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License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed) Attribution: 3 Considerations for Tech in the Classroom educauseInstructional designers have many opportunities to recommend to an instructor appropriate media for implementing the instructional strategies. Selecting the appropriate media mix can be often challenging and is a critical component of the instructional design process. This section will address some guidelines for selecting instructional media. Learning Objectives
Many various forms of technology are depicted in this photo. Do you think each of these could be used in the classroom? If so, how? If not, which ones are not appropriate for the classroom and why? Pixabay.com– CC0 licenseWhat is the difference between media and technology? Philosophers and scientists have argued about the nature of media and technologies over a very long period. The distinction is challenging because in everyday language use, we tend to use these two terms interchangeably. For instance, television is often referred to as both a medium and a technology. Is the Internet a medium or a technology? And does it matter? There are differences, and it does matter to distinguish between media and technology, especially if we are looking for guidelines on when and how to use them. There is a danger in looking too much at the raw technology, and not enough at the personal, social and cultural contexts in which we use technology, particularly in education. The terms ‘media’ and ‘technology’ represent different ways altogether of thinking about the choice and use of technology in teaching and learning. Technology There are many definitions of technology. Essentially definitions of technology range from the basic notion of tools, to systems which employ or exploit technologies. Thus,
In terms of educational technology we have to consider a broad definition of technology. The technology of the Internet involves more than just a collection of tools, but a system that combines computers, telecommunications, software and rules and procedures or protocols. Beware, that once a definition begins to encompass many different aspects of life it becomes unwieldy and ambiguous. Educational technology is seen as tools used to support teaching and learning. Thus, computers, software programs such as a learning management system, or a transmission or communications network, are all technologies. A printed book is a technology. Technology often includes a combination of tools with particular technical links that enable them to work as a technology system, such as the telephone network or the Internet. Technologies or even technological systems do not of themselves communicate or create meaning. They just sit there until commanded to do something or until they are activated or until a person starts to interact with the technology. At this point, we start to move into media. Media Media (plural of medium) is another word that has many definitions and it has two distinct meanings relevant for teaching and learning, both of which are different from definitions of technology. The word ‘medium’ comes from the Latin, meaning in the middle (a median) and also that which intermediates or interprets. Mediacan be defined as requiring the active creation of content and/or communication, and someone who receives and understands the communication, as well as the technologies that carry the medium. We use our senses, such as sound and sight, to interpret media. In this sense, we can consider text, graphics, audio and video as media ‘channels’, in that they intermediate ideas and images that convey meaning. Every interaction we have with media, in this sense, is an interpretation of reality, and again usually involves some form of human intervention, such as writing (for text), drawing or design for graphics, talking, scripting or recording for audio and video. Note that there are two types of intervention in media: by the ‘creator’ who constructs information, and by the ‘receiver’, who must also interpret it. Media of course depend on technology, but technology is only one element of media. Thus we can think of the Internet as merely a technological system, or as a medium that contains unique formats and symbol systems that help convey meaning and knowledge. These formats, symbol systems and unique characteristics (e.g. the 140 character limit in Twitter) are deliberately created and need to be interpreted by both creators and end users. Furthermore, at least with the Internet, people can be at the same time both creators and interpreters of knowledge. Computing can also be considered a medium in this context. Computing as a medium would include animations, online social networking, using a search engine, or designing and using simulations. Thus Google uses a search engine as its primary technology, might classify as a medium, since it needs content and content providers, and an end user who defines the parameters of the search, in addition to the technology of computer algorithms to assist the search. Thus the creation, communication and interpretation of meaning are added features that turn a technology into a medium. Thus in terms of representing knowledge we can think of the following media for educational purposes:
Within each of these media, there are sub-systems, such as;
Furthermore, within these sub-systems there are ways of influencing communication through the use of unique symbol systems, such as story lines and use of characters in novels, composition in photography, voice modulation to create effects in audio, cutting and editing in film and television, and the design of user interfaces or web pages in computing. The study of the relationship between these different symbol systems and the interpretation of meaning is a whole field of study in itself, called semiotics. In education we could think of classroom teaching as a medium. Technology or tools are used (e.g. chalk and blackboards, or PowerPoint and a projector) but the key component is the intervention of the teacher and the interaction with the learners in real time and in a fixed time and place. We can also then think of online teaching as a different medium, with computers, the Internet (in the sense of the communication network) and a learning management system as core technologies, but it is the interaction between teachers, learners and online resources within the unique context of the Internet that are the essential component of online learning. From an