Unit Four:
Selection, Preparation and
Utilization of Instructional Media
Preparation of the Instructional
Materials
• The fact that instructional materials facilitate
effective instruction is well documented in many
educational literatures.
• Instructional Materials for a given instructional
objective may not necessarily be available
• Thus, a need to prepare instructional materials
that suit the purpose of instruction arises.
Cont’d
• The teachers, students or both can prepare the
instructional materials.
• The process of production in turn considers
selecting, preparation and use of Instructional
Materials.
A model for selecting and applying
technology in education
characteristics:
• It would work in a variety of learning contexts
• It should be diverse with respect to levels of difficulty,
reader appeal, and should present a variety of points of
view
• It will allow decisions to be taken both at strategic,
institution-wide, and at instructional level
Cont’d
• It will easily be understood;
• It will be pragmatic & cost effective
• It will accommodate new developments in
technology.
• It will give equal attention to educational &
operational issues
SECTIONS Model for Selection
S- students:
• What is known about the students & the
appropriateness of the technology for this
particular group or range of students?
E- Ease of use & reliability:
• How easy is it for both teachers & students to
use and manipulate?
• How reliable and well tested is the technology?
Cont’d
C - Cost:
• What is the cost structure of each technology?
• What is the unit cost per learner?
T- Teaching and learning:
• What kinds of learning are needed?
• What instructional approaches will best meet
the needs?
• What are the best technologies for supporting
this teaching and learning?
Cont’d
I – Interactivity:
• What kind of interaction does this technology
enable for the students and teachers ?
O - Organizational issues:
• What are the organizational requirements and the
barriers to be removed before this technology can
be used successfully?
• What organizational changes need to be made?
Cont’d
N- Novelty:
• How new is this technology?
• Is that updated or not ?
S - Speed:
• How quickly can courses be mounted with this
technology?
• How quickly can materials be changed?
Factors in Media Selection
Frost (1999) identify nine key factors that should
influence media selection:
• Institutional resource constraints
• Course content appropriateness
• Learner characteristics
• Teacher attitudes and skill levels
Cont’d
• Course learning objectives
• The learning relationships
• Learning location
• Time (synchronous versus asynchronous)
• And media Richness level.
Cont’d
Reiser and Dick (1996) distill nine factors down to
three major criteria for selecting instructional
media:
Practicality: Is the intended media practical in that
the media is
• Available,
• Cost efficient,
• Time efficient, and
• Understood by the instructor?
Cont’d
• Student appropriateness:
Is the intended media appropriate for the
developmental and experiential levels of the
students?
• Instructional Appropriateness:
Is the intended media appropriate for the planned
instructional strategy?
Instructional material selection
The decision about whether to use a
particular piece of instructional material
depends on several factors.

are the objectives,
goals and aims that the teacher wants

 What
to accomplish

 Who will be taught




what are their age, intelligence and other factor




Budget allotment budget limitations
 will determine the aids
that may be purchases or rented
Cont’d
Size of the group:

the number of people in the group or class will

determine the kinds of aid that may be used.
Ability of the instructor:

it would be senseless to select instructional
aid that

an instructor cannot use effectively.
Time allotment:

the effective use
of many aids requires a definite
amount of time.
Questions to be asked during the process
of instructional material selection
• Does it match with the curriculum?
• Is it accurate and current?
• Does it contain clear and concise language?
• Would it arose motivation and maintain
interest for the target group
Cont’d
• Does it provide for learners participation?
• Is it of good technical quality?
• Is there evidence of its effectiveness?
• Is it free from objectionable bias and adversity?
• Is a user guide or other documentation included?
Considerations in Selecting
Instructional Media
• Messages (subject-matter content/knowledgy)
• Objectives (introducing, motivating, practicing)
• Learners ( learning style, skills, experience,
needs)
• Group size ( small, large)
• Teaching method
Cont’d
•
•
•
•
Resources ( equipment's, facilities, costs)
Time constraint ( preparation, usage)
Location ( in class, outdoor, distance)
Teacher skills, preferences, experiences
Principles of Using Instructional
Materials
• No one type of method or material should be
used to the exclusion of others.
• Certain materials seem more appropriate than
others for certain units
• Too much materials used at anyone time may
confuse rather than clarify learning.
• Preparation for the proper use must always be
made.
• The materials should be made in to lesson
and teaching procedures; and the learning
situation.
Cont’d
• The students must be held responsible for what
goes on during the class.
• On the whole, examples, specimens, or
demonstrations should be positive rather than
negative.
Be sure of the following details
• How to make or where to borrow the required
teaching material?
• What materials are both necessary and available If a material is planned to be used because it is
necessary it is of no use unless it is also available.
• On the other hand, we do not use teaching aids
simply they are available unless also they are
necessary.
Cont’d
• Know how to operate them before taking them
in to the classroom.
• Think of an alternative in case of mechanical
(technical) failure.
ASSURE Model for Selection

