The Evolution of Educational Technologists in Distance Education

The role of the educational technologist has evolved significantly over the past half-century, particularly in the field of distance education. In the United Kingdom, the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) played a pivotal role in establishing formal qualifications for this emerging profession during the 1970s. The CNAA Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Technology became a foundational program that shaped how professionals were trained to design, develop, and deliver education through various media channels.

The historical context and need for educational technologist training 🔗

The 1960s and 1970s marked a transformative period for British higher education. Following the Robbins Report of 1963, there was significant expansion in university access, yet less than 8 percent of school leavers progressed to higher education. This gap created urgent demand for alternative educational pathways and the professionals who could design them.

The establishment of the UK Open University in 1969 demonstrated how technology could democratize access to higher education. In 1970, the Open University created its Institute of Educational Technology to support course design, hiring specialists in learning design and graphic print design. This pioneering approach highlighted the need for formally trained educational technologists across the sector.

The CNAA, operating from 1965 until 1993, served as the national degree-awarding authority for non-university institutions. It validated courses at over 140 institutions including polytechnics, colleges of higher education, and art colleges. This body recognized that as educational technology matured as a field, practitioners needed structured professional development pathways. The Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Technology emerged to meet this need, providing systematic training for professionals working across distance learning, institutional media services, and educational broadcasting.

Core competencies for educational technologists 🔗

The CNAA diploma curriculum addressed three essential competency areas that remain relevant today: instructional design, resource management, and media production.

Instructional design foundations 🔗

Instructional design formed the theoretical backbone of educational technology training. During the 1960s, Robert Gagne developed his influential framework describing three domains of learning outcomes and nine events of instruction-work that still underpins instructional design practice today. Students on the diploma program learned to apply tested instructional design theories and methods, structure content systematically, and develop assessment instruments aligned with learning objectives.

The 1970s saw the number of instructional design models greatly increase across military, academic, and industrial sectors. The diploma program equipped students to select appropriate models for different contexts and understand how information-processing approaches could inform course design. This systematic approach-analyzing learner needs, designing appropriate interventions, developing materials, implementing programs, and evaluating outcomes-became the standard framework for educational technology practice.

Resource management capabilities 🔗

Educational technologists needed more than design skills; they required competence in managing complex production processes. The diploma addressed project coordination, budget management, and the organization of multi-disciplinary teams. Students learned to assess institutional resources and constraints, allocate production budgets effectively, and coordinate specialists across different media.

This management dimension reflected the industrial model that characterized distance education during this period. The Open University, for instance, operated on what its early leaders described as systematic, production-oriented principles. Educational technologists functioned as project managers who brought together subject experts, media producers, graphic designers, and support staff to create coherent learning experiences.

Media production skills 🔗

The practical dimension of the diploma focused on developing competence across multiple media formats. The Open University transformed the use of print for teaching through specially designed course units that integrated learning activities based on advanced instructional design. Students on the diploma learned to develop print materials, audio-visual resources, and increasingly, computer-based learning materials.

The program addressed both theoretical understanding of media characteristics and hands-on production capabilities. Graduates emerged able to select appropriate media for specific learning objectives, design effective visual presentations, script audio and video content, and evaluate the educational effectiveness of different production approaches.

Course components: Theory, management, and production 🔗

The diploma structure balanced theoretical foundations with practical application across three interconnected strands.

Theoretical foundations 🔗

The theoretical component grounded students in learning theory, educational psychology, and communication science. Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, first developed in 1956, provided frameworks for classifying learning outcomes. Students studied behaviorist approaches underlying programmed instruction, cognitive psychology informing information processing models, and emerging constructivist theories emphasizing learner-centered approaches.

This theoretical grounding enabled graduates to make principled decisions about instructional strategies rather than simply following templates. Understanding why certain approaches worked in specific contexts prepared them to adapt their practice as educational technology continued evolving.

Management components 🔗

The management strand prepared students for the organizational realities of educational technology work. This included understanding institutional structures, managing production workflows, coordinating team-based course development, and evaluating program effectiveness. Students learned quality assurance processes, including the rigorous external validation procedures the CNAA itself applied to academic programs.

Financial management formed a crucial element. Educational technology projects required careful budgeting across development phases, with decisions about media selection significantly affecting costs. Graduates needed to make evidence-based recommendations about resource allocation and demonstrate return on investment to institutional stakeholders.

Production skill development 🔗

Practical production work allowed students to apply theoretical knowledge in creating actual educational materials. This typically involved designing complete learning sequences, developing prototype materials across different media, conducting formative evaluation with learners, and revising materials based on feedback.

The emphasis on formative evaluation reflected growing recognition that effective instructional materials required iterative development. By 1967, educational researchers argued that designers should try out materials with learners and revise accordingly before considering them finalized. This evidence-based approach to material development became a hallmark of professional educational technology practice.

Impact on educational practices in the United Kingdom 🔗

The CNAA Postgraduate Diploma and similar programs significantly shaped how educational technology developed as a profession in Britain during the latter decades of the twentieth century.

Professionalizing the field 🔗

The diploma helped establish educational technology as a recognized profession with defined competencies and career pathways. Graduates found positions across polytechnics, colleges, corporate training departments, and broadcasting organizations. The formal qualification provided credibility with employers and established common standards for professional practice.

This professionalization supported the expansion of distance education beyond the Open University. Regional polytechnics and colleges developed their own distance learning programs, staffed by graduates who shared common frameworks for course development. The CNAA’s validation role ensured quality standards remained consistent across the sector.

Influencing course design approaches 🔗

Diploma graduates brought systematic design approaches into institutions that had previously relied on more informal methods. The integration of learning activities within course materials, attention to learner support mechanisms, and structured evaluation processes became standard practice. The Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University became a leading European research institute in innovative education, influencing practice far beyond its own institution.

The emphasis on media selection based on pedagogical appropriateness rather than technical novelty proved particularly influential. Trained educational technologists could evaluate new technologies critically, assessing their genuine educational potential rather than adopting innovations uncritically.

Creating networks of practice 🔗

Alumni from these programs formed professional networks that facilitated knowledge sharing across institutions. Professional associations, conferences, and publications connected practitioners working in similar roles across different organizational contexts. This community of practice supported ongoing professional development as the field continued evolving through the digital revolution of the 1990s and beyond.

Legacy and continuing relevance 🔗

Although the CNAA was dissolved in 1993, with its responsibilities transferred to the Open University and newly independent former polytechnics, the training frameworks it established continue influencing educational technology education. Contemporary programs in learning design, instructional technology, and educational media build upon foundations established during this formative period.

The core competencies identified in the original diploma-instructional design expertise, resource management capability, and media production skills-remain essential for today’s learning designers and educational technologists. While specific technologies have transformed dramatically, the systematic approach to designing effective learning experiences persists as the professional standard.

What do you think? How have the core competencies required of educational technologists evolved since the 1970s? As artificial intelligence and immersive technologies reshape educational possibilities, which foundational skills will remain essential for future learning designers?

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_for_National_Academic_Awards
2. https://www.tonybates.ca/2024/01/18/a-personal-history-of-open-learning-and-educational-technology-1-the-start-of-the-uk-open-university/
3. https://www.instructionaldesigncentral.com/instructional-design-history
4. https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/section-8-1-a-short-history-of-educational-technology/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructional_design
6. https://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/History-of-the-OU/?cat=122