Ranting & Raving on Instructional Design, Education & Technical Training

I am a big fan of Media Literacy, not only because it helps as a consumer of media but also because it aids in the production of efficient communications. If you know the sensory bias of medium you can better match it to an application.

Not surprisingly educators and trainers have become more aware of the varieties of media experiences in which their students routinely participate and learn through in their daily lives. The degree to which average people in North America acquire information through non-literate media can be shockingly high, leading many to conclude that the benchmark of phonetic literacy as the leading indicator of what it means to be literate may have to be augmented for the post-literate age we live in.

The Media Awareness Network is a good resource for parents and educators looking to manage and promote media literacy. One of their working definitions of media literacy is:

Media literacy is the ability to sift through and analyze the messages that inform, entertain and sell to us every day. It’s the ability to bring critical thinking skills to bear on all media— from music videos and Web environments to product placement in films and virtual displays on NHL hockey boards. It’s about asking pertinent questions about what’s there, and noticing what’s not there. And it’s the instinct to question what lies behind media productions— the motives, the money, the values and the ownership— and to be aware of how these factors influence content.

Media education encourages a probing approach to the world of media: Who is this message intended for? Who wants to reach this audience, and why? From whose perspective is this story told? Whose voices are heard, and whose are absent? What strategies does this message use to get my attention and make me feel included?

In our world of multi-tasking, commercialism, globalization and interactivity, media education isn’t about having the right answers—it’s about asking the right questions. The result is lifelong empowerment of the learner and citizen.

The Ontario Public School Board has a note on their web site about what they see as the emerging issues surrounding the new media and the future of the classroom. In it they mention:

“Today’s students are leaders in the use of technology and we know they want their learning experiences in school to reflect this,” said Colleen Schenk, president of OPSBA. “Students want to take the technology they use in their daily lives and integrate it with how they learn. They want their learning clearly connected to the world beyond the school.”

They go on to say:

Many students feel, however, that when they come into school they have to “power down” to fit into an environment that offers fewer options for learning than are available in the life they live outside of the school. This can erode students’ perceptions of the relevance of education as they experience it in many schools today. At the same time, students need the guidance and leadership of their teachers in judging the authenticity and worth of the information so readily available to them.

What seems clear is that instructional designers and trainers need to do several things to further the use of media in continuing education:

1. Educate learners about the biases and limitations of  media.
2. Show participants how to use new media for learning.
3. Develop the skills to master and employ new media in training programs so that participants want to take part in the training and get value from it.
   

PowerPoint slides and printed Student Guides alone are no longer sufficient. We should not be asking our students to “power down” to come to class. We need recognize that for the most part people today are learning all the time and we must work to make it easier and more efficient when they come to us for the formal experience. Far too often the opposite is the case.