Happy Thanksgiving Week, media heads! Isn't it great not to have to set our alarms for Monday? For those of you have still have a few more days of work this week, I feel for you. Hang in there! So I'm coming to you today with a hot debate that started in the nineties. In the last few years, education advocates have pushed for the expanded use of technology in the classroom. When this revolution began, prominent educational psychologists Richard Clark and Robert Kozma disagreed on the roll of media in education.
Refered to as the Clark-Kozma Debate, this discussion over the affect of media on learning has been discussed time and time again. Richard Clark posits that media is merely a vehicle for delivering instruction and does not influence student achievement. Clark believes that it is impossible to separate the effects of media from that of the teacher's instructional method, therefor there can be no clear link that media is the sole influence on learning (Mitchell).
Robert Kozma disagreed with Clark's assertions. He claimed that there is no need to separate media from method. His argument was that the medium through which instruction is delivered can influence learning (Mitchell). If we try to separate the two, then we would not be encompassing the entire learning model. Kozma says that the focus should not be on whether media does or does not influence learning but on how we can use media to to influence learning (EduTech).
I believe that Kozma has a better argument. I don't believe we should focus on the fact that we cannot isolate the role of media in education. We should focus on how we can use media to influence and positively affect student learning. I see the advantages of using different technologies in my classroom every week. There are times when just offering one vehicle for learning excludes students that have different learning styles. There are some students that can gain all the information they need from reading a book while others need to use more interactive technology that will present the information in different way. Technology is also affecting education by allowing for programs like distance learning. Students from around the world are able to collaborate through computer programs and be exposed to learning that otherwise would have been impossible before. I think because media allows learners to be exposed to different learning methods and tools, media is a strong influence on education.
Refered to as the Clark-Kozma Debate, this discussion over the affect of media on learning has been discussed time and time again. Richard Clark posits that media is merely a vehicle for delivering instruction and does not influence student achievement. Clark believes that it is impossible to separate the effects of media from that of the teacher's instructional method, therefor there can be no clear link that media is the sole influence on learning (Mitchell).
Robert Kozma disagreed with Clark's assertions. He claimed that there is no need to separate media from method. His argument was that the medium through which instruction is delivered can influence learning (Mitchell). If we try to separate the two, then we would not be encompassing the entire learning model. Kozma says that the focus should not be on whether media does or does not influence learning but on how we can use media to to influence learning (EduTech).
I believe that Kozma has a better argument. I don't believe we should focus on the fact that we cannot isolate the role of media in education. We should focus on how we can use media to influence and positively affect student learning. I see the advantages of using different technologies in my classroom every week. There are times when just offering one vehicle for learning excludes students that have different learning styles. There are some students that can gain all the information they need from reading a book while others need to use more interactive technology that will present the information in different way. Technology is also affecting education by allowing for programs like distance learning. Students from around the world are able to collaborate through computer programs and be exposed to learning that otherwise would have been impossible before. I think because media allows learners to be exposed to different learning methods and tools, media is a strong influence on education.
Mitchell, N. J., & Robinson, C. (n.d.). Considerations of Learning & Learning Research: Revisiting the "Media Effects" Debate. Retrieved November 19, 2016, from http://www.colorado.edu/ics/sites/default/files/attached-files/00-06a.pdf
The media debate. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2016 from EduTech Wiki: http://eductechwiki.unige.ch/en/The_media_debate.
The media debate. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2016 from EduTech Wiki: http://eductechwiki.unige.ch/en/The_media_debate.
I really enjoyed reading your summary of the debate and point of view, well done!
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