Foundations of Educational Technology

Reviewed by Erin Weldon, Instructional Design Specialist, Trine University on 11/22/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook maps out the foundations of educational technology into specific categories. Readers develop an understanding of the overall topic through the historical aspects of the idea of educational technology, followed by developmental theories, learning theories, motivation to increase engagement, adult and workplace learning, how communication impacts instructional design, thorough research and different views of educational technology, a chapter that covers the most critical aspects of instructional design, integrating technology and the selection process, acceptance and diffusion of technology, and ending with a chapter on professional ethics. The textbook provides instructional design opportunities in many different disciplines in addition to education. The textbook provides a table of contents; however, there is no index glossary. It might be beneficial to include a glossary of the terms used throughout the book that relate to educational technology. As an introduction to the topic, readers might find it helpful to understand the meaning of terms.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

Content is accurate and up-to-date on theories regarding Educational Technology. This textbook appears to be unbiased as it offers research on different perspectives and theories; however, I noticed in the Chapter 11.2: Conflicts of Interest, the last paragraph could come across as biased information as there could be opinionated information written.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

There are some videos throughout the textbook that represent relevant information; however, some a from more than five years ago. To avoid obsolete information, you might consider choosing content that has been created within the last five years. As many know, technology can change very quickly!

Clarity rating: 3

The text is clear and accessible to read most of the time. The URL links do not appear accessible. It might be helpful to include descriptive hyperlinks for each of the YouTube videos embedded into the book. Technology jargon is used occasionally throughout the text. It might be beneficial to include the definition of the terms at the end of the pages or a include a glossary at the end.

Consistency rating: 5

All terminology and the framework is consistent and relevant to Educational Technology.

Modularity rating: 4

The text is organized very well into specific categories and does not overwhelm the reader. I do find the videos a little distracting. It might be helpful to include the videos as a descriptive hyperlink rather than appear on the page.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Each chapter demonstrates a great understanding of the topic and the chapters lead into one another. The book flows in a way that readers will not be confused or feel as if something is missing before reading another chapter.

Interface rating: 4

Overall, the textbook was simple to navigate; however, it might be useful to include page navigation at the bottom left and right corners. Readers can move from page to page without having to go back to the table of contents. Including the next topic with the navigational buttons would also increase ease of navigation.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive. I found the research to be very thorough and the text includes a variety of perspectives.

Comments

Overall, this textbook is a great introduction to Educational Technology and discusses the key points leaders will need to know about the discipline.