Media (is) the
message
The article The media debate clearly
conveys the ambivalent views held by experts in the field about the impact
media has on achievement and learning.
Many of us “digital immigrants” still think of media in traditional terms. The media was limited to the news, radio, and
television. My primitive frame of mind
made me question whether this debate meant “media” to embody that traditional
and simplistic meaning. The more I
thought about it, the more I realized how stuck I was in my ways. I was
sure that Richard Clark and Robert Kozmas meant media to be inclusive of technology
and everything in between such as Webb Apps, software, and hardware in this debate. Or did they? The debate was written in the
early 90s if I’m not mistaken, a time when technology was slowly emerging. I was stuck again! I decided to take a closer look at what Clark
and Kozmas, two academics in the field, deemed media to be.
In this article, Clark defined media as the “vehicles that deliver
instruction but do not influence student achievement” (1). In reference to his definition of media, one
could argue then that media is not just referring to the traditional concept of
news, and radio only. In today’s computer
or technology world, "media" can be any web technologies used to
communicate information; hence “digital media” a term used by Anderson and
Krathwohl in Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. If so,
I strongly disagree with Clark’s assertion that media does not influence
student learning and side with Robert Kozma who argues that the capabilities of
media can influence learning for particular students in various ways.
Kozma suggests that different media
have different capabilities and characteristics that given cognitive elements
and methods can influence learning. I
believe Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
supports his affirmation by explaining that media are tools used for
“achieving, recalling, understanding, application, analysis, evaluation, and
creativity”. If they assist in the
learning process than Clarks argument is not precise. The use of different media can alter the
thinking process of students depending on their learning styles. For example, using certain digital media such
as blogging, filming, animating, and podcasting encourages and facilitates
collaboration, discussion, and sharing of ideas, which support the HOTS (higher
order thinking skills) of Blooms Digital Taxonomy. In the same manner, googling, social
bookmarking, twittering, all forms of media, support the LOTS (lower order
thinking skills). Given this
information, it is evident that media in all its varied forms do contribute to
a given extent to the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and
understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.
Furthermore, Kathy Schrock’s Guide to
Everything, visually depicts the same assertion that media apps can help
develop cognition in a learner. Schrock
organizes technology apps to correlate with Blooms digital taxonomy. For example, Spark Video, CANVA, FOTOBABBLE
and PODOMATIC, all support the creating level.
This proves once again Kozma’s argument that certain media affect the
ways in which individuals represent and process information. Moreoever, Schrock suggests that when using
these media tools for learning purposes, the teacher takes the role of a
facilitator by setting broad goals and then offering students a choice of tasks
using multiple media tools which can create an enhanced learning experience for
students (Schrock 5). In other words, students also learn to evaluate, make
choices, and take ownership of their work.
Students use text and media to organize and present the effects of their
learning using different types of media.
Schorck’s guide to using media tools for teaching and learning supports
Kozma’s argument that media has a direct learning effect.
Media, in all its forms is redesigning the way we teach and the way
students learn. I believe that multi-media has become an integral part of our
education system because it has proven to be helpful. Take for example the reading programs out
there designed to help the struggling reader/learner. The programs are media designed to provide
features that can hopefully enhance learning; they chunk data, provide visual
representations and assistive language components to mention only a few. It is clear that for certain types of learning
and for certain types of learners with different learning modalities, media are
vehicles that influence, alter, modify, and facilitate the process of
learning. The use of technology with
guided teaching, and well planned lessons does have a learning impact. Dschneider said it well in The debate goes on, “Cognition is not
only in the head, it sometimes needs tools or other people” to achieve deeper
or more meaningful results.
Sources:
Anderson, L.W., and D.R. Krathwohl. 2000. A taxonomy for
learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of
educational objectives. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Becker,K. (n.d.). The Clark-Kozma debate in the 21st
Century. Retrieved November 19, 2016,
from http://www.academia.edu
Bloomin' Apps.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2016, from
http://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html
Kozma, R. B. (1994).The influence of media on learning: The debate
continues. School Library Media Research,
22(4) 233.
The media
debate. (2012, August 30). Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/The_media_debate