•
If you are going to use media
 and technology
effectively , you must plan
systematically for their use

The ASSURE
 model is a guide to major steps in
planning


ASSURE model , to assure effective instruction





this model , begin by assessing your learners’

characteristics and learning objective to be attained
ASSURE model based on the
Following Assessment

Who is your audience ?




What
are
your
objectives
?





Which methods
, medias and materials will you and your


learners use ?


How can you
 and your learners make best use the
materials ?
Cont’d

How will you get your learners involved in
learning ?

How will you
evaluate both your learners and



instruction?


what should you revise
 if you do the
presentation again?
Steps to Apply “ASSURE” Model
•
•
•
•
•
•
Analyze learners
Set learning objectives
Select media, images, & design
Utilize materials
Require a learner response to the media
Evaluate effect
Cont’d
• Analyze the learners:- identify the learner,
General characteristics, specific entry
competence (knowledge , skills and attitudes)
about the topics and learning styles
• State Objectives: Specifically stated what the
learner will be able to do as a result of
instruction, the degree of acceptable performance
should be included
Cont’d
• Select methods , media and materials : build a
bridge b/n the above two by choosing the
appropriate methods, media and materials
• Utilized media and materials : conduct the
instruction using the selected media and
materials
Cont’d
• Require learners participation: should require
active mental engagement by learners. There
should be activities that allow learners to
practice the knowledge or skills
• Evaluate and revise:- after instruction it is
necessary to evaluate its impact and
effectiveness and to asses students learning
Unit 5
Digital Environment and
Learning
ICT in Education
• ICT can be used as a substitute for almost
anything in the class: pencil, book, telephone,
TV, encyclopedia, map, library and many
more.
• Practically, with ICT, all the applications
can be implemented using repeatedly very
few basic techniques and devices
Cont’d
• A lot of solutions are offered seeing only a PC
(which is a multi-tool in education) and the
Internet (which is a big river of information and
communication), in various issues and fields.
• Since technology has helped many other
branches of activity or areas of human life we
expect that it will help education indeed .
Cont’d
ICT enhance
• The quality of education
• The accessibility of education
• the flexibility of education delivery
• learning motivation
• scholastic performance
• ICT increase flexibility of education delivery so that
learners can access the education regardless of time
and geographical barriers.
Cont’d
• In today’s highly competitive and global
economy, education is no longer limited to the
classroom.
• It is attempting to reach people where they are.
• ICTs can both assist education in traditional
settings and help people rise to the challenge of
lifelong learning
Cont’d
• Providing a more enriching and motivating
learning environment both within and outside the
classroom, ICT based learning can be both
interactive and collaborative.
• This new learning system also allows learning to
be personalized to one’s needs in terms of both
content (what you learn) and method (how and
when you learn it).
Cont’d
• Useful tool for instruction, it makes the teaching
and learning process more



enjoyable,



Interesting


interactive
• by using software programs, educational games,
power point presentation and other audio-visual
presentation
e-Learning
the use of Internet and Communication technologies
to deliver a broad array solutions to enable
learning

reaches a wider target audience by engaging
learners who have 
difficulty to attend in


conventional classroom


personalizing learning paths based
 on learners’ needs
and using simulation and games
Why Develop e-Learning

it can be as effective
 as traditional training at a
because
lower cost (delivering )

reaches a wider target audience

specially :-

geographically dispersed
with limited time and/or


resources to travel


busy with work or family commitments which do not

allow them to attend courses with a fixed schedule
Cont’d

located in conflict and post-conflict areas 
and restricted in
their mobility because of security reasons
limited from participating in
classroombecause of cultural or religious
beliefs

sessions
facing difficulties with real-time communication
(e.g. foreign

language learners or very shy learners)
e-Learning is a good option when
• learners come from geographically dispersed
locations
• learners have limited mobility
• learners have limited daily time to devote to
learning
• learners have at least basic computer and
Internet skills
Cont’d
• learners are highly motivated to learn at their
own pace
• content must be reused for different
learners’ groups in the future
• training aims to build cognitive skills rather
than psychomotor skills
e-Learning approaches
There are two general approaches to e-learning:
1. self-paced and
2. facilitated/instructor-led

