Term Paper:The New Media and its Effect on Education

Introduction

Before the world entered the last twenty years of the twentieth century, learners carried out calculations using hands considering the cost of calculators were high, had a short battery-life, and fragile. The library was the only source of information for students. Today, internet access and calculators constitute old news and students continue to learn through other means such as Facebook, Twitter, and Swarthiness. People continue to use advances in technology to their advantage. Each development in technology offers potentials relevance that helps people in learning, but at what cost? The impact of technology in education comes with both positive and negative influences on the capacity of the learners to gain knowledge and educators imparting knowledge covering the entire education system. The new media allows students and pupils an opportunity to venture into various interests on the global spheres apart from discussing the same with people from diverse backgrounds.

 In the process, this impacts hugely on use of information, self-learning, as well as resources because of availability that was not there until early eighties. After more than thirty years of innovations in technology adjustments to distance learning, the new media currently offers new possibilities of teaching, virtual, and learning outcomes. E-learning is undergoing modifications because of massive open online courses taking place on the web in addition to changing the traditional frameworks for both basic and higher education. Massive open online courses are available all over the world cutting across Europe, United States, Asia, and Africa among other regions. The initiative continues to attract thousands of enrollments across the globe. This in itself, offers a new and wide audience for learning institutions in the world (English, 1999).

Discussion

Distance learning and technology remain allies and provide learners with an opportunity to pursue, diploma, certificate, and even degrees without literally attending classes. Universities and institutions of higher learning started reaching their clients who could not physically attend to their lecturers through mail long before many primary and secondary schools in most countries started applying broadcast mass media in their lessons. The arrival of collaborative Web 2.0 materials and the advances in digital gadgets, delivered a new world for e-learning bringing fresh possibilities in the process of content production and sharing knowledge. Among many others Wikipedia, social media, blogs, and other websites offered a chance of learners to write, edit, post, and publish academic information on the internet.

The new media provides to approaches for use in schools. Learners can get knowledge and information the media as the first approach while in a different context students can learn with technology and the media. Learning from technology and the new comes in various ways such as computer-based guidelines, instructional television, as well as integrated systems of learning. Scholars include constructivist learning situations and cognitive tools under the learning with technology and the new media. The belief that technology and the new media have an essential positive influence on learning and teaching compounds the importance of incorporating the same disregarding the approach applied in using the new media in education. This discourse defines the new media as any means of communication disregarding the format. Under this definition, symbols tolls among them graphics, print, audio, animation, and motion pictures come under the media.

On the other hand and for the purpose of this paper, technology is any form of process or project with human origin applicable in conveying the media. Phenomena such as films, books, the internet, and television are in the category of technology. Defining the media in different perspective although from the same education means symbol frameworks that learners and educators apply in representing knowledge while technologies are the gadgets that give room for them to share acquired knowledge representations with their counterparts. Massive open online courses emerge as the most popular choice for learners. Students hold that they do not have prerequisite and making introductions to learners in undergraduate fields from various backgrounds of knowledge. Sources are different across the globe including the most prestigious in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa. In addition to the pupils and students embracing the new media in education, learning institutions and educators see clear potential to access and serve various audiences and sources of important information for learners’ characters within the learning fraternity (Hopper, 1999).

Learning “from” the new media

Educational communications form the primary use of technology and media in education. This is the intentional and deliberate act of passing content to learners assuming that they will gain something “from” the communications in use. The guideline processes intrinsic in the “from” methodology to applying technology and the new media in learning institutions trickles down to various simple procedures:

Ø  Rendering students and learners to messages and information encoded and delivered by technology tools and contained in the new media

Ø  Making assumptions that learners recognize and internalize these messages as well as information

Ø  Demanding a response to show that information and messages is received, and

Ø  Giving a response as to the capacity of the feedback.

Important in the “from” methodology is the computer and television. Various scholars find various influences of the television in the education fraternity:

·         No conclusive and empirical evidence exists from any scholar that the television dampens the mind

·         Academic literature is insufficient of information that consistently shows that the television enhances either passivity or hyperactivity in children.

