ABSTRACT
Project costs and timelines are often impacted by the amount of technical expertise and familiarity the designers and developers have with a given technology. Analysis data informs technology decisions concerning the accessibility of instruction based on the learner characteristics of individuals and groups. The desired interactions identified for a design also impact technology decisions, including provisions for learner-to-content, learner-to-learner, instructor/instruction-to-learner, learner-to-context, and learner-to-self interactions. Media theory and best practice lists have a lot to say about appropriate uses of technology and the design of instructional messages delivered via technology. The Association for Educational Communications and Technology publishes the Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology, a significant compilation of scholarship related to instructional design and technology. The terms media and technology are broad ones that mean different things to different people in different fields. The learner analysis data provides a wealth of information that influences technology decisions.