educational perspective, it is important to understand that media are not neutral or ‘objective’ in how they convey knowledge. They can be designed or used in such a way as to influence (for good or bad) the interpretation of meaning and hence our understanding. Some knowledge therefore of how media work is essential for teaching in a digital age. In particular we need to know how best to design and apply media (rather than technology) to facilitate learning. Over time, media have become more complex, with newer media (e.g. television) incorporating some of the components of earlier media (e.g. audio) as well as adding another medium (video). Digital media and the Internet increasingly are incorporating and integrating all previous media, such as text, audio, and video, and adding new media components, such as animation, simulation, and interactivity. When digital media incorporate many of these components they become ‘rich media’. Thus one major advantage of the Internet is that it encompasses all the representational media of text, graphics, audio, video and computing. Different media can be used to assist learners to learn in different ways and achieve different outcomes. In a sense, researchers such as Clark were right: the teaching methods matter, but different media can more easily support different ways of learning than others. Perhaps even more important is the idea that many media are better than one. This allows learners with different preferences for learning to be accommodated, and to allow subject matter to be taught in different ways through different media, thus leading to deeper understanding or a wider range of skills in using content. On the other hand, this increases costs. Online learning can incorporate a range of different media: text, graphics, audio, video, animation, simulations. We need to understand better the affordances of each medium within the Internet, and use them differently but in an integrated way so as to develop deeper knowledge, and a wider range of learning outcomes and skills. The use of different media also allows for more individualization and personalization of the learning, better suiting learners with different learning styles and needs. If we are interested in selecting appropriate technologies for teaching and learning, we should not just look at the technical features of a technology, nor even the wider technology system in which it is located, nor even the educational beliefs we bring as a classroom teacher. We also need to examine the unique features of different media, in terms of their formats, symbols systems, and cultural values. These unique features are increasingly referred to as the affordances of media or technology. The concept of media is much ‘softer’ and ‘richer’ than that of ‘technology’, more open to interpretation and harder to define, but ‘media’ is a useful concept, in that it can also incorporate the inclusion of face-to-face communication as a medium, and in that it recognises the fact that technology on its own does not lead to the transfer of meaning . As new technologies are developed, and are incorporated into media systems, old formats and approaches are carried over from older to newer media. Education is no exception. New technology is ‘accommodated’ to old formats, as with clickers and lecture capture, or we try to create the classroom in virtual space, as with learning management systems. However, new formats, symbols systems and organizational structures that exploit the unique characteristics of the Internet as a medium are gradually being discovered. It is sometimes difficult to see these unique characteristics clearly at this point in time. However, e-portfolios, mobile learning, open educational resources such as animations or simulations, and self-managed learning in large, online social groups are all examples of ways in which we are gradually developing the unique ‘affordances’ of the Internet. More significantly, it is likely to be a major mistake to use computers to replace or substitute for humans in the educational process, given the need to create and interpret meaning when using media, at least until computers have much greater facility to recognize, understand and apply semantics, value systems, and organizational features, which are all important components of ‘reading’ different media. But at the same time it is equally a mistake to rely only on the symbol systems, cultural values and organizational structures of classroom teaching as the means of judging the effectiveness or appropriateness of the Internet as an educational medium. Thus we need a much better understanding of the strengths and limitations of different media for teaching purposes if we are successfully to select the right medium for the job. However, given the widely different contextual factors influencing learning, the task of media and technology selection becomes infinitely complex. This is why it has proved impossible to develop simple algorithms or decision trees for effective decision making in this area. Nevertheless, there are some guidelines that can be used for identifying the best use of different media within an Internet-dependent society. Selecting MediaLicense: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed) Attribution: What Learning Science Tells Us About How to Use Educational Technology e-Literate TVA major part of instructional design is selecting the appropriate media mix to effectively teach the learning outcome(s). Selecting the best media mix increases learning and maximizes cost-effectiveness. Some concepts are extremely difficult to teach without the correct media mix. This section of the chapter explains how each medium relates to learning and describes how media can affect a learner’s motivation. The strengths and weaknesses of each medium are presented with respect to the different learning outcome classifications. Media Categories The media categories you can include in an online course are:
Media and Learning The media you select does not determine whether learning will occur. The media you use can influence the amount of learning that occurs. If you combine the media’s strengths with instructional methods that take advantage of these strengths, you can positively influence learning. Complete instructional packages can, but should not necessarily, include all of the different media. Note that:
