Digital learning is instruction (i.e., teaching and learning) shaped by technologies and supported by digital media. The instructional process is a series of steps that result in learner acquisition of knowledge and skills, commonly achieved through instructional design models or paradigms (Branch & Merrill, 2012). Digital media and emerging technologies are seamlessly integrated into the process (Smaldino, et al., 2019). Learner products that incorporate media, such as gamified websites, are developed and framed by technological tools.
What are Emerging Technologies?
Emerging technologies are existing tools that are continuously evolving for the betterment of society (e.g., artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), game-based learning software). These technologies are used across settings, such as business, industry, education, and government, to achieve institutional goals in processes such as management. In education, for example, emerging technologies are used in active learning, which can aid in student engagement, motivation, and accomplishment of learning outcomes. These technologies have unprecedented transformative potential (Rice et al., 2023) for innovations in fields such as business, political science, education, and sociology, and in branches of science. To experience maximum benefits of emerging technologies, it is incumbent upon those in these areas to keep abreast of technological change. Potential risk factors should be preliminarily investigated for applications in settings, environments, and situations to minimize risks in technology usage.
Emerging Technologies and Product Development
Digitally developed products can range from simple to more complex designs in alignment with technologies, and from the integration of a medium (i.e., one type of media) to the merger of multimedia, such as that in digital presentations, blogs, podcasts, electronic books, gamified websites, and massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, an objective of the Innovate Model is a paradigm shift toward more comprehensive learner developed products for content immersion.
As technologies are established and evolve, products are developed in new and different ways. Knowledge, understanding, and skills in the evolution of technologies can lead to more effective and efficient products for use across the masses, filling existing gaps and inspiring service for innovative change.
Emerging Technologies and Instructional Design
Instructional design striving to integrate principles of digital learning should effectively incorporate goals of instruction, learning outcomes, content context, digital media, and emerging technologies into a process that results in learner performance improvement (Robertson, 2024). At the core of digital learning strategies are media, such as text, images, and video, and technological tools, such as computers and software, that aid in constructing learner products that provide solutions to needs, such as those approaches incorporated into the Innovate Model.
REFERENCES
Branch, R.M. & Merrill, M.D. (2012). Characteristics of instructional design models. Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. Pearson Education, Inc.
Rice, C., Taylor, J. B., Widom, J., & Zegart, A. (2023). The Stanford emerging technology review: A report on ten key technologies and their policy implications. Hoover Institution and Stanford School of Engineering. https://setr.stanford.edu/
Robertson, A.K. (2024). The Innovate Model [white paper].
Smaldino, S.E., Lowther, D.L., & Mims, C. (2019). Instructional technology and media for
learning (12th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
