Cybersavvy
What HPT and Ed Tech
Mean to Me...
Educational Technology: the study and ethical practice of solving instructional problems for all learners by creating, using, and managing appropriate processes and resources to meet their needs in effective and efficient ways.
Human Performance Technology: Based on Pershing’s definition (2006): Human performance technology is the study and ethical practice of improving productivity in organizations by designing and developing effective interventions that are both results-oriented and in alignment with an organization’s values and goals.
Before taking R511, I saw educational technology (ed tech) as a set of devices and software used for instruction, and I had never heard of Human Performance Technology (HPT). When I first saw the term, I admittedly imagined a sci-fi movie in which humans are systematically turned into robots. However, a mentor I had when I was teaching reminded her class to “understand something before your reject it.” That message somehow made it into my long-term memory and is a key part of the values I take into my work.
In studying ed tech this past semester, I learned that it not only described a set of devices that can help users achieve learning goals, but it is also encompasses the process of identifying other factors that are impeding a student's performance. Those include a student's environment at home and in school, study habits, and attitude toward learning. The devices themselves are not a panacea or even always part of a solution to a problem.
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By using ed tech and HPT, I am working to make sure all students have the means to master digital and media literacy.