Chapter 7: Pedagogical differences between media

Key Takeaways

There is a very wide range of media available for teaching and learning. In particular:

• text, audio, video, computing and social media all have unique characteristics that make them useful for teaching and learning;
• the choice or combination of media will need to be determined by:
  • the overall teaching philosophy behind the teaching;
  • the presentational and structural requirements of the subject matter or content;
  • the skills that need to be developed in learners;
  • and not least by the imagination of the teacher or instructor (and increasingly learners themselves) in identifying possible roles for different media;
• learners now have powerful tools through social media for creating their own learning materials or for demonstrating their knowledge;
• courses can be structured around individual students’ interests, allowing them to seek appropriate content and resources to support the development of negotiated competencies or learning outcomes;.
• content is now increasingly open and freely available over the Internet; as a result learners can seek, use and apply information beyond the bounds of what a professor or teacher may dictate;
• students can create their own online personal learning environments;
• many students will still need a structured approach that guides their learning;
• teacher presence and guidance is likely to be necessary to ensure high quality learning via social media;
• teachers need to find the middle ground between complete learner freedom and over-direction to enable learners to develop the key skills needed in a digital age.