Educational technologists rely on research to inform their instructional design.  They go beyond the technology available and tap into the work of experts in the fields of education and psychology to make that technology accessible and impactful to a wide variety of students. The rationale behind the design of our multimedia object takes many factors into account and harnesses the work of those scholars to create an instructional solution to meet the needs of our diverse audience.

Our intended audience consists of both students and potential employers from a wide range of backgrounds.  Our design rationale kept that audience in mind as we initiated our design as a team. We demonstrate how these tools can reach learners and by example impact current pedagogical practices.  We model tools so you, the learner, can also see how to make your instructional solutions effective and accessible to a diverse population. Our goal is for students and employers to see the connections to one another and the ways in which educational technologists enhance existing programs in both education and in the corporate world of technical trainers in a growing technological age that pays attention to its diverse population.

The design rationale for our instructional solution is grounded in theory.  To begin, we understand that students construct meaning from the instruction they are given (Driscoll, 2018).  We have designed our project with the goal of providing enough information and context for learners to construct a new understanding of the field of educational technology in a way that is familiar to many. A higher-level goal is for learners to make significant decisions regarding their career paths and for employers to make key decisions in the structure of their personnel by adding those equipped to meet the changing needs of our population.  

The webpage itself allows the learners to follow a clear pattern to view these issues in a more comprehensive manner and is multimedia in nature with text and appropriate images.  The multimedia object itself adheres to R.E. Mayer's cognitive theories of multimedia learning (Knight, 2019).  The object consists of text, images, and narration so learners rely on both audio and visual elements in line with dual-coding theory but is concise and does not overwhelm the viewer resulting in excessive cognitive load in line with Mayer's coherence principles. 

In both the design of our webpage and our multimedia object, the team clearly applied the theories so key in an Educational Technologist's profession.  We demonstrate how you can reach a new generation of learners coming into your classrooms and corporate boardrooms.  We hope to explain and serve as an example of what Educational Technology professions can do for your organization.