clark kozma medium method map territory message

The newest, most expensive technology is not necessarily going to improve student learning. I do believe, much like Clark, that cost effectiveness and efficiency are important factors given the economic climate of today’s schools. Instructional designers can then design interventions to embed the most effective media into the processes of knowledge construction. Kozma supports the need for further research into how media interacts with and influences learning. These representations are internalized over time to become part of the learners’ cognitive processes. Media is key to activating prior knowledge and helping learners construct meaningful representations of abstract concepts. Learners connect prior knowledge with new knowledge to construct new learning. Kozma’s(1994), “Will Media Influence Learning? Reframing the Debate”, on the other hand states that learning is an active process of knowledge construction. Clark also states that with the scarcity of educational dollars and the expense of technology the focus should be on the instructional methods and not on finding, buying new technology if learning does not occur with current technology.

He states that no one media or media attribute causes learning to occur, that the Instructional designers choice of media for delivery should be based on 2 factors cost effectiveness and efficiency. The active ingredient is the instructional methods used to activate student learning. In Clark’s (1994), “Media will never Influence Learning” his argument appears to be that media is simply the vehicle to deliver the content and has no impact on student motivation or learning.

Clark kozma medium method map territory message