we cannot leave any discussion of media and technology without discussing the overall, global effect that media may or may not have on instructional design. We have already heard what McLuhan had to say. Now let’s take a look at the very famous Clark – Kozma debates. In a well publicized series of articles these two individuals appeared in Educational Technology Journal (now ETR&D) to take opposite sides in a debate as to the relative effectiveness of educational media. Interesting , especially now that we all seem to agree that the medium is the message… both these folks seem to have over-looked that argument (just my personal opinion here)
- Clark essentially took the position that no learning takes place through media. Using a milk truck analogy, he stated that milk (i.e., technology) is no better tasting or nutritious simply because it is delivered in a bright new delivery truck… and that we are misinterpreting the data… the positive effects of media/technology might have are due to its novelty.
- Kozma, on the other hand, argued that Clark was taking a very simplistic approach, because he (Clark) was looking at bottom line of what had taken place to date, not on what is possible… Kozma took the side of cognitive learning… cognitive distribution as it were. He argued that making the content relative to the student’s own experiences is key to instruction…this may be the tie-breaker into being able to engage the student (relevance). If you build a medium that engages, then learning is more likely to take place… Kozma seemed to bring learner attributes back into the argument.
Here is an interesting hypothetical:
- If we take a kid who knows nothing about the Internet, and leave him/her for four hours… what do you think Kozma or Clark would say Clark say about how much learning that might take place?
- Clark wrote in the early 80s… we didn’t have a lot of the newer technologies we have today… Would Clark’s or Kozma’s position change vis a vis the new technologies?
Here are a few links to help you dig a little deeper:
- The Media Debate
- Is the Debate Still Relevant?
- Does Media Influence Learning? White Paper (downloadable pdf)
- Clark Kozma in the 21st Century (Slideshare)
So here is what you need to do:
Write a short reflection (four to five sentences max) on which side you take in this argument. Add this, along with your responses to the other reading assignments to your consolidated Reflection Drop Box on Canvas.
Here are some focusing questions:
- Which one of them is correct? Or are they BOTH correct? Are they really disagreeing? Discuss your answer in terms of the need to develop media that is engaging…
- What is it about the content that makes it ‘work’?
- Which of the theories presented in this lesson make you think about your response in instructional terms?
- Do you think we can deliver the same instruction via radically different media?
- As you know there are three learning domains… cognitive, affective and psycho-motor… Which one of the three do you believe are more influenced by the use of media? Focus your thinking on instruction that you believe can or cannot be easily accomplished without the technology:
The main purpose is for you to to take a side in the argument (or not) and explain why.