Self-paced , 
learners are alone and completely

independent




facilitated and instructor-led, courses provide
different levels of support from tutors and 
instructors and collaboration among learners
Self-paced e-learning
• Learners are offered e-learning courseware (also
called Web-based training (WBT)
• Can be complemented by supplemental resources
and assessments
• Courseware is usually housed on a Web server,
and learners can access it from an online learning
platform or on CD-ROM
• free to learn at their own pace and to define
personal learning paths based on their individual
needs and interests.
Cont’d
• providers do not have to schedule, manage or track
learners through a process
• content is developed according to a set of learning
objectives and is delivered using different media
elements, such as text, graphics, audio and video
• It must provide as much learning support as possible
(through explanations, examples, interactivity,
feedback, glossaries, etc.), in order to make learners
self-sufficient
Instructor-led e-learning
• a linear curriculum is developed that integrates
contents and activities into a chronological
syllabus
• The course is scheduled and led by an
instructor through an online learning platform
• Content can be integrated with instructor’s
lectures, assignments and collaborative
activities
Cont’d
• Learners and instructors can use communication
tools such as e-mails, discussion forums, chats,
polls
• whiteboards, application sharing and audio and
video conferencing to communicate and work
together
• a final step typically includes an assessment to
measure learning
e-learning components
E-learning approaches can combine different types of
components:

E-learning content: simple learning
resources, non
interactive e-lesson, simulation etc


E-tutoring, e-coaching, e-mentoring:
support to


learners through online tools


Collaborative learning: range from discussions and
knowledge-sharing to working together;
chats,
discussion forums and blogs, are used
Cont’d
Virtual classroom:
• an instructor teaches remotely and in real time
to a group of learners using (PowerPoint
slides, audio or video materials).
• It is synchronous learning
Synchronous and asynchronous elearning
E-learning activities can be synchronous or
asynchronous
Synchronous
• events take place in real time

communication between
two people requires them to be
present at a given time
• Examples :- chat conversations and audio/video
conferencing
Cont’d
Asynchronous
• events are time-independent
• A self-paced course is an example because
online learning takes place at any time
• E-mail or discussion forums are examples of
asynchronous communication tools
Quality of e-learning
The quality of an e-learning course is enhanced
by
• learner-centered content: curricula should be
relevant and specific to learners’ needs, roles
and responsibilities in professional life. Skills,
knowledge and information should be
provided to this end
Cont’d
• granularity: content should be segmented to
facilitate assimilation of new knowledge and
to allow flexible scheduling of time for
learning
• engaging content: Instructional methods and
techniques should be used creatively to
develop an engaging and motivating learning
experience
Cont’d
• interactivity: Frequent learner interaction is
needed to sustain attention and promote learning
• personalization: Self-paced courses customized
to reflect learners’ interests and needs

in instructor-led courses, tutors should be able
to follow the
learners’ progress and performance
individually
Advantages of eLearning
• Flexibility:- eLearning can be done in short
chunks of time that can fit around your daily
schedule
• Mobile: As eLearning can be done on laptops,
tablets and phones it is a very mobile method.
Learning can be done on the train, on a plane or
any other time that could normally be wasted
Cont’d
• No Travel: eLearning can be done wherever you
have a device capable of doing so. Therefore
again you can fit it in to your schedule, but also
save money on the costs of travel
• Lower cost: As you aren’t using a trainer’s time
or any room or equipment, eLearning tends to
be the much cheaper option
Cont’d
• Tailored to you:- eLearning courses aren’t confined
to be fixed to try and suit the needs of the majority,
everyone is able to learn at their own pace
• Technological Possibilities:- The computer based
nature of training means new technology is being
introduced all the time to help with the learning
• Global:- the same content regardless of their
location, and in many cases, their nationality.
Companies can be confident that their staff can
receive world standard content
Limitations of eLearning
• Lack of Control: Learners with low motivation
tend to fall behind when using eLearning as
there are no set times to be doing it and they
are responsible for the organization themselves
• Learning Approach: It doesn’t appeal to all
learning styles so some learners will not enjoy
the experience – especially strong activists and
pragmatists
Cont’d
• Isolated: lot of questions are easily
answered when face to face with
someone when you can guarantee
an instant answer
• Technology Issues: With
heavy
reliance
on
computers that eLearning
brings, comes the potential
risks that comes with it
• Computer Competency: Some
learners might not be too
comfortable using computers,
especially if their jobs don’t require
them to