Lesson 3 - Implementing Online Learning

Media (plural of medium) is another word that has many definitions.

The word ‘medium’ comes from the Latin, meaning in the middle (a median) and also that which intermediates or interprets. Media require an active act of creation of content and/or communication, and someone who receives and understands the communication, as well as the technologies that carry the medium.

The term ‘media’ has two distinct meanings relevant for teaching and learning, both of which are different from definitions of technology.

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 depends 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 of a particular medium (e.g. the 280-character limit in Twitter) is deliberately created and needs 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. I use the term computing, not computers since although computing uses computers, computing involves some kind of intervention, construction, and interpretation. Computing as a medium would include coding, animations, online social networking, using a search engine, or designing and using simulations. Thus Google uses a search engine as its primary technology, but I classify Google 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 technology into a medium.

In terms of representing knowledge it is useful to think of the following media for educational purposes within which there are sub-systems (only some examples given):

• Text: textbooks, novels, poems

• Graphics: diagrams, photographs, drawings, posters, graffiti

• Audio: sounds, speech, podcasts, radio programs

• Video and Film: television programs, movies, YouTube clips, ‘talking heads’

• Computing: animation, simulations, online discussion forums, virtual worlds.

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 is 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 the 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.

The second meaning of media is broader and refers to the industries or significant areas of human activity that are organized around particular technologies, for instance, film and movies, television, publishing, and the Internet. Within these different media are particular ways of representing, organizing, and communicating knowledge.

Thus, for instance, within television there are different formats, such as news, documentaries, game shows, action programs, while in publishing there are novels, newspapers, comics, biographies, and so on. Sometimes the formats overlap but even then, there are symbol systems within a medium that distinguish it from other media. For instance, in movies, there are cuts, fades, close-ups, and other techniques that are markedly different from those in other media. All these features of media bring with them their own conventions and assist or change the way meaning is extracted or interpreted.

Lastly, there is a strong cultural context for media organizations. For instance, Schramm (1972) found that broadcasters often have a different set of professional criteria and ways of assessing ‘quality’ in an educational broadcast from those of educators (which made my job of evaluating the programs the BBC made for the Open University very interesting). Today, this professional ‘divide’ can be seen between the differences between computer scientists and educators in terms of values and beliefs with regard to the use of technology for teaching. At its crudest, it comes down to issues of control: who is in charge of using technology for teaching? Who makes the decisions about the design of a MOOC or the use of animation?