Extant chatbots such as ChatGPT and Bard are currently able to converse with humans in natural language, demonstrating impressive linguistic responses. Or so it seems. I critically examine artificial intelligence systems such as these chatbots through examples of dialogue. When taking a systems view of AI, there is a vast and unique human culture…

By considering the interconnectedness of various elements, such as curriculum, instruction, assessment, and school organization, systems thinking provides a framework to understand the underlying patterns, feedback loops, and leverage points that shape educational outcomes. Frick's (1993) systems view of restructuring education supports the notion…

Virtual reality is a rapidly growing technological innovation that continues to garner attention for use in education. This self-study of two teacher educators spans immersive head-mounted virtual reality implementation from 2014-2023 with middle-grades students, preservice teachers, and adult learners. Empirical data sources include learner…

One hundred years ago, Paul Weiss and Ludwig von Bertalanffy independently proposed that living organisms interact with their environment through systems. In the century that has followed, systems thinking and modeling have grown in tandem with discovery of the vast complexity of the universe at microscopic through astronomic levels. As our…

The majority of instructional design models have directed focus on instructional design activities such as analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Criticisms regarding instructional design models have suggested that the use of these models provides instructional designers with a limited view of the design environment. This…

Designing within a system is ubiquitous to instructional design. In order to understand the systemic impact of design decisions within an organization, one must understand the interrelatedness of the objects within the system. Developing an understanding of context as it relates to the utility of instructional design solutions will position…

The abrupt emergence and rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, transitioning from research labs to potentially all aspects of social life, has brought a profound impact on education, science, arts, journalism, and every facet of human life and communication. The purpose of this paper is to recapitulate the use…

Virtual reality (VR) in education has tremendous potential in providing immersive and interactive experiences for students. Immersive virtual reality (IVR) technologies and IVR learning experiences have been increasingly used in education settings to support a variety of instructional methods and outcomes by providing experiential and authentic…

Online education continues to surge in popularity. However, terms used to describe and define online education vary. In addition to unclear definitions and understanding, online education practice comes with challenges. While educational institutions see its value, they struggle with implementation. Undoubtedly, online education is disruptive. A…

Serious games, board games, and well-designed commercial video games represent emerging technologies that have been utilized by instructors to help students develop systems thinking skills. In this paper, the author proposes an innovative pedagogical framework that can support educators using digital game-based learning in higher education. By…

Systemic change is far more difficult than piecemeal reforms because it requires far more interrelated and interdependent sets of changes to occur. Systemic change has two potential areas of failure: (1) the change process (action) may never reach full implementation of the new system, and (2) the new system (vision) may not be well designed. This…

Underutilized in higher education, soft systems thinking can mitigate common challenges in implementing instructional design and technology initiatives. A valuable approach is soft systems methodology (SSM), which captures multiple stakeholder perspectives in rich pictures and activity models to support structured conversations about how to…

This paper explores the role and history of systems theory and thinking in the fields of instructional/educational technology and design. The foundations of ID/ET as fields are rich in behavioral, systematic, and positivist notions of process, but we assert that it is weaker in the reflective, thoughtful, deep and meaningful orientations. Woven…

Accreditation is important for ensuring and sustaining the quality of an educational program, but the process can be challenging. Higher education institutions are open systems that rely on multiple entities, such as faculty members, to assist with the accreditation process. However, there is sometimes a lack of buy-in and involvement from faculty…

In "Restructuring Education Through Technology," I incorporated systems thinking to identify seven types of relationships in educational systems: teacher-student, student-content, student-context, teacher-content, teacher-context, content-context, and education system-environment relationships (Frick 1991). I now revisit these education…