Tip Media and Motivation Consider a student’s experience with each medium. For example, if the students have typically struggled in text based programs, then consider using other media. Students must have expectations of success with the selected media and have the skills to extract information and learn from the media. This is not always a safe assumption. For example, many learners are used to watching video passively and do not know how to focus their learning or take effective notes while watching video. Depending on a student’s learning preferences or learning style, the media you choose could be liked or disliked. If the selected media are not preferred, enhance motivation through:
Here are a few practical guidelines on the selection and use of instructional media:
A major part of the instructional design process you need to do is select the appropriate media mix to effectively teach the learning outcome(s). Selecting the best media mix will enable you to increase learning. Learning from course content made with more than one medium is usually more effective than content comprised of only one medium. In many situations, you can and should use more than one medium to teach the skill. However, remember that if you use too many media at one time, you can impede learning. Base your media mix decision on the learning outcomes, how they are being taught, and how testing will be done. To be successful, students must also have the skills to extract information and learn from the media. You may also need to motivate your students to learn from the media selected. Remember that the media mix you choose must be able to meet the requirements of the instructional strategy and address all of the instructional events. In particular, the media mix must effectively teach all of the learning outcomes and should allow for practice and feedback. Use the aforementioned general guidelines for selecting the appropriate media mix for the learning domains of verbal information, intellectual skills, psychomotor skills, and attitudes. (Learning domains are discussed in Section 3.1 of this text.) For verbal information such as knowledge and comprehension, you should use text and visuals. Remember to use the computer to provide interaction as that can be difficult or cumbersome to do with paper-based materials. For intellectual skills such as applying skills to new examples, you can effectively use each medium depending on the skill being taught. Following the instructional design process will help you determine the best media mix. For psychomotor skills such as those requiring muscular actions, you should use real equipment although, for practical reasons such as cost and safety, you may need to create a simulation that incorporates a variety of media. Video with audio or text support can be superb for teaching psychomotor skills. Similarly, a series of images with text can also be very effective. Although you can use video and audio to effectively teach attitudes, for example, choosing to say “no” to drugs, your complete instructional strategy should consider other methods such as role-playing. Remember to consider learner characteristics when selecting instructional media. Synchronous or AsynchronousSynchronous Synchronous technologies require all those participating in the communication to participate together, at the same time, but not necessarily in the same place. Thus live events are one example of synchronous media, but unlike live events, technology enables synchronous learning without everyone having to be in the same place, although everyone does have to participate in the event at the same time. A video-conference or a webinar are examples of synchronous technologies which may be broadcast ‘live’, but not with everyone in the same place. Other synchronous technologies are television or radio broadcasts. You have to be ‘there’ at the time of transmission, or you miss them. However, the ‘there’ may be somewhere different from where the teacher is. Synchronous activities may include live (face-to-face) lectures, seminars, tutorials, labs, workshops, webinars, video conferencing, virtual worlds, remote labs. Some options for the delivery of these synchronous activities may include, but, are not limited to the following:
Asynchronous Asynchronous technologies enable participants to access information or communicate at different points of time, usually at the time and place of choice of the participant. All recorded media are asynchronous. Books, DVDs, You Tube videos, Films on Demand, lectures recorded through lecture capture and available for streaming on demand, and online discussion forums are all asynchronous media or technologies. Learners can log on or access these technologies at times and the place of their own choosing. Asynchronous activities may include self-managed labs, workshops, recorded media such as; books, cassettes, online discussion forums, lecture capture or streamed video, blogs and wikis. Some options for delivery of these asynchronous activities may include, but, are not limited to the following:
Advantages of Asynchronous Overall there are huge educational benefits associated with asynchronous or recorded media, because the ability to access information or communicate at any time offers the learner more control and flexibility. The educational benefits have been confirmed in a number of studies. For instance, Means et al. (2010) found that students did better on blended learning because they spent more time on task, because the online materials were always available to the students. Research at the Open University found that students much preferred to listen to radio broadcasts recorded on cassette than to the actual broadcast, even though the content and format was identical (Grundin, 1981; Bates at al., 1981). However, even greater benefits were found when the format of the audio was changed to take advantage of the control characteristics of cassettes (stop, replay). It was found that students learned more from ‘designed’ cassettes than from cassette recordings of broadcasts, especially when the cassettes were co-ordinated or integrated with visual material, such as text or graphics. This was particularly valuable, for instance, in talking students through mathematical formulae (Durbridge, 1983). This research underlines the importance of changing design as one moves from synchronous to asynchronous technologies. Thus we can predict that although there are benefits in recording live lectures through lecture capture in terms of flexibility and access, or having readings available at any time or place, the learning benefits would be even greater if the lecture or text was