Issues and Trends in Instructional Technology: Increased Engagement with Distance Learning Informs Live Instruction and Classroom Design

Abstract

Comprised of four sections, Overall Developments, Corporate Training and Development, Higher Education, and K-12 Education, this chapter synthesizes the findings of major annual reports, including the Association for Talent Development’s 2019 State of the Industry (Ho, M. 2019 state of the industry: Talent development benchmarks and trends. ATD Research, Alexandria, VA, 2019); the 2019 Survey of Faculty Attitudes on Technology (Jaschik, S., & Lederman, D. 2019 survey of faculty attitudes on technology: A study by Inside Higher Ed and Gallup. Inside Higher Ed, Washington, DC, 2019); the Babson Research Group’s Grade Increase: Tracking Distance Education in the United States (Seaman, J.E., Allen, I.E., & Seaman, J. Grade increase: Tracking distance education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group, Babson Park, MA, 2018); Higher Education’s 2019 Trend Watch and Top 10 Strategic Technology (Brooks, D.C., & McCormack, M. Higher education’s 2019 trend watch and top 10 strategic technologies. ECAR, Louisville, CO, 2019); The Horizon Report: 2019 Higher Education Edition (Alexander, B., Ashford-Rowe, K., Barajas-Murphy, N., Dobbin, G., Knott, J., McCormack, M., Pomerantz, J., Seilhamer, R., & Weber, N. EDUCAUSE horizon report: 2019 higher education edition. EDUCAUSE, Louisville, CO, 2019); Gartner Incorporated’s insight report (Cearley, D., & Burke, B. Top 10 strategic technology trends for 2019: A Gartner trend insight report. Gartner, Inc, Stamford, CT, 2019); the ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology (Gierdowski, D.C. ECAR study of undergraduate students and information technology, 2019. EDUCAUSE, Louisville, CO, 2019); The eLearning Guild’s Global eLearning Salary & Compensation Report (Smolen, T. 2018 global eLearning salary & compensation report. The eLearning Guild, Santa Rosa, CA, 2018); the Digital Learning Collaborative’s Keeping Pace with Digital Learning Report (Digital Learning Collaborative. Snapshot 2019: A review of K-12 online, blended, and digital learning, 2019. https://www.digitallearningcollab.com); Education Week’s Technology Counts 2019: Educators Tear Through the Hype (Education Week. Technology counts 2019: Educators tear through the hype, 2019. https://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/technology-counts-2019/index.html); the Digital Learning Collaborative’s Snapshot 2019: A Review of K-12 Online, Blended, and Digital Learning Report (Digital Learning Collaborative. Snapshot 2019: A review of K-12 online, blended, and digital learning, 2019. https://www.digitallearningcollab.com); and Project Tomorrow’s Digital Learning: Peril or Promise for Our K-12 Students (Evans, J. Digital learning: Peril or promise for uur k-12 students, 2019. https://tomorrow.org/Speakup/downloads/2018_19-Speak-Up-National-Congressional-Briefing-Paper.pdf). The authors note continued expansion in access and use of instructional technology in all three sectors. The use of online learning environments, digital content, and mobile devices continues to offer unique opportunities to deliver effective learning in all three sectors.