Media (is) the message

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 21^st 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