Understanding the Diverse Field of “Educational Technology” as Revealed in Twitter Job Postings: Encoding / Decoding Approach

Authors

Merve Basdogan, Indiana University BloomingtonFollow
Zulfukar Ozdogan, Indiana University, BloomingtonFollow
Curtis J. Bonk, Indiana UniversityFollow

Abstract

In this study, we attempt to understand discursive interrelationships among five professional job advertisements which are often used interchangeably, including educational technology, educational design, instructional design, learning design, and instructional systems design. The purpose is to better understand the distinctions, interactions, and overlaps of these disciplines using Encoding/Decoding Model over the discourses of the jobs’ announcements. We collected data using a social network analysis tool, NCapture, and imported to qualitative analysis software (i.e., NVivo) to conduct thematic analyses. For this study, 171 job postings in Twitter were captured by using NCapture as a Web-browser extension. Findings indicated that the relations between the targeted disciplines can be explained by Stuart Hall’s Communication Model (1980). Results can serve as a guide for scholars and students studying at the intersection of technology and education fields.

Keywords

Stuart Hall, Encoding and Decoding, NVivo, Discourse, Educational Technology

Author Bio(s)

Merve Basdogan is a doctoral candidate at Indiana University (IU), Instructional Systems Technology (IST) Department. She is currently working for IU’s Mosaic Active Learning Initiative (https://mosaic.iu.edu/) to support innovative classroom design and research on active learning in all IU classrooms. Merve is also minoring in Educational Psychology and her research interest is online learning environment design. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: basdogan@iu.edu.

Zulfukar Ozdogan is currently a PhD candidate at Indiana University, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology. He is currently an associate instructor of a critical qualitative inquiry course at IU and teaching how to use Computer Assisted Qualitative Analysis Software (CAQDAS). Zulfukar is minoring in Germanic Studies and his research interest is “Recognition in Qualitative Research.” Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: zulfozdo@iu.edu.

Curtis J. Bonk is Professor at Indiana University teaching psychology and technology courses. Curt is affiliated with the cognitive sciences program and is adjunct in the School of Informatics at IU. He is currently conducting research in the field of self-directed online learning environments (SOLEs), the personalization of open education (including massive open online courses—MOOCs), online motivation, and informal learning. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: cjbonk@indiana.edu.

Publication Date

8-3-2020

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4457

Recommended APA Citation

Basdogan, M., Ozdogan, Z., & Bonk, C. J. (2020). Understanding the Diverse Field of “Educational Technology” as Revealed in Twitter Job Postings: Encoding / Decoding Approach. The Qualitative Report, 25(8), 2044-2066. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4457