ABSTRACT

Complexity is a common phenomenon existing in biological organisms, geological formations, and social constructions. Educational researchers and educational practitioners routinely encounter complex situations as a function of study and practice. Managing complex situations has become a common necessity for educational technology researchers to make sense of complicated situations; however, complexity as a factor in educational technology research tends to be malaligned, oversimplified, or otherwise insufficiently addressed, thereby rendering the results of many research studies about educational technology lacking in generalizability. A conceptual, theoretical, and practical understanding of complexity offers a framework for research on educational technology that addresses the issues associated with nonlinear and complicated relationships. Complexity theory is predicated on a phenomenon possessing five attributes: (1) it contains independent complicated entities, (2) multiple entities are contained within, (3) the entities within the phenomenon perform interrelated functions, (4) the phenomenon seeks a common goal, and (5) uncertainty is generated because of unpredictable interactions within itself and between itself and the environment. A summary of the main conceptual, theoretical, and practical aspects of complexity is presented as it relates to educational communications and technology.