The learner-centered paradigm of education requires very different roles for technology, as well as for teachers and students, compared with the teacher-centered paradigm. Rather than almost exclusively serving the teacher for teaching, technology primarily serves the student for learning. It does so through four major roles: (1) keeping records…

Through ongoing rapid-fire changes in the nature of communications, the social, professional, and political landscapes of our time are rapidly transforming. But the prevailing paradigm in most schools and school systems is a relic of the industrial revolution. Schools and school systems must adopt a new paradigm for learning if they are to remain…

This is the first in a series of two articles examining the current status of instructional design (ID) scholarship and theory in four different cultures or traditions. In this article, the focus is on, first, ID models based on traditional behavioral theories of learning and, second, on models based on cognitive science and the learning sciences.…

This article describes instructional theory that supports post-industrial education and training systems--ones that are customized and learner-centered, in which student progress is based on learning rather than time. The author discusses the importance of problem-based instruction (PBI), identifies some problems with PBI, overviews an…

Discusses instructional design and the classroom teacher. Highlights include the impact of calls for school reform; teaching as an art versus a science; teacher planning versus instructional design; achieving reform through patching versus rebuilding; and the need to have a closer working relationship between teachers and instructional designers.…

Considers the role of states in implementing educational reform efforts. The Instructional Systems Development (ISD) approach to designing learner-centered instruction is explained; and Project IMPACT (Instructional Management by Parents, Community, and Teachers), an early application of this approach, is described. Educational improvement efforts…

Advocates a systems approach to designing educational systems in a changing world. The intellectual technology of systems design is outlined; and a design architecture is described that addresses definition of the new system, system specifications, key functions, organizational issues, and the systemic environment. Organizing perspectives for…

Discusses changes in the field of educational technology from a mechanistic to a more humanistic view, and highlights the importance of interpersonal skills through three studies conducted in the British Open University: one dealing with instructional development, one with the evaluation of teaching and teaching systems, and one with the fostering…

Discussion of changes in classrooms as a result of communication networks focuses on teachers' roles in future educational settings. Topics include teachers as information consultants, as team collaborators, as facilitators, as course developers, and as academic advisors; and the computer and communication skills needed by teachers. (LRW)