The debate: does media influence learning?
There is a wide variety of ways to convey information. In this course we have watched video, listened to audio, read information on Web sites, e-texts, read in printed text and looked at images. Good course design such as this is useful because we cannot know which of these will help us grasp the content best. While studying we routinely:
- locate the new content
- exercise reading, watching, or listening skills to take in the content
- check for understanding
If understanding did not happen, what could be done to improve the experience? If video were added to the text reading, would it help? Of course it would! What about another resource of audio to add a third layer? Yes!
The chart below outlines the inputs of information in a living history museum and is organized based on the media in/through which it is provided. Notice that all forms of media play a part in learning (some better than others, i.e. the pyramid). Archeology objects, multimedia, interactives, texts, photos, audio lectures:
Today, a coworker stated that she preferred learning from reading than watching a video any day. But, if I'm looking for some specific answer (“How do you tune up a lawnmower?), my recipe would begin on YouTube, and I would add to that some research at WikiHow. If I’m asking the question “How do people learn from museums?” my formula would include research articles and a mix of books, and maybe a video interview. My coworker and I agreed that people preferred to get their information the way that the get their information, simple as that. I say tomato and you say tomato. But, if choice of which media to learn from boils down to individual choice, does that mean that instructional designers spend their time taking shots in the dark? Maybe not.
Research has shown that people are more invested in learning when they are actively making decisions about how and what they learn. Consider learning in a museum as an example. You visit a museum and choose exactly what you want to see. Your attention is drawn from video to object to text on a wall...; and in this wandering way you collect bits and pieces of information into temporary memory. This is where museums can be mined to become more "like a classroom." See the concept map below as an example of how this could work.
My final comment on media comes from the AIMT (Accessible Instructional Media & Technology) Summit this morning (9/17/2014): I'm here to learn more about accessibility, the laws and policies, the players, and the general advice about the introduction and use of accessible technologies in online education. There is speech-to-text display in front of me, scrolling in real time as the speakers talk. I am using three inputs: visual, audial and text -- all randomly. The choice is mine. Tired of looking, just listen, tired of reading, watch the speaker... choice = active involvement = deeper learning.
So, to answer the question, "Does media influence learning?" I vote yes!
