The information below introduces you to media ecology as an academic discipline with the intent of introducing you to the topic and making the case for us to be studying it in the first place. Some of the content we cover in this course is also introduced in other courses in the form of a module or set of readings. While this might seem redundant, recall that it sometimes takes three attempts at covering a topic before it is understood and internalized. Here we expand upon information that was provided in the other courses and attempt to demonstrate how that information fits into the overall picture of our degree program.
House Rules/Perspective/Assumptions
- Introducing you to these contexts are quite different than what you will learn in your later readings. Media Ecology for the most part is the study of media as a communications tool. We are looking at this discipline in terms of it being a foundation for instructional design and supporting the choices you will be making to utilize media in your instructional design documents… or as a teacher, the choices you make for the kind of media you might select for your lessons.
- To that end, note that we may have ‘hijacked’ many of the classifications that you will read about in the modules as they relate to:
- The actual classifications used (we artificially break it all down into three broad (supra) categories). What you read will classify media very differently.
- the supra categories that we have picked are somewhat arbitrary to make them fit more tightly into a 15-week course… the study of media ecology is much more theoretical and the subject of speculation and research. It is the subject of an entire degree program at two major institutions (University of Toronto and NYU).
- The ‘supra’ categories we have selected will most likely include more than one media type. For example, graphics could many different forms of visual media). The choices you make in your notebooks are yours. All we ask is that you provide a rationale for each entry. In the final media notebook that you turn in at the end of the term one of the questions we will be asking is for you to list the individual media that you believe should be included in that supra category.
- The order that we introduce the categories does not imply any particular hierarchy. Nor do we imply a direct correlation to the so-called ‘cultures’ ‘periods’ or ‘eras’ that describe the communications evolution that people have gone through. In fact, for our purposes, they may actually refer to more than one. You will learn, for example, that the (re)introduction of text in the Internet culture id often referred to as a period of secondary orality by Walter Ong. Starting out with text might be already out of order due to advances in digital media. Cave drawings (i.e., graphics and pictures) pre-date text by a long shot. So, do not assume a chronology OR a hierarchy.
- These are some of the reasons we ask you to name the types of media (and eventually define it either ‘hot’ or ‘coll’ using McLuhan’s labels) for each classification in the notebook.
The overall game plan is for you to build a personal notebook containing profiles that are filled with the most significant characteristics of the various media types. As you move through the course you will most likely want to go back to previous ones and add a column that compares/contrasts that media type to the others.
Goals for this Module
At the end of this set of readings we expect that you will become familiar with the original thoughts behind the media ecology concept, how it evolved, and its original intentions. This will lead up to next cycle’s readings on the early pioneers behind the movement. As we move through the semester we will provide a rationale for using the media ecology perspective for educational purposes.
Even though the topic has been around for decades, media ecology is introduced in a ‘current trends’ course because the initiative is experiencing a revival with new ideas and thoughts in light of the newer, more pervasive technologies such as mobile devices. Your job as a student will be to analyze the media ‘ecosphere’ and decide its impact on instructional design. Be prepared to cite your initial reactions on the topic and your impressions as to what you believe its impact is/will be on instructional design going forward.
One thing you should realize right away is that, while much has been written about this topic, there does not seem to be any one good body of work that we can utilize as a textbook for this course. The materials were derived from a multitude of sources. Whenever possible they will be cited in order to provide you with a way to delve further into the topics during the semester and after the course ends. If we were to do this content justice you would have ended up having to purchase no less than eleven different texts. Instead, I am taking the liberty to lift/borrow what I have found on the Internet and stuff from my own personal library. To begin we introduce you to two sets of readings:
The following is an excerpt from Lance Strate’s book: Echoes and Reflections: On Media Ecology as a Field of Study. We apologize in advance for the poor resolution.
Download Link: https://emeclasses.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/strates_book.pdf
The second is a doctoral dissertation dating back to 1973. Christine Nystrom was a doc student who studied under Neil Postman, one of the early pioneers of the media ecology movement who you will hear a lot more about next cycle. This is quite long but is something you might want to hold on to and refer to later on as you begin to develop your end-of-term notebook. It is a great reference for you to use later on and ,as such, is not to be considered “light reading’ by any stretch of the imagination.
Download Link: http://emeclasses.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/toward_science_media_ecology.pdf
Check the Drop Box entitled Reflections on Cycle 1 Readings: Definitions of Media Ecology
References
Strate, L. (2006). On media ecology as a field of study. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 1-12.
Nystrom, C. L. (1973). Toward a science of media ecology: The formulation of integrated conceptual paradigms for the study of human communication systems. Doctoral dissertation: New Your: NYU School of Education.