The Economics of Educational Technology Jeffrey M. Puryear

1. Ethics

2. Suitability of Educational Technology

2.1. Costs

2.1.1. Human costs - I believe that one of the greatest hidden costs and barriers to technology integration is the human cost. This cost is often unanticipated and, therefore, variable. As Puryear noted, there is a need for teachers to alter their role to make educational technology use effective, the cost of this change is teacher time, effort, frustration and, sometimes, burnout. Further, many failed experiments that do not 'increase' student learning add a cost factor: I guess you could call this 'academic cost'? Since augmented forms of ed. tech are unlikely to reduce cost and, possibly, be unsustainable, how much are we willing to invest? -Yvonne Dawydiak

2.2. Effectiveness

2.2.1. Define & Elaborate

2.3. Surrounding Conditions

2.3.1. Define & Elaborate

3. Educational Technology encompasses

3.1. print

3.2. audio cassettes

3.3. programmed learning

3.4. radio

3.5. broadcast television

3.6. personal computers

3.7. slide projectors

3.8. blackboards and chalk

3.9. Others???

3.9.1. LCD Projectors

3.9.1.1. smartboards

3.10. Ipods

3.11. Cell phones

3.12. PVRs

4. "The question is, what does it take to make technology effective, and how much does that cost? In economic terms, we're talking about cost-effectiveness." (Puryear 1999)

4.1. In my opinion, finding the proper balance between introducing technology and keeping it current is the most important factor. The cost of this will undoubtedly be much lower if a process is defined in which new forms of technology are introduced and integrated. In some cases this might mean some forms of technology will be avoided as they don't meet the requirements for quick implementation before they are obsolete - Andrew Olson