Selecting instructional media
How do you select media for content delivery?
Sherry,
Your pattern seems very effective. Visual images used in the instructional process are uniquely useful to creating retained information, and enhanced concepts of information we want the student to have a clear idea about.
Barry Westling
I want the media to drive home the information that is presented in the class so I select media based upon whether or not it is useful in driving home a thought, idea, or skill that was presented during the lecture.
Jan,
Interesting situation. Something I do when I sense students are just not into it, is apply a little WIFIM (what's in it for me?) This strategy attempts to capture the "what's the most important thing there is to these students at this very moment", and then try to find an exercise or activity that aligns with it.
Barry Westling
Jan,
Glad you're feeling you're getting benefit from these forums. There really is a lot of useful tidbits that participants have shared over the years.
Barry Westling
This is a timely topic for me as I'm feeling challenged in keeping the class interested. Two things are problematic: the time of the class (3:00 to 5:00 pm on Friday) and the fact that the students are in their last term, so they have an intense assignment load and are putting the studies for this class off to last.
This class is a review class that prepares the students for their professional board exam, so we're reviewing everything they've learned up until now based on a board review text. Recently, I used "Poll Everywhere" software, thinking that technology would be an interesting way to quiz the students, let them see their live results in comparison to their classmates in an anonymous fashion, and play with their cell phones in class. Win/win, right? Nope. Dismal failure. Less than 1/3 of the class participated for that segment of the class. They responded better to an old fashioned flashcard crafting assignment! Go figure. I'll keep trying to find ways to motivate and engage this group.
Thank both of you for these suggestions. As a first time didactic instructor, I'm feeling challenged in keeping the classes attention. I'll put your experience to use!
Darrell,
One lesson I've learned is with video's, unless every minute is spot on with absolute necessary information, students will begin to tune out after a few minutes. Even YouTube segments need to be short snippets of time, and very specific to the topic. One way to keep the level of interest higher is using a variety of media in alternating rotation. This keeps information fresh and helps students remain engaged.
Barry Westling
When selecting media to use for your class, make sure you view the material and confirm the verbiage of the material
Adriana,
Good example of student-access resources. As instructors, we can choose to insist students use material we think is important, but how much better to make resources available, and let the student decide if there is value to accessing resources we've provided.
Barry Westling
I agree. I use both power point presentation and the software to demonstrate the information. I have begun to save the demonstrations and make a mini website of the information. The students seam to like this because they can go to a miniwebsite to access the notes we took in class.
Michael,
Great! There is an idea floating about (mostly for online classes but applicable in all settings) called the flipped classroom, meaning what is typically done in class is completed at home (lecture, discussion, video clips), and what is typically done at home is performed in class (homework, exercises, practice). The idea is the emphasis shifts to where the instructor gives greater percentage of time and effectiveness with students.
Barry Westling
Hi -
With Math, my approach has been lecture combined with using the Internet as a source of lectures on the same topic. This way students get to see the same material presented in different ways as an aid to understanding. I have also found that allowing the students the opportunity to do some homework in class allows for a bettwer interaction with me as well as their fellow students.
Mike Conway
Timothy,
I edit longer YouTube video's into smaller, distilled segments. in doing so, only the most salient portions of a longer video are presented. I think video's that are more than a couple minutes in duration begin to lose students. Of course, the exception would be professionally produced, topic-specific videos, where all information is pertinent.
Barry Westling
I have been primarily leveraging power point, websites, and downloadable demos.
I've been reading alot of posts, and I like the idea of adding humor and YouTube videos into my presentations. I usually feel a little awkward although about playing a video because in the past I've seen people leverage a video that's either a really obvious advertisement for a product or company, or the video is overly ridiculous and the meeting starts going downhill. This is just my professional perspective of videos during a business meeting, perhaps in front of adult learners they could be received slightly better assuming the content is good and the topic is relevant.
Tracy,
Custom created PPT slides are better in my opinion. As instructors, we don't always follow the exact order of chapters, or topics within a chapter anyway. I prefer to take time to cover material as I think it should be. I can always use slides from the image library if necessary. And since you stated you don't have access to a rejector, then I suspect you may access to the OH projector -- I miss it, and will still use it from time time to time.
Barry Westling
My facility uses a lot of power point because it comes with the textbook. I create some of my power points as well. Excellent tip on not putting more than five points on a slide. As a student I loved the newspaper cartoons. I don't have access to a projector but I will utilize the white board and the flip chart more often this year.
Hello Rich,
I use a similar pattern in my class. We take a pre-test, followed by a 2 to 3 minute You Tube on the subject, then about 8 to 10 PowerPoint slides. Next are a few activities, then the PowerPoint of the next section. The time goes so fast we can't believe it. No time for boredom of students or instructor!
Mary,
Media, like any instructional tool, ought to be aligned with the course objectives, appropriate for the audience, and in my opinion, not too long.
Barry Westling
