of the tool is to reorganize the experience in some way that will overcome its disparity, its incompatibility, or its inconsistency" (p. 21). Connecting, transforming, and manipulating are all technological processes and these processes form a transaction between the internal and the external.

Man's connection between the internal and the external is through one of three methods: our actions, our observations, and our representations. These three methods of transaction are often interrelated and symbiotic, and of course, each is demonstrably technological because they allow one to extend one's mind into the environment. Rothenburg (1993) identifies several categories of technological extension including those that directly extend one's physical form, those that extend our intention and yet require guidance and contact, those that operate independently, and finally those that modify our environment itself. These categories classify the degree of independence that our technologies may exhibit. Rothenburg's categories of technology can be aligned with the three previously mentioned methods of transaction. These categories are described in Table 1.

The typology in Table 1 suggests that technologies, regardless of their manifestation, serve inquiry by allowing one to interact with the environment at a number of levels. Example technologies for inquiry have been placed in the grid for comparison. Each cell of Table 1 represents a category of technological transaction with the environment. Representative technologies assist one in accounting for and organizing thoughts and experiences. Action technologies allow one to interact with the world while Observational technologies allow one to observe the world and the results of our actions. Given the inquiry that we wish to engage in, or the research we wish to conduct, we must carefully select our instruments so that we can effectively and efficiently transport our inquiry from an "indeterminate state to a determinate one" (Dewey, 1938); the goal of the educational process.

Improving Practice

By using the typology, we may be able improve our inquiry on the educational effects of technology. Both formal research and reflective classroom scholarship may benefit from the application of the typology. For example, a typical question facing instructors and researchers could be phrased as, "Does access to technology improve student achievement?" However, such a question lacks specificity. It could be improved by directly referring to the technical artefact in question. For example, "Does access to a computer lab improve student achievement?" Further still, the typology adds a broader classification to the question. For example, "Does access to an Action/Environment technology improve student achievement?" The benefits of this process allow one's inquiry to be placed in a broad context. It may help eliminate some ambiguity. If one is to generalize their practice they must be clear what interventions they have been investigating, as the engineer Charles Kettering has stated, "A problem well stated is a problem half solved."

Critically Using the Technology/Inquiry Typology

While the classifications in Table 1 delineate the domains of technologies for inquiry it must be recognized that the classification merely provides us with a method for organization and has limited utility in applying and selecting our values. One must critically analyze the implications of using a particular technology. A technology can help us accomplish our work but may also have unintended consequences. While tools are our method for transformation and connection, they also act upon us. The technologies we use have a certain momentum of their own. Dewey (1934) himself wasn't ignorant of this possibility and describes technology as doing "something more than providing a number of separate conveniences and facilities. They shape collective occupations and thus determine the direction of interest and attention, and effect desire and purpose" (p. 345). McLuhan (1964) held an even more concerned view in his analysis of media and technology.

In contrast with the notion that technology is our method of engaging the world, McLuhan (1964) suggested the term amputation to refer to technologies that cut-off other ways of knowing. McLuhan (1964) proposed that for every new technological extension there is a technological amputation, or a discarding of a technology; An amputation doesn't imply obsolescence of the previous technology but, to a certain extent, an abandonment of previous lines of inquiry.

For example the development of the calculator, which could be classified as a Representation technology requiring guidance (Table 1), extends our ability to process mathematics, however, it also amputated methods of knowing such as the slide-rule and much of the logarithmic mathematics that rulers were based upon. It is supposed that slide rulers promoted a certain skill and mind set that may have influenced inquiry. In McLuhan's analysis the application of a new technology requires a trade-off and we are encouraged to exercise careful judgment to ensure the trade-off is a worthwhile one.

Broadening McLuhan's (1967) most famous pun, "The medium is the massage," we can infer that our media, tools, instruments, and technologies shape the messages we receive; they exert influence on the path that our inquiry takes, and the questions we ask of research. We cannot fully develop a critical understanding without knowing what specific inquiry related functions they conduct. The Technology/Inquiry Typology attempts to make these relationships transparent. This transparency should assist one in avoiding a technology's "power of imposing its own assumption on the unwary" (McLuhan, 1964, p.15).

