news

Teaching With Non-Print Media

By
Posted on January 8, 2002

The growth of a multiple-media approach to education

When the American educational system was formed, print was the only form of mass communication in the country, resulting in a curriculum based on, and dependent upon, the written word. While print-based materials remain as the cornerstone of our educational system, the introduction of new forms of mass communications in society has seen a parallel rise of alternate media forms in the K-12 classroom.

This research brief offers information on the growing use of non-print media in the classroom, strengths of alternate media use, challenges facing further integration, and suggestions on how your materials can be designed and positioned for maximum classroom use and impact.

The State of Media in Today's K-12 Classroom

According to government and industry reports, a solid media infrastructure is already in place in K-12 classrooms, with access to the Internet and cable television — two key sources of classroom media — widely available. The National Center for Education Statistics notes that the number of instructional rooms with Internet access has grown from 3% in 1994 to 77% in 2000; the average number of students per instructional computer has dropped from 12 in 1998 to seven in 2000; and the number of schools with dedicated high-speed Internet access has grown from 65% in 1998 to 77% in 2000. And, according to Cable in the Classroom, 78% of schools, representing 86% of all students, have free cable connections courtesy of local operators.

Are those connections being used? Detailed usage reports are hard to come by; however, there are indications that teachers are taking advantage of these resources. One of the few available studies is a survey of 130 selected middle and high school teachers, conducted in April 1996 by Dr. Renee Hobbs, Associate Professor of Communications at Babson College. This study indicated that teachers are using the following types of media "frequently" or "sometimes" in the classroom: newspapers (53% of teachers); magazines (50%); videotape/film (60%); computers (48%); and video cameras (17%).

This survey also asked teachers to report the primary reason for their most recent classroom use of these materials. Responses were as follows:

- 40.9% delivered subject matter, information, illustrations or ideas
- 15.9% had students use media to complete an assignment
- 11.8% shared current events
- 10.4% showed a film or videotape of a work of literature after students read the original work
- 6.2% used media to start a discussion or stimulate student writing
- 6.2% documented student performances
- 4.1% drilled students on basic skills
- 4.1% demonstrated the use of a foreign language

The Value of Integrating Non-Print Media in the Classroom

While one might easily recognize that media can be used to engage a young audience, there are in fact several reasons researchers and teachers advocate the use of multiple media forms in the classroom. These include:

Speaking the language of students.

According to "Kids and Media at the New Millennium," a report released in November 1999 by the Kaiser Family Foundation, children ages 8-18 spend over 47 hours per week using media outside of the classroom. On average, kids spend more than five times as much of that time in front of a TV or computer screen as they do reading. Teachers can use that interest in these media to connect instruction to the personal interests of their students.

Grasping content and increasing recall.

A number of recent research studies have shown that, in addition to helping students grasp content and concepts, non-print media — particularly visual media — offers advantages in the areas of retention and recall. "Children retain certain kinds of material presented by visually intensive media and tend to comprehend more of what they see than what they read or hear on the radio or on an audiotape and they remember it longer," according to education professors Dennis Adams and Mary Hamm ("Literacy, Learning, and Media," Technos Quarterly; Winter 2000).

Reaching students with different learning styles.

Under Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, the use of multiple media allows educators to reach students who may not respond well to the linguistic-based use of printed materials. Students can leverage their logical-mathematical strengths through computer exercises, take advantage of spatial intelligence with video, or learn through song by calling on their musical intelligence.

Preparing the work force of the future.

The business world consistently embraces new media and communication tools that offer productivity gains or competitive advantages. Students benefit greatly by becoming literate in those media forms before joining the work force.

Giving students information coping tools.

When non-print media are used in the classroom, teachers have the opportunity to instruct students how to analyze and evaluate messages conveyed by those media. This gives students information and practice needed to become discriminating users of media outside of school. As John Splain, Associate Professor of Education Policy at the University of Maryland states, "The average child watches three to five hours of television a day. Unfortunately, they only read about 20 to 30 minutes a day. It is educational malpractice of the worst sort not to prepare people for the world they go into" ("Schools Begin to Infuse Media Literacy Into the Three R's," Education Week; 12/6/00).

Challenges

While non-print media offers several advantages to instruction and societal adaptation, it has not yet reached its classroom potential. Commercialism, a lack of "room" in the curriculum for instruction in media literacy, and other factors continue to restrict its full implementation. Two of the biggest issues:

Lack of adaptation to the classroom format.

New technologies have often been touted as "the new solution" for revolutionizing our schools. However, Larry Cuban, Professor of Education at Stanford University says that these new technologies tend to result in a small audience of determined teacher-users amid a sea of casual and non-users because the technologies are not truly adapted to classroom use. "In making exaggerated claims for what new technologies can do, reformers ignored the purposes of schooling, disregarded the social organization of schools, neglected the pressing daily realities of teaching, and used their influence to frame teachers as both the problem and solution" ("Revolutions that Fizzled," Future Courses; 2001).

Teacher training.

Despite the fact that critical viewing skills are beginning to show up in academic standards, teachers are not being given enough training on use of media in the classroom. According to Robert Kubey and Frank Baker, all too many [graduate schools of education] conclude that it is adequate merely to train future teachers to thread a 16mm projector or show students a film version of Great Expectations there remains precious little analysis or evaluation of media, or recognition that language arts instruction might extend beyond print" ("Has Media Literacy Found a Curricular Foothold?," Education Week; 10/27/99).

This lack of training has led to the implementation of poor practices in using media among some teachers. In the Hobbs survey referenced earlier in this brief, several teachers noted that they had observed the improper use of media in the classroom. This included using videotape to fill time, to keep students quiet, at the end of the week or before vacations, or as a reward for good behavior.

Suggestions

While non-print materials may not have equal standing with print-based content in the classroom, they are nevertheless widely used, and a proper approach to development and promotion can increase the number of teachers effectively using your products. Consider the following suggestions:

Emphasize your distinct advantages.

Audio and video materials can enhance classroom learning in a number of ways. When promoting your products, provide teachers with a clear description of how your materials will uniquely support their teaching goals.

Provide teachers with direction and support.

Remember that many teachers may have received little to no training in using various media forms. You can help teachers by providing standalone lesson plans, explaining how your materials can be integrated with existing classroom subjects, and offering instructions on implementation. Make sure your support materials support your choice of media: research shows that pre- and post-viewing questions help students get more from broadcast shows, for example.

Accommodate classroom realities.

Remember that your materials must work within classroom constraints. If possible, movies and television programs should be reversioned to reflect the length of classroom periods; online content should reflect the fact that several students may be gathering around a single computer to view your product.

Provide ties to print-based curricula.

Accept the fact that many teachers are married to print-based literacy goals, and that your materials will be better received if you acknowledge and support those goals. Robert Kubey suggests that "one way to integrate [media education and print-based literacies] is to emphasize writing skills in students' scripts and in their critical review of films and TV programs. And one of the ways to increase students' interest in literature is to help them recognize that many of the same storytelling techniques used in the classics are also used in the popular programs and films with which they are already familiar" ("The Case for Media Education;" Media Literacy Online Project, University of Oregon).

As these new media become more established in the classroom, and as teachers learn how to more effectively leverage them, their importance and use will only continue to grow. Establishing yourself now as a valuable resource will position you for an increased role in future classroom efforts.