Session 7

Session 7: Development, Media Choices and Considerations

1. Why is media selection important in eLearning?

It is important to select the right media:

• To match the instructor’s ability to access and teach the course.
• To match the student’s ability to access and complete the objectives.
• To insure there is no infringement of copyrights
• To insure the cost meets any budgetary restraints
• To allow flexibility to make adjustments when problems occur.

2. Define "new media"?

According to New Media Institute “new media” is a general term that defines all that is linked to the internet and the interaction between technology, sound, and images. Because new media is constantly evolving and new technologies created, this definition can change daily and exponentially as new uses are discovered (Socha & Eber-Schmid, 2014).

3. Choose a "new media" and explain it's strengths and weaknesses for supporting eLearning.

In today’s job market perspective accounting career seekers need to be experienced in the use of electronic spreadsheet software. One of the most popular is Microsoft Excel. It is a part of the Microsoft Office suite of desktop applications. New media training in Excel can be accomplish using previously prepared online tutorials or by self-created online tutorials.

Previously prepared online tutorials

The strength of previous prepared tutorials such as the ones made available from Microsoft Support are convenient by the fact that the course developers or instructors need only to investigate the content of the tutorial to find relevance to the subject being taught and give the student the internet link to the tutorial site. Another strength is that many of these tutorials are free. The weakness of these tutorial is that the procedure being illustrated is generalized and may not connect implicitly with course objectives.

Self-created online tutorials

New media software such as CamStudio allows the developer or instructor to record a screencast with a voice narrative on how to perform a particular task within an application such as Excel while illustrating that procedure on a computer screen. Along with also being free, the strength of self-created tutorials in that lessons can be created that are intimately connected to a lesson, objective, or an assignment. The weakness to this software is that the preparing a self-created online lesson is time consuming and needs to be uploaded to a site where students have access to view the recording and screencast.

4. Explain the term "Mobile Learning" and discuss the importance of "Mobile Learning in the current eLearning environment and in future eLearning environments.

According to our text mobile learning has two main meaning:

• Mobile learning uses new media technologies to allow student to participate in conventional form of learning including classroom learning.
• Real mobile learning utilizes objects, environment, experts and other students as student engage the real world.

(Horton, 2012, p. 501)

 

5. Explain the term "Virtual Classroom". Describe how a "Virtual Classroom" can be used in eLearning.

An online class that are organized like a standard classroom course is a virtual classroom. The curriculum contains elements such as class schedules, weekly or daily assignments, tests and quizzes. It is in the standard educational format but utilizes “new media” where the student participates in synchronous instruction. In this environment instructors can connect to and monitor the student’s progress in the class (Horton, 2012, p. 540).

A popular virtual classroom environment is the webinar. Like combining the words “smoke” and “fog” to get “smog”, “webinar” is derived by merging "web" and "seminar."  Webinars are instructional presentations of video and/or audio with slides and often used in a student to content interaction.  If a webinar is synchronous, meaning that student and instructor are online at the same time, the webinar can be employed to produce student to instructor interactions in real time (Horton, 2012, p. 540).

Another eLearning environment is the virtual-classroom course. This normally includes course content materials, homework, tests, assessments, and other tools that are outside of the standard classroom familiarity. These courses do not need synchronous events and may also include social media tools that let instructors and learners to interact through emails, chat rooms, or online discussion boards (Horton, 2012, p. 541).

6. Thinking about the class you have been designing, what are some ways you could potentially use some new media?

• Previously prepared online tutorials – used to provide student with general content information. 
• Self-created online tutorials – used to provide students with specific content and examples of solutions to computer based assignments.

• Webinars – used to provide students with general or specify content information and provide student to instructor interactions.
• Email – used as communication tool between instructor, students, a class as a whole. Uses to share files and transmit assignments and assessments.
• Discussion boards – used for class participation and group project collaboration. Can be used for discussion assignments and feedback by instructor.
• File sharing websites - used for class participation and group project collaboration.
• Online testing sites – used for student assessment of objective met by online quizzes and overall course assessment by online final exams.  

References

Horton, W. (2012). E-leaning by design, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Socha, B., & Eber-Schmid, B. (2014). What is new media? Retrieved from New Media Institute: http://www.newmedia.org/what-is-new-media.html