redesigned for asynchronous use, with built-in activities such as tests and feedback, and points for students to stop the lecture and do some research or extra reading, then returning to the teaching. The ability to access media asynchronously through recorded and streamed materials is one of the biggest changes in the history of teaching, but the dominant paradigm in higher education is still the live lecture or seminar. There are, as we have seen, some advantages in live media, but they need to be used more selectively to exploit their unique advantages or affordances. The Educational Value of Media Richness But how rich should media be for teaching and learning? From a teaching perspective, rich media have advantages over a single medium of communication, because rich media enable the teacher to do more. For example, many activities that previously required learners to be present at a particular time and place to observe processes or procedures such as demonstrating mathematical reasoning, experiments, medical procedures, or stripping a carburetor, can now be recorded and made available to learners to view at any time. Sometimes, phenomena that are too expensive or too difficult to show in a classroom can be shown through animation, simulations, video recordings or virtual reality. Furthermore, each learner can get the same view as all the other learners, and can view the process many times until they have mastery. Good preparation before recording can ensure that the processes are demonstrated correctly and clearly. The combination of voice over video enables learning through multiple senses. Even simple combinations, such as the use of audio over a sequence of still frames in a text, have been found more effective than learning through a single medium of communication (see for instance, Durbridge, 1984). The Khan Academy videos have exploited very effectively the power of audio combined with dynamic graphics. Computing adds another element of richness, in the ability to network learners or to respond to learner input. From a learner’s perspective, though, some caution is needed with rich media. Two particularly important concepts are cognitive overload and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. Cognitive overload results when students are presented with too much information at too complex a level or too quickly for them to properly absorb it (Sweller, 1988). Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development or ZPD is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what can be done with help. Rich media may contain a great deal of information compressed into a very short time period and its value will depend to a large extent on the learner’s level of preparation for interpreting it. For instance, a documentary video may be valuable for demonstrating the complexity of human behaviour or complex industrial systems, but learners may need either preparation in terms of what to look for, or to identify concepts or principles that may be illustrated within the documentary. On the other hand, interpretation of rich media is a skill that can be explicitly taught through demonstration and examples (Bates and Gallagher, 1977). Although YouTube videos are limited in length to around eight minutes mainly for technical reasons, they are also more easily absorbed than a continuous video of 50 minutes. Thus again design is important for helping learners to make full educational use of rich media. It is a natural tendency when choosing media for teaching to opt for the ‘richest’ or most powerful medium. Why would I use a podcast rather than a video? There are in fact several reasons:
In general, it is tempting always to look for the simplest medium first then only opt for a more complex or richer medium if the simple medium can’t deliver the learning goals as adequately. However, consideration needs to be given to media richness as a criterion when making choices about media or technology, because rich media may enable learning goals to be achieved that would be difficult with a simple medium. Key Terms
Key Takeaways
Exercises
OER Derivative Licenses and Attributions CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL Experiential Learning in Instructional Design and Technology, Chapter 5.1 Selecting Instructional Media. Provided by: the authors under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. This chapter contains an adaptation of Teaching in a Digital Age by Bates, A. W., and is used under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license. This chapter also contains an adaptation of Education for a Digital World: Advice, Guidelines and Effective Practice from Around the Globe by BCcampus and the Commonwealth of Learning, and is used under a CC-BY-SA 3.0 International license. CC LICENSED CONTENT INCLUDED License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed) Attribution: 3 Considerations for Tech in the Classroom educause License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed) Attribution: What Learning Science Tells Us About How to Use Educational Technology e-Literate TV Image 1: CC0 “No Rights Reserved” What are the factors to be considered in selecting instructional materials in teaching?The following sections describe the four primary categories of criteria that teachers said they use when selecting instructional materials: accuracy and visual appeal, alignment to standards and depth of knowledge, ease of use and support, and engage- ment and ability to meet student needs (Figure 1).
What is the most important thing a teacher should consider in the selection and utilization of instructional materials?The planning and selection of instructional materials should take into consideration both the breadth and depth of content so that student learning is optimized.
What is the importance of selecting your instructional materials?The right kinds of instructional materials also bring out the best in teachers and their method of imparting knowledge. It is, therefore, important for you as a teacher to use age-appropriate teaching aids as instructional material throughout all K12 curriculum levels.
What is the most important component of instructional materials?Of the three components—delivery system. content, and presentation—, presentation is the most critical component for selecting or developing instructional materials. Presentation has this “honor” because presentation transmits the message, the information, knowledge or skill.
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