- Certification in Industrial Technology
Learning is a very crucial process in the life of an individual because it facilitates one to survive the harsh conditions of nature. The capacity to learn is part of our genes. It is inherited. And the process is never ending. An instructional design technologist’s task is broken down in designing and developing technological processes and resources that are employed for a better learning process (i.e. better assimilation of information). Thus, an IDT's role is crucial in the formative years of an individual. In this particular instance alone, the IDT has leverage among others because of his or her contribution in mediating the learning process. He or she evaluates the appropriate tools and resources for the learning and development of an individual. Because of these responsibilities, it is only fitting that a profession certification be required especially for someone who takes part in shaping an individual who has the highest potential to become globally competitive and also become an asset to the labor force of the state. The profession certification is a bar set to prove the credibility of the professional IDT. An accreditation also filters fraudulent activities that are rampant on the internet.
- Some Very Interesting Major Professional Organizations and Publications in the Field of IDT
Some of the legitimate professional organizations in instructional design technology that have captured my interest are as follows: American Educational Research Association, Diversity University, Inc., Educational Media Association of Ireland, International Society for Technology in Education and National Council for Educational Technology (UK). It is interesting to note that the aforementioned organizations are not profit – driven and are simply just committed to promoting the use of information technology to spread knowledge. The American Education for instance, encourages students to participate through making inquiries related to education and promote the dissemination and practical applications of research results.
Some of the publications related to instructional design that have captured my interest include A History of Instructional Design by Robert Reiser, publications written in the American Journal of Distance Education, British Journal of Educational Technology and Computer and Education. These publications provide a handful of information on the history, theories and policies on distance learning, education and training, applications and development of learning technology, communications, communications technology, education and learning from primary to tertiary in distance learning.
- Education and Training in the Future: The Role of Instructional Design and Technology
At this point, the role of information technology in bridging knowledge gaps and disparities among those who can and those who cannot afford expensive matriculation has become very significant. Especially for people who intend to gather basic knowledge in various subjects such as statistics or programming. Of course, the interactive student –teacher learning experience in classrooms will never become obsolete in the next 30 years because this is one of the many aspects of learning that has already been institutionalized and that has also been proven effective. But definitely, the capacity of information technology to make a huge repository of information and to provide an easy access to learning resources such as books and even videos of lectures of professors are very much recognized and will still be in the future. The future trend of education will be leaning toward mobility. As the internet becomes part of humanity’s basic need, basic knowledge and information becomes more and more accessible to the public, especially those who are in the lower strata of the social class. Information becomes closer to people who cannot afford the costly education provided by universities and state colleges. However, caution should be exercised on too much dependence on technology. This could actually interfere in the learning process of an individual. One of the adverse impacts of depending too much on the internet is that people tend to be less self-reliant, critical and lazy when undertaking researches and when studying.
- On Reigeluth’s Post-industrial Paradigm and IDT
The field of IDT has been successful in adopting a new paradigm toward learning. More and more people are gaining access on digital learning, especially those from the lower social strata. Old ideas are always challenged by new ideas as time goes by. But the strength of new ideas also lies on a series of verifications and the need of the society for a change when it seems fitting. Reiguluth's Third Wave System suggest that no matter what kind of fine tuning we apply to the Traditional move the need to revolutionize and change our educational system is inevitable. Reiguluth may have a point but there should be a balance between the traditional system and the new system. Technology indeed plays a big role in education and training but too much reliance also in technology could have a significant negative impact. There are various forms of learning and technology is just part of the bigger segment that people could capitalize on when trying to strengthen their solid foundation on fundamental knowledge. People can benefit a lot and learn a lot also from technology because it makes information very easy to access.
- IDT as a Profession in the Future: Possibility of Convergence of Disciplines
It appears that the growth of IDT has benefited humanity. Its continuous expansion and evolution in the next ten years may reshape and redefine the process of learning. Computer literacy and information by then has already reached many communities that are inaccessible. Indeed, IDT as a profession proves to be very essential. The demand is still present. IDT is both a concept and a practice. Since the field of education, computer science and information technology are interconnected this makes it possible that IDT will equally merge on the aforementioned disciplines. It is also possible that academes will promote more interdisciplinary courses as in the case of Bioinformatics. The only problem would be updating and the fact that students may miss the actual hands on experiments that are also critical in shaping how students make scientific observations. Virtual laboratories have been set up recently but sometimes it is too difficult to visualize how chemicals react for example.
- IDT Job Market: What will be the Status Quo in the Future?
The increase in demand for information due to the fact that the internet has been made access to the public and the emergence of mobile technologies alongside social media contributes a lot in making education easily available for everyone. The pursuit of knowledge is far from being dead as long as there is a species in humanity that is constantly curious about knowledge. In five, ten or even thirty years from now education and knowledge will always be part of the basic commodity. The materialization of things starts from ideas that sprung out of learning. Thus, the market for IDT professionals in the next five years will still be very much in demand. That the market for IDT is very much in demand is probably also true in the next 10 or 30 years unless people will revert back to the traditional style of learning. In the next 10 or 30 years, expect that competitions will be very tight and the bars will be raised for aspiring IDT professionals. There is still a big difference though between a self-taught individual and an individual who learns from the traditional setting. The problem with people who depends too much on virtual learning is that they miss the opportunity to socialize. Being able to socialize allows one to become more flexible and more expressive of their ideas personally. Socialization as a process provides an avenue for people to be able to verify information from experts. However, verifying information could also be done through posting questions in learning platforms. The capacity to learn varies from one person to another person. Thinks makes it difficult sometimes to use a one-size-fits all solution towards learning. Thus, instructional technologists will still be needed to teach.
- IDT Trends and its Implications in the Future
The future trends in instructional design not only tap mobile devices, and social media but also game applications. Emerging trends in the future include digital literacy and informal learning via mobile devices. These trends would have a positive significant impact in the field of IDT. The fact that people are always connected to the internet and have already embraced social media such as facebook and twitter makes it a perfect opportunity to tap the resources and disseminate information. The convergence of mobile devices and social media can play a significant role in informal learning because of their viral effect to humanity. Ten years from now mobile devices would come at a cheap and very accessible market price where everyone can afford to get their own units. Of course the only issue about instructional learning is updating of software and devices to make more room for novel information to be stored.
