Section C
Today
January 30, 2002
Vol. 1, No. 1   Athens, Georgia
When Is IT?
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Section A
Who Does IT?
Section B
What is IT?
Section C
When is IT?
Section D
Where is IT?
Section E
Why is IT?
Section F
Classifieds
When Is IT Appropriate?
My co-worker, Thomas Moore asks,
"When can you use IT?"
          Determining when Instructional Technology is appropriate for instruction can sometimes be as tricky as deciding the appropriate name to use when referring to Instructional Technology.  However, my personal view is to think of instruction in terms of simplicity.  Learning is not always easy, and can at times be made more complicated through technology.  Sometimes, technology is not the best answer to solving instructional problems.  In other words, a computer (technology) is not the teacher, it is the teacher's assistant.  Therefore, one must decide whether technology is the best route to take when designing instruction.  Keeping instruction as simple as possible should be one of the essential goals of achieving learning objectives, and remembering that technology is a great tool for the enhancement of learning can help keep instruction simple.
          Many factors can be taken into consideration when determining whether or not technology is appropriate for instruction.  First, the analysis of other instructional options must be weighed.  Then, considering the rate of advancement that technology is capable of, the level of knowledge of the instructor/teacher must be considered in order to determine if they can handle such technology.  Instructors/Teachers must then determine the cost factor and whether or not they have the funds to support Instructional Technology endeavors.  These are just a few of the considerations that must be made in order to determine whether technology would be an appropriate learning tool during instruction. 
The Carnegie Commission declares,
"...technology should be the servant and not the master of instruction.  It should not be adopted merely because it exists, or because an institution fears that it will be left behind the parade of progress without it.  We also believe that sophisticated technology is not to be equated with saturation.  In some courses, the use of technology may be appropriate for a few hours in an entire term.  In a few, technology may be constructively used for two-thirds of the hours allotted for a term of instruction; in a very few, it may take over the entire process"
(Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, 1972, p. 11).