Principles of Instructional Design

Fourth Edition

Rober M.Gagne

Leslie J.Briggs

Walter W.Wager

pages 204-210

selecting and using media

one of the essential decisions that must be made in instructional design is what medium to employ as a vehicle for the communications and stimulation that make up instruction

selection versus development of media presentations

instructional delivery may be accomplished by means of the verbal speech of a teacher or by printed text as well as by way of vehicles of more complex technical material,such as sound and video recordings

teachers,may carry out a comprehensive design of instruction that depends upon the selection of media

teachers as instructional designers

the teachers or instructors deliver instruction often select and use a great variety of both print and nonprint media

teachers select materials that will enable learners to master the desired objectives

a completed lesson plan contain the following ingredients

a statement of the objectives of the lesson

a list of instructional events to be included in the lesson

a list of media,materials,and activities by which each event is to be accomplished

notes on necessary teacher roles and activities and on communications to be made to the learners

the medium chosen may be the instructor's voice ,a film,a book,or the learner's own study effort

what medium would i like to use for each intended learning outcome

where will i find the specific material

how the selected materials will be used

media and the learning situation

instruction is provided in a learning situation

the following are features of the intended learning situations that need to be taken into account in selecting media:

1.communications to the learner delivered by the teacher(instructor)versus communications delivered via media for self-instruction

2.learners prossessing sufficient verbal comprehension ability to comprehend printed communications versus learners who have insufficient verbal comprehension ability

3.communications delivered directly to the learner or learners versus communications broadcast from a central station

4.the performance to be learned is such that errors are serious(that is,dangerous,as in the case of airplane emergency procedures)versus performances whose potential errors are not serious

six general types of decisions about learning situations as follows:

1.job competence decision(consequences of error)

2.central broadcast decision

3.self-instruction with learner-readers

4.self-instruction with nonreaders

5.instructor with readers

6.instructor with nonreaders

in practical instructional situation,the media employed are often chosen on grounds of availability,feasibility,and cost

appropriateness for learning

media and their selection

instructional media are the physical means by which an instructional message is communicated,a printed text,an audiotape,a training device,a tv program,an instructor's talking,along with many other physical means,are all considered media

media and media decisions in different learning situations(p.209)

real equipment may be employed as means of providing practice in skills

radio and tv broadcasts are used as instructional media when students are widely dispersed

a device that permits practice of skills or of part skills,but which does not necessarily have the appearance or operating characterists of the real equipment,is called a training device

the computer is a particularly useful and versatile instructional medium

the instructor characteristics employed as media are the voice in delivering speech,and the action in demonstrating procedures,another important media function is the delivery of informative feedback adapted to learner responding,in addition to these various activities, the instructor has the executive functions of planning and managing instruction