·         No amount of sufficient literature exists to conclusively support the assertion that viewing of the television influences academic activities including tackling homework and reading and in the process influences the academic environment negatively. There is a curvilinear relationship between the total time spent watching television and the achievement in examinations and other evaluation tests applying one-two hours of television watching every day. The relationship falls when longer times are taken on viewing.

·         The predominance of the study evidence demonstrates that watching violence clips has a moderate relationship with aggression among school going children including adolescents.

·         Almost half a century of research indicates positive impacts of learning from television programs explicitly aired and used for instructional purposes.

·         Scholars around the globe concur that there is little difference in effectiveness between videos entailing teacher presentations and live class teaching by the educators.

·         In cases where teachers have issues in previewing videos, televisions become less reliable including difficulties in amalgamating programs within the stipulated curriculum, as well as getting the most appropriate equipment. This is in addition to linking television schedules to the process of assessing the academic performance.

The computer-based guidelines in the whole education system have various impacts cut across from various study materials:

ü  Measurements from the standardized achievement evaluations show that computers have positive influences on teaching and learning when used as tutors. They are more captivating, recommended by most educators compared to other technologies apart from receiving maximum support from government authorities, political leaders, and the general public.

ü  Using computer-based instruction saves a lot of time because learners are able to complete particular assignment within the shortest time possible compared to the traditional method of learning (Hardin, 1995).

ü  Research albeit limited, proves that integrated learning systems are the most common and effective methods of computer-based instruction with the biggest capacity to influence learning in classrooms in the near future.

ü  The same studies also indicate that influence from the intelligent tutoring remains little especially in the mainstream education sector. This is associated with technical hindrances inherent in creating learning frameworks besides facilitating communications that appear in form of human beings.

The general differences existing between technology and the new media applied as tutors at home and human teachers remain inconsistent and modest. The biggest value of the new media and technology working as tutors is in their abilities to captivate learners, enhance accessibility and equity, as well as minimizing the time requirement to complete a particular task and in the process set goals and objectives.

Learning “with” the technology and the new media

The development of computer-based cognitive gadgets was deliberate and intentional for them to serve as intellectual partners that enhances and facilitates thorough thinking in addition to higher learning. Academicians include many tools within the list of cognitive tools including spreadsheets, databases, expert systems, semantic networks, communication software among them on-line collaborative knowledge, teleconferencing, computer programming languages, and multimedia construction software (Cornell, 1999). Technology and media within the cognitive tools methodology go directly to pupils and learners for use in expressing and representing all they are aware of in information. Pupils and students become designers when using technology and the new media as important gadgets for analyzing the world, interpreting information after accessing the same, rearranging personal information, as well as representing their knowledge to their colleagues. The primary bases of using the software as the cognitive tool ranges and various across the globe. However, general reasons in education include:

Ø  The school learning environment experiences the effectiveness of cognitive tools when applied in the constructivist learning situations

Ø  Cognitive gadgets allow learners to draft personal presentations of their knowledge as opposed to absorbing presentations designed by other people

Ø  Cognitive tools provide support to the deep thinking that entails reflective actions important in generating meaningful learning and teaching

Ø  The cognitive tools have two essential cognitive influences first, those appearing “with” technology and the new media. This covers intellectual collaborations and the second feature is those that are “of” the new media and technology regarding cognitive residue coming after the use of the tools.

Ø  Cognitive tools are more resourceful tools that allow challenging and mindful teaching and learning as opposed to learning that remains effortless attracting minimum attention from instructional innovations (Campbell, 1996).

Ø  Pupils and students should provide the source of the tasks that require application of cognitive tools through the guidance of educators and other resources within the learning environment.

Ø  Issues relating to the use of cognitive tools will fall within a specific context with results coming out to influence individuals meaningfully for educators and learners.

Half a century of research in the education sector shows that technology and the new media developing in the early eighties are effective and efficient resources in schools as an essential phenomenon to learning both “with” and “from” approaches. Literature reveals that learning “from” also called the tutorial approach receives the highest attention as well as funding from various organizations including government agencies and non-governmental organizations. However, the “with” approach that entails the use of cognitive tools forms the focus of investment and continues to draw interest compared to earlier times. The new media has many advantages covering transportability, portability, repeatability, as well as enhanced equity of accessibility (Barnard, 1997). The cost of effectiveness, return-on-investment, and cost-benefit of the new media on education is of immense benefit under specific environments with most beneficiaries coming in the merging world.

