Ever wondered what educational technology is or what a learning technologist does? David Hopkins has been pondering this for a little while and has brought together a whole bunch of wonderful people (see below) who have a wealth of experience from many different sectors; HE, FE, Schools, Museums and Workplace Learning, who have reflected and articulated what this means to them and I am thrilled to have been asked to add my thoughts in a chapter which explores the role of learning technologists as magicians.
As David says in his book description “Technology has invaded our working and recreational lives to an extent that few envisaged 20 or 30 years ago. We’d be fools to avoid the developments in personal, mobile, and wearable technology. Even if we tried we’d still have to deal with other developments and distractions in classroom and learning technology like smart boards, blogs, video, games, students-led learning, virtual learning environments, social media, etc. More than this, however, is how the advances in technology, the economic and physical miniaturisation of computing devices, have impacted education: the students, the teachers, the classrooms, the spaces, the connections, the aspirations, etc.”
“The Really Useful #EdTechBook‘ is about experiences, reflections, hopes, passions, expectations, and professionalism of those working with, in, and for the use of technology in education. Not only is it an insight into how, or why, we work with these technologies, it’s about how we as learning professionals got to where we are and how we go forward with our own development.”
The Really Useful #EdTechBook is available online from the 28th January in a number of formats with the paper version available shortly after. All the details can be found here http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/books/the-really-useful-edtechbook/.
Contributory authors:
- Catherine Cronin: Foreword
- David Hopkins: Introduction
- Wayne Barry: “…and what do you do?”: Can we explain the unexplainable?
- Zak Mensah: “Why do we do what we do?”
- Peter Reed: “The structure and roles of Learning Technologists within Higher Education Institutions”
- Rachel Challen: “Learning Technologists as magicians? Balancing policy and creativity”
- Julie Wedgwood: “Developing the skills and knowledge of a Learning Technologist”
- Dr David Walker and Sheila MacNeill: “Learning Technologist as Digital Pedagogue”
- Lesley Price: “Times they are a changing …or not?”
- Sue Beckingham: “The Blended Professional: Jack of all Trades and Master of Some?”
- Julian Stodd: “How gadgets help us learn in the Social Age”
- Terese Bird: “Students Leading the Way in Mobile Learning Innovation”
- Inge de Waard: “Tech Dandy, and the Art of Leisure Learning”
- Sharon Flynn: “Learning Technologists: changing the culture or preaching to the converted?”
- Mike McSharry: “This is your five-minute warning!”