Educational technology

Educational technology is the theory and practice of designing, using, managing, and evaluating technologies and processes to support learning. It includes teaching methods and learning environments as well as digital tools.

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Instructional design: The systematic planning of learning experiences, materials, and assessments to achieve educational goals. It turns learning goals into activities, resources, and assessments that technology can support.
Learning management system: A software platform for organizing courses, learning materials, activities, communication, and assessment. It is a common infrastructure for delivering and managing technology-supported courses.
ADDIE model: An instructional design framework organized around analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Its stages provide a practical cycle for creating and revising technology-supported instruction.
Educational media: Media used to communicate, represent, or support educational content and activity. Educational technology is broader, also encompassing processes, systems, and their management.
Evidence-based education: The use of research evidence to inform educational policy, practice, and decisions. It offers a standard for judging claims that a technology improves learning.
Learning theory: An account of how people acquire, retain, and use knowledge or skills. Educational technologies embody assumptions about how learning happens.
Intelligent tutoring system: An educational software system that models a learner’s knowledge and adapts instruction or feedback. It applies computational models to provide individualized practice and guidance.
Technology integration: The purposeful incorporation of technology into teaching, learning, and educational organization. It distinguishes meaningful instructional use from simply placing devices in classrooms.
Distance education: Education in which learners and instructors are separated by distance and interact through communication systems. It is a delivery context that often uses educational technology but is not identical to the field.
Educational measurement: The development and use of methods to quantify knowledge, skills, or other educational attributes. Technology-generated measures can influence judgments about learners and programs.