Media vs. Method

Which Matters More and Why Should We Care?

Defining the Debate• Media– Media, in its simplest form,

refers to the means or channels by which information is communicated.

– In an educational sense, media can be anything from a textbook to interactive computer software.

– Different types of media may be preferable due to their attributes. https://edutechdebate.org/low-cost-ict-devices/lets-focus-on

-educational-media-not-ict-devices/

Defining the Debate• Method

– Method, as discussed in this presentation, refers to teaching strategy and content.

– Teaching strategies range from direct instruction to interactive discussions and beyond. Strategies can be aimed to address different learning styles.

– Content is the information that is transmitted through the teaching process. No matter what media is chosen, the content to be delivered through it must be sound.

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Defining the Debate• Media vs. Method– The debate is not a question of whether one is

needed and the other not.– The question is whether certain media should be

afforded extra importance due to irreplaceable qualities that cannot be duplicated without the media, regardless of the methods employed.

– Some of the qualities frequently quoted are interactivity and information on demand. These are easily provided through software and electronic devices.

– If method is most important then the same qualities should be able to be replicated with sound teaching strategies.

Ask the Experts

• Richard Clark (Method) – Clark believes that method is more important than

media.– In his view, media is like a delivery truck. The vehicle

that delivers your groceries to the store does not impact what you buy. The vehicles that deliver education should have little impact on what you learn.

– Clark would argue that qualities such as interactivity and information on demand are part of teaching strategy and can be duplicated absent of certain media.

Ask the Experts

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Ask the Experts

• Robert Kozma (Media)– Certain media are valuable for inherent abilities that

are not duplicable without that type of media regardless of teacher effort.

– Kozma would argue that items such as very high levels of interactivity may not be duplicable absent of media geared toward that interactivity regardless of teacher effort.

– Kozma would point to multiple studies that seem to show a correlation between certain types of media and high degrees of learning.

Ask the Experts

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Answering the Studies

• Three Dangers– Poorly Designed Studies (Different Methods)• The experimental and control group cannot be taught

with different strategies or the study is invalid.– Differences in Content• Any difference between the content and forms of

content between experimental and control groups can make the study invalid.

– Newness (Coolness Factor)• Certain media is so cutting edge that students just want

to use it but repeated use can make this effect wear off.

Answering the Studies

Interactive Whiteboard: Day 1

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Answering the Studies

Interactive Whiteboard: Day 168http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumblarge_478/1266282148XLNCEf.jpg

Replaceability• Replaceability Test– The simplest way to settle the argument is through

the this easy test.– Think of a given media and its best attributes and ask

if you could replace the media and still somehow duplicate the attributes.

– Interactivity and information on demand may be difficult to reproduce but I can think of multiple way even with pencil and paper work that one could reproduce both desired effects.

– The issue is simply how time consuming duplicating some effects can be without the media.

Conclusions

• Media is Subordinate to Method– Studies supporting media superiority can be

discounted.– Replaceability is possible even if it requires a large

amount of effort.– Sound teaching strategy and sound content are

more crucial to teaching than the media used.– Media is great and makes some aspects of

teaching and learning far easier but it does not change the principles of teaching and learning.

Conclusions• Washing machines are great

but they don’t change the principle that a cleaning agent mixed with water and provided sufficient agitation will clean clothing.

• Washing machines make cleaning clothes easier but clothes washing would still take place without them.

• Media is much the same. It makes teaching and learning easier but the same strategies and principles would still be applied without the media.

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So What?• If method is most important and certain media is

just a means of carrying out that method then just throwing new forms of technology and media at students will not improve learning.

• A former administrator loved technology and the new forms of media that came with it. He demanded the use of technology even when it was not necessary.

• Some teachers began haphazardly writing the word interactive whiteboard, blog, or computer lab on their lesson plans to gain his approval.

So What?

• If method is what really determines the quality of learning then the absence of some technology/media does not mean that quality learning can’t take place.

• I have know some teachers that desire a certain media so much that they act as though the can’t adequately teach without it.

• I love media and request as much as I can get but I can still produce quality learning experiences even without everything on my wishlist.

I can’t teach. I don’t have the best media.

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References• Clark, R. E. (1983). Reconsidering Research on Learning

from Media. Review of Educational Research, 53(4), 445.• Clark, R. E. (1993). Dangers in the evaluation of

instructional media. Academic Medicine, 67(12), 819-20.• Clark, R. E. (1994). Media Will Never Influence

Learning. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 42(2), 21.

• Kozma, R. B. (1991). Learning with media. Review of Educational Research Review of Educational Research J1 – Review of Educational Research, 61(2), 179.

• Kozma, R. B. (1994). Will Media Influence Learning? Reframing the Debate.Educational Technology, Research and Development, 42(2), 7.