Instructional Models

Any educational technology is only as good as the way it is used for learning. Perhaps the most difficult challenge for instructors using technology is to develop a strategy for integrating it into the curriculum. To do so, you need to answer such as these questions:

1. What is the learning goal of the technology application?
You need to decide on details of exactly what parts of the curriculum will be taught to which learners using technology, based on your analysis of your general goals for program improvement, and the kinds of software you want, based on your analysis of software types available and resource requirements for them.

2. How will we assign learners to use the technology?
Some instructional models assume everyone will be doing the same thing at the same
time. Others require sophisticated individualized learning plans (ILP’s) based on an assessment of individual needs. In these cases, placement of the each learner in the right assignment, on a daily basis, should be an important factor in your planning.

3. What will the learner’s role be?
Instructional models vary widely in how much and what kind of decisions the learners
make about their own learning. Some models require solo, self-paced work, while others require collaborative study with everyone studying the same thing at the same time. It’s important to work out in detail what the learner’s responsibilities will be and how they will be fulfilled.

Once the learner’s role is defined, then it’s necessary to plan your role in teaching, and the overall program structure, so that both will lead the learners through the intended learning processes.

1. How will we manage the resources?
Your technology plan should have identified the general level of hardware and software resources you will need for the number of learners and type of use you have in mind. With the decisions made about curriculum and instruction, you can make a detailed plan for how to schedule and manage the hardware and software resources.

2. How will we assess the learners?
You also need to decide how you will find out what the learners have learned as they have used the technology. For example, PLATO has a range of powerful assessment options built in. Other software sometimes leaves assessment as a task entirely for the instructor. In some settings, an important part of the assessment system is assignment of letter or numeric grades and course credit.

To answer these questions, we first need to look at all the ways technology can be used in instruction. We’ll group the various applications using three terms: supplementary, complementary, and primary.