Technical communicators are expected to work extensively with visual texts in workplaces. Fortunately, most academic curricula include courses in which the skills necessary for such tasks are introduced and sometimes developed in depth. We identify a tension between a focus on technological skill vs. a focus on principles and theory, arguing that…

The history of educational development is rooted in the improvement of teaching techniques. As a result, centres or units have normally been located in central registrars or human resources departments, library, learning and technical support services, or established as semi-autonomous entities. The alignment of educational development with…

The role of educational technologies in improving educational practices and outcomes has been criticized as over-hyped and insignificant. With few exceptions, the state of education has changed less than expected as a result of tools such as computers and the Internet. To a considerable degree, this is due to the minor role educational technology…

Purpose: The purpose of this self-reflective paper is to focus on practical efforts to combat inequality and foster intercultural dialogue in education. It introduces "knowledge alliances", a type of social practice open for education technologies. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is structured in a theoretical and an empirical…

There is a common predicament faced by educational designers, that is, the lack of learning design tools for nontraditional pedagogies of learning. Because of this lack of alternatives, educational designers often use traditional design tools (such as task analysis) in contexts where nontraditional learning activities (such as collaborative…

Instructional designers are expected to be familiar with the epistemological underpinnings of several theories and their consequences on the process of instruction. Constructivism is the dominant theory of the last decade and supports construction of knowledge by the individual. This paper discusses the basic principles underlying constructivism,…

Instructional design scholars have emphasized the development of theories and models more than the study of professional practice. Although both theoretical and practical knowledge are essential in a professional discipline, the field has not yet articulated the relationship between the two types of knowledge and how understanding this…

This article outlines a learning intervention which the authors call Learning by Design. The goal of this intervention is classroom and curriculum transformation, and the professional learning of teachers. The experiment involves the practical application of the learning theory to everyday classroom practice. Its ideas are grounded in pedagogical…

Traditionally, educational technologists have not been concerned with social or philosophical questions, and the field does not have a basic educational philosophy. Instead, it is dominated by a viewpoint characterized as "technical rationality" or "technicism"; the most important assumption of this viewpoint is that science…

This paper introduces student-centered learning, provides examples of postsecondary student-centered learning practices, and identifies problems and issues associated with adopting, adapting, scaling, and advancing technology-based student-centered learning environments. (DB)

This book contains the following papers examining the didactic, academic, analytic, philosophical, and technological underpinnings of distance education: "Introduction"; "Quality and Access in Distance Education: Theoretical Considerations" (D. Randy Garrison); "Theory of Transactional Distance" (Michael G. Moore);…

The University of Arkansas developed a distance education (DE) baccalaureate degree program in human resource development (HRD) that may serve as a model for developing DE at any level. The program, which was designed on the basis of a statewide needs assessment and competencies researched by the American Society for Training and Development, is…

The purpose of the research reported in this paper was the development of a learner-centered instructional model for the teaching of reading and writing skills. Specifically, the 14 APA (American Psychological Association) learner-centered principles were used as the conceptual framework for the development of the model. There are seven iterative…

Instructors face many choices, and their decisions and actions should be based on certain concepts. Believing that many instructors do not know enough about those concepts and the educational research and theories behind them, the authors brings together a synthesis of what is available in the realm of teaching and learning: theoretical and…

This book, which is intended for adult educators and human resource developers, presents guidelines for using the principles of cohort programming and learning to improve adult learners' educational experiences. The following are among the topics covered in the book's eight chapters: (1) cohort programming and learning (cohort programs defined;…