CONCLUSION

By focusing on the definitions of technology we are able to define our research variables in the field of Instructional Technology with a great deal more precision. The Instructional Technology typology provides a reminder of the broad and varied ways in which technologies can be used for instructional purposes. By classifying a technology specifically by its role in inquiry we can clearly and transparently study its function and structure. The benefits of transparency apply to instruction and research. On the instructional side, instructional designer must choose media and technology to deliver their messages and this process often relegated to the later stages of design (Smith & Ragan). However, when viewed instrumentally it is clear that instruction, particularly instruction that is based upon inquiry, cannot be conceived of at all without technology. To design sound instructional experiences one must decide what type of inquiry is involved. Integral to that process is determining what tools to use. Designers should reference the instructional technology typology for the broadest sense of the tools that are available to them.

On the other hand, educational researchers have been enthusiastically embracing technology related lines of inquiry. However, too often researchers use the term technology ambiguously. Using the typology presented in this paper may help provide some precision to these research efforts.

References

Dewey, J. (1934). Art as experience. New York: Perigee.

Dewey, J. (1938). Logic: The theory of inquiry. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

Dewey, J. (1953). Essays in experimental logic. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Hickman, L. A. (1990). John Dewey's pragmatic technology. (Indiana series in the philosophy of technology), Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Jonassen, D. H., (2000). Computers as mindtools for schools: Engaging critical thinking. 2nd Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media. New York: McGraw Hill.

McLuhan, M. (1967). The medium is the massage. New York: Bantam Books.

Moore, D. R., & Lieberman, D. A. (2005). The Technology of classroom assessment techniques. National Research Center, 1st-year assessment, April, (Invited Essay) Retrieved May 13, 2005, www.sc.edu/fye/resources/assessment/newessay/author/MooreLieberman.html

Moore, D. R., & Burton J. K. (1998). The New Media Centers' consortium: A tool for legitimizing technology in higher education. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 30(3), 296-30

Rothenburg, D. (1993). Hand's end: Technology and the limits of nature. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Seels, B., & Ritchey, R. (1994). Instructional technology: The definition and domains of the field. Washington, DC: Associations for Educational Communications and Technology.

DAVID RICHARD MOORE 

Ohio University, USA

[e-mail]

Table 1 Example Technologies for Inquiry

                 Action                    Observation

Organic          Hand -- a hand is tool    Eye -- the lens of the eye is
                 that allows one to        constructed as are the lenses
                 manipulate the            in a pair of glasses. The
                 immediate environment.    curvature of the cornea
                                           directs light to perceptual
                                           sensors.
Directly         Stick -- a stick is an    Microscope -- a microscope is
extend physical  inorganic device that     positioned close to an eye to
form             extends one's reach and   further direct light. It's
                 contact the environment   proximity directly extends
                 with a degree of safety   the physical form.
                 and specificity.
Require          Chainsaw -- a chainsaw    Hubble telescope -- a
guidance and     is a machine that allows  technology such as the Hubble
contact          one to open the material  telescope doesn't require
                 environment for further   proximity to function. It
                 investigation, it         requires guidance and
                 requires guidance, even   direction to observe the
                 though it has its own     phenomena that we wish to
                 propulsion.               observe.
Environmental    Cradle -- is constructed  Panopticon -- a building
                 for a specific purpose    design for a prison which
                 and creates a controlled  allows the guards to observe
                 environment for an        the prisoners without being
                 infant to live and learn  observed. The building
                 in.                       changes how observations may
                                           be made.

                 Representation

Organic          Fingers -- fingers may be used to keep track of a basic
                 number sequence.
Directly         Writing -- writing is a technology that is a direct
extend physical  extension of one's hand and allows one to record ideas,
form             propositions, etc.
Require          Computer -- a computer runs software that has been
guidance and     engineered for a range of tasks, however, it will not
contact          function without the guidance of a user. The processing
                 it undertakes occurs at a sub-microscopic level and yet
                 can be guided by user.
Environmental    Architecture -- buildings may a have a specific
                 function and they may serve to communicate a message to
                 their inhabitants and users. The message is delivered
                 without any ongoing guidance from a user.