Twitter

Twitter is a microblogging service having more than one hundred million subscribers. It gives room to the use to post anything with a maximum of one and forty characters at any given time. However, this behavior results in poor writing habits that includes poor grammar and limits the power of expression to concepts that simple (Dertouzos, 1997). Most of the concepts in this context are not important or spam in the process contains less useful information. In spite of the limitations, Twitter contains great potentials for helping learners. Phenomena such as films, books, the internet, and television are in the category of technology. Defining the media in different perspective although from the same education means symbol frameworks that learners and educators apply in representing knowledge while technologies are the gadgets that give room for them to share acquired knowledge representations with their counterparts. Massive open online courses emerge as the most popular choice for learners.

Students hold that they do not have prerequisite and making introductions to learners in undergraduate fields from various backgrounds of knowledge. Sources are different across the globe including the most prestigious in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Twitter makes communication and collaboration fast and simple. The social site can be used during posting of assignments and tracking the attendance of learners in class. It is also relevant when staying up to date with news and developments in any discipline and field. Twitter is a significant tool with immense potential to help learners during the search for knowledge. However, its use academically remains limited. Most subscribers use it to gain knowledge with little attention coming from the academic spheres.

Wikipedia

This is a huge resource available to learners and educators. Wikipedia replaces the expensive and bulky encyclopedias that also contain limited information. It offers free encyclopedia with unlimited in information in multiple languages. The first online encyclopedia was developed in two thousand and one and today, it has more than sixteen million articles. It is a product of many volunteers wiring in areas them academic expertise. Sometimes it is easy to rush to the assumption that information would be biased based on the writer. Controls and processes serve to regulate the content of information removing biasness and inaccuracy. This puts the quality of work in Wikipedia constantly. The site provides quality information ever neutral in its content. As much as Wikipedia remains one of the most useful sources of learning, it is not easy to learn particular topics on the same site.

Mathematic leads this field. This is an area that needs in-depth data that the knowledge offered on the site. Furthermore, it does not include data on obscure and advanced areas making it almost impossible for it to be helpful for advanced learners and educators. Therefore, Wikipedia cannot replace traditional academia and learning methods fully. Today, Wikipedia does not compete with traditional learning approaches instead; it provides alternative ways for learners to access primary information on various areas. It makes work in the course system for learners by giving them summary in various topics (Berge, 1999). Nonetheless, it is important to note that most educators to approve and recommend that their learners use Wikipedia for the academic work. The new media allows students and pupils an opportunity to venture into various interests on the global spheres apart from discussing the same with people from diverse backgrounds.

In the process, this impacts hugely on use of information, self-learning, as well as resources because of availability that was not there until early eighties. After more than thirty years of innovations in technology adjustments to distance learning, the new media currently offers new possibilities of teaching, virtual, and learning outcomes. E-learning is undergoing modifications because of massive open online courses taking place on the web in addition to changing the traditional frameworks for both basic and higher education. Massive open online courses are available all over the world cutting across Europe, United States, Asia, and Africa among other regions (Applegate, 1994). Most aver that the source is inaccurate therefore; learners ought to develop the skill of looking for and reading journals as well as books of research. Although the claims by educators are valid, students and pupils need to combine both aspects.

Facebook, Google, and YouTube

Google has taken the initiative of creating opportunities online for learners to get knowledge. This is the Google Apps for education that gives room to learners and educators in the process of sharing documents, making use of the integrated video to communicate, and sharing calendars. On the hand, Facebook appears to have more roles besides being the site for social interaction. The site contains great abilities for internet support. Learners and teachers get the room for publishing what they know including personal success, news, stories, as well as political information (Angell, 1995). Teachers have the opportunity to start applying Facebook as an appropriate tool for learning. Learning from technology and the new comes in various ways such as computer-based guidelines, instructional television, as well as integrated systems of learning. Scholars include constructivist learning situations and cognitive tools under the learning with technology and the new media. The belief that technology and the new media have an essential positive influence on learning and teaching compounds the importance of incorporating the same disregarding the approach applied in using the new media in education.

References

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