EdTech Definition Graphic

Januszewski & Molenda define educational technology as the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources (2008). This 24 word definition encompasses a lot of different aspects of education. After reading the first chapter of Educational Technology: A Definition with Commentary and began to think of how I could create a graphic representation of this definition. Taking some time to think about what educational technology is helped me to develop the basic template of my graphic, that of a compass rose. Educational technology is ever changing and exploring new ways to address the challenges that we face as educators. This is a big reason why it appeals to me. Representing it graphically with a compass rose seemed not only a good fit for the definition but also as a social studies teacher and a person of a rather adventurous spirit I found this to be fitting for me personally too. A link to a high resolution copy of my graphic is available here: EdTech Definition Graphic

I used Canva to complete this assignment. I found that it was an easy way to create a simple custom graphic. The photos in it were from two main sources: google images (I used the advanced search settings to find photos that were labeled for reuse with modification.) and pixabay which is a site dedicated to providing free images for anyone to use.

My graphic itself shows the definition by first pointing to four core aspects of educational technology: Good planning and research, student access to a variety of technology, student collaboration, and the knowledge of teachers to leverage technology appropriately. The idea that I am trying to portray is that when these aspects of educational technology come together other positives things start to happen for a school. Good planning and teacher preparation can lead to ethical uses of technology by students and staff. Proper planning along with student access to the right technologies can lead to student success allowing schools to meet their academic goals. Student access and student collaboration through technology leads to an increase in knowledge. When students collaborate and teachers know how to leverage technology we can see learning experiences that were previously not possible in schools before.

I have to say that artistic creativity has never been a strong suit of mine. After getting to see how Canva works though I am definitely going to keep it in mind for future use on projects like these and may have some of my students use it as an option for future projects too.