MEDIA AND MATERIALS

1. Manipulates

A. Real objects 

            Such as coins, tools, artifacts, plants, and animals – are some of the most accessible, intriguing, and involving materials in educational use. They are known as manipulates because students may handle and inspect them.

Real objects may be used as is, or you may modify them to enhance instruction. Examples of modification include the following:

Cutaways : devices such as machines with one side cut away to allow close observation of the inner workings

Specimens : actual plants, animals, or parts there of preserved for convenient inspection.

Exhibits : collections of artifacts, often of a scientific or historical nature, brought together with printed information to illustrate a point.

CUTAWAYS

SPECIMENS

EXHIBITS

B. Models       

Models are three – dimensional representations of real objects. A model may be larger, smaller, or the same size as the object it represents. It may be complete in detail or simplified for instructional purposes. Indeed, models can provide learning experiences that real thing can not provide.

- ModelsModels of almost  anything

- A variety of model kits is also available for you or your students to assemble

- Assembly activities help sharpen both cognitive and psychomotor skills.

-  Mock – ups, which are simplified  representations of complex devices or processes, are prevalent in industrial training. By highlighting essential elements and eliminating distracting details, mock – up clarify the complex.

-  The most sophisticated type of mock – up, the simulator, is a device that allows learners to experience the important aspects of a real – life process without the risks.

2. FIELD TRIP

The field trip, an excursion outside the classroom to study real processes, people, and objects, often grows out of students’ need for firsthand experiences. It makes it possible for students to encounter phenomena that can not be brought into the classroom for observation and study.

Examples of field trips include a trip of view minutes into the schoolyard to observe a tree, a trek across the street to see construction work, or a  longer trip of several days to tour historical locations. Popular field trip sites include zoos, museums, public buildings, and parks.

3. PRINTED MATERIALS

Printed materials include textbooks, fiction and non-fiction books, booklets, pamphlets, study guides, manuals, and worksheets, as well as word processed documents prepared by students and teachers.

a. Advantages

- Availability. Printed materials are readily available on a variety of topics and in many different formats.

- Flexibility. They are adaptable to many purposes and may be used in any lighted environment.

- Portability. They are easily carried from place to place and do not require any equipment or electricity.

- User friendly. Properly designed printed materials are easy to use, not requiring special effort to “navigate” through.

- Economical. Printed materials are relatively inexpensive to produce or purchase and can be reused.

           b. Limitations

- Reading level. The major limitation of printed materials is that they are written at a certain reading level.

- Prior knowledge. Even though textbooks are generally written to be more considerate of the reader, with clear language and simple sentence structures, readers who lack some prerequisite knowledge may struggle to comprehend the text.

- Memorization. Some teachers require students to memorize many facts and definitions.

- Vocabulary. Some texts introduce a large number of vocabulary terms and concepts in a short amount of space.

- One – way presentation. Since most printed materials are not interactive, they tend to be used in a passive way, often without comprehension.

- Curriculum determination. Sometimes textbooks dictate the curriculum rather than being used to support the curriculum.

          c. Integration

- TheThe most common application of printed materials is presenting content information.

- StudentsStudents may also use printed materials to augment either the information you present or other forms of media.

- Printed materials are used in all subject areas and with students of all ages once they learn to read.

         d. Utilization   

When using printed materials for instruction, one of the main roles of the main roles of the teacher is to get learners actively involved with the material. One techniques is to have students use the the “SQ3R” method: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review.

- Survey requires students to skim through the printed material material and to read the overview and/or summary.

- In the question step they write a list of questions to answer while reading.

In the read stage students are encouraged to look for the organization of the material, put brackets arround the main ideas, underline supporting details, and answer the questions written in the previous step.

- Recite requires them to test themselves while reading and to put the content into their own words.

- ReviewReview suggests that the students look over the material immediately after reading it , the next day, a week later, and so on.

4. Free and inexpensive materials.

-By definition, any material that you can borrow or acquire permanently for instructional purposes without a significant cost, usually less than a couple of dollars, can be referred to as free or inexpensive.

-The types of free and inexpensive materials are almost endless. The more commonly available items include posters, games, pamplets, brochures, reports, charts, maps, books, audiotapes, videotapes, multimedia kits, and real objects.

         a. Advantages

-Up to date. Free and inexpensive materials can provide up-to-date information that is not contained in textbooks or other commercially available media.

-In-depth treatment. Such materials often provide in-defth treatment of a topic.

-Variety of uses. These materials lend themselves to your own classroom presentations. Individual students who want to explore a subject of interest can use the audiovisual materials for self-study or for presentation to the class. Posters, charts, and maps can be combined to create topical displays.

-Student manipulation. Materials that are expendable have the extra advantage of allowing learners to get actively involved with them. 

          b. Limitations

- Bias or advertising

- Special interests

- Limited quantities

          c. Sources

 There are local, state, national, and international sources of free and inexpensive materials, and may of these are now available as websites.

          d. Obtaining materials

When you have determined what you can use and where you can obtain it, write to the supplier; some agencies will not supply free and inexpensive materials unless you write on school or company letterhead. Many suppliers attempt to improve free and inexpensive materials on the basis of user comments.

          e. Appraising Materials

The appropriate “Appraisal Checklist” for the type of media ( printed material, videotape) you are appraising. All the “Appraisal Checklist” forms in this book have the rating criterion  “Free from objectionable bias or advertising.” Use it judiciously when reviewing free and inexpensive materials.

5. DISPLAY SURFACES  

If you are going to use visuals such as photograps, drawings, charts, graphs, or posters, you need a way to display them.

How you display your visuals will depend on a number of factors, including :

- The nature of your audience

- The nature of your visuals

- The instructional setting

- The availability of the various display surfaces.

The kinds of display surface

1.Chalkboards

TheThe chalkboard is most commonly used to support verbal communication, but you can use it as a surface on which to draw visuals to help illustrate instructional units. You may draw graphics, such as sketches and diagrams or charts and graphs, on the chalkboard for display to the class.

2. Multipurpose boards

As the name implies, you can use them for more than one purpose. The white surface is also suitable for projection of video, slides, and overhead transparencies.

3. Copy Boards  

            A high – tech variation of the multipurpose boards is the copy board, or electronic whiteboard. This device makes reduced – size paper copies of what is written on the board. It looks like a smaller multipurpose board but may contain multiple screens or frames that can be scrolled forward and backward.

4. Pegboards

It is particularly useful for displaying heavy objects, three – dimensional materials, and visuals.

5. Buletin Boards

The term bulletin board implies a surface on which bulletins – brief news announcements of urgent interest – are posted for public notice. In practice, bulletin board displays tend to serve three board purposes: decorative, motivational, or instructional.

-The decorative bulletin boards. Its function is to lend visual stimulation to the environment.

-The motivational bulletin boards. It fosters pride in achievement, reinforcing students’ efforts to do a good job.

- The instructional bulletin boards, is complementing the educational  or training objectives of the formal curriculum.

6. Cloth Boards 

            Cloth boards  are constructed of cloth stretched over a strurdy baking material such as plywood, Masonite, or heavy cardboard. One great advantage of the hook-and-loop board is that it can support large and heavy visuals, even books and other three-dimensional objects. Teachers of reading and other creative activities often use the cloth board to illustrate stories, poems, and other reading materials. For example, they may place on the board visuals depicting characters and scenes an a story and move them around as the story unfolds.

7. Magnetic boards

The major advantage of magnetic boards is that maneuvering visuals is easier and quicker than with cloth boards. For example, physical education instructor often use them to demonstrate rapid changes in player positions. Magnetic boards also have greater adhesive quality. Visuals displayed on a magnetic board are not likely to slip or fall.

8. Flip Charts

A flip chart is pad of large paper fastened together at the top and mounted to an easel. The individual sheets each hold a limited verbal/visual message and usually are arranged for sequential presentation to a small group

-The flip chart is an extremely versatile, convenient, and inexpensive media format. It requires no electrical power, has no moving parts to wear out, can be used in a range of lighting conditions, is portable, and requires only a marking pen as peripheral equipment.

-It is the most user-friendly media tool.

9. Exhibits

Are collections of various objects and visuals designed to form an integrated whole for instructional purposes. The school media center is a convenient location for exhibits.

There are two types of exhibits:

1. Displays. A display is a collection of materials (e.g., labels and descriptions).

     

      b. Diaromas.

Dioramas are static displays consisting of a three-dimentional foreground and a flat background to create a realistic scene. The foreground is usually a landscape of some sort with models of people, animals, vehicle, equipment, or buildings. The naturalistic background may be a photograph, drawing, or painting.

Source : Heinich, Molenda, Russell, Smaldino et. 2002. Instructural Media  and Technologies for Learning volume 7. California: The University of California.