USING AND EVALUATING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

The use of instructional material can be effective if it is properly selected depending on the topic and if it is properly used. It should be appropriate and satisfactory for the ultimate goal of facilitating learning. There are guidelines to be followed and the first is the selection of instructional materials.

These are factors to be considered as standards for the selection of instructional materials:

ü  the materials should present the precise and true ideas of the topic or subject being discussed

ü  the materials should add meaning to the content of the topic and these  should help you achieve your instructional objectives

ü  the materials should be appropriate to the age, intelligence, and experiences of the students

ü  the materials should be satisfactory

ü  the materials should have a teacher's guide for effective use

ü  the materials should develop the student's higher critical thinking skills

ü  the materials should be accessible and affordable for the students

The second guideline is the usage of instructional materials.After you have properly selected the material, you should as well effectively utilize it. According to Thomas Nagel, to ensure effective utilization of the instructional material, he advised us to abide by the acronym PPPF.

Prepare yourself. It simply means that you should know your lesson objective and your expectation from the class after the session. There should be a planning ahead on how you're going to proceed  the discussion and evaluate after. 

Prepare your students. It implies setting class expectation and learning goals. This comes by throwing them guide questions and motivating them as a way of keeping them interested and engaged.

Present the material. It means you should rehearsed first the materials you are going to use before presenting them to the class. This is important especially if the materials you are using are mechanical in nature, for example, power points and other multimedia presentations. This is to avoid what they call as R.O.G. Syndrome of Running Out of Gas. This syndrome usually occurs due to lack of planning.

Follow Up. The main function of using instructional material is to achieve an objective and that is ultimately the learning of the students.Using this is not an end in itself but a means to an end so there is a need for follow up to know if you have attained your objective.

THE CONE OF EXPERIENCE

     Dale’s Cone of Experience is a visual model that is composed of eleven (11) stages starting from concrete experiences at the bottom of the cone then it becomes more and more abstract as it reach the peak of the cone. Also, according to Dale, the arrangement in the cone is not based on its difficulty but rather based on abstraction and on the number of senses involved. The experiences in each stages can be mixed and are interrelated that fosters more meaningful learning.     

              According to one of the principles in the selection and use of teaching strategies, the more senses that are involved in learning, the more and the better the learning will be but it does not mean that concrete experience is the only effective experience that educators should use in transferring knowledge to the learner. Like what was mentioned above, the experiences in each stages can be mixed and are interrelated thus, a balance must be achieved between concrete and abstract experiences in order to cater the and address all the need of the learner in all the domains of development and in order to help each learner in their holistic development.                       

Moreover, the generalization about the Cone of Experience that was presented above is not enough. Actually, we should try to go deeper in each of the component of the cone since Educational Technology basically revolves around the Cone of Experience. By going one-by-one, starting from concrete to abstract, we will understand more the different components of the cone that will help us in grasping the real meaning of educational technology.
To expand on each of the components, let us begin with:

Direct Purposeful Experiences
                        These are first hand experiences which serve as the foundation of learning. In this level, more senses are used in order to build up the knowledge. Also, in this level, the learner learned by doing things by him/herself. Learning happens through actual hands-on experiences. This level explains and proves one of the principles in the selection and use of teaching strategies, the more senses that are involved in learning, the more and the better the learning will be. This level also proves that educational technology is not limited to the modern gadgets and software that are commercially available nowadays. This shows that even the simple opportunity that you give to each child could help them learn.
Contrived Experiences
               In this level, representative models and mock-ups of reality are being used in order to provide an experience that as close as reality.  This level is very practical and it makes learning experience more accessible to the learner. In this stage, it provides more concrete experiences, even if not as concrete as direct experiences, that allows visualization that fosters better understanding of the concept.
Dramatized experiences
                 In this level, learners can participate in a reconstructed experiences that could give them better understanding of the event or of a concept. Through dramatized experiences, learners become more familiar with the concept as they emerge themselves to the “as-if” situation.
Demonstrations
        It is a visualize explanation of important fact, idea, or process through the use of pictures, drawings, film and other types of media in order to facilitate clear and effective learning. In this level, things are shown based on how they are done.
Study Trips
               This level extends the learning experience through excursions and visits on the different places not available inside the classroom. Through this level, the learning experience will not be limited to the classroom setting but rather extended in a more complex environment.
Exhibit
            It is a somewhat a combination of some of the first levels in the cone. Actually, exhibits are combination of several mock ups and models. Most of the time, exhibits are experiences that is “for your eyes” only but some exhibits includes sensory experiences which could be related to direct purposeful experiences. In this level, meanings ideas ar presented to the learners in a more abstract manner. This experience allows student to see the meaning and relevance of things based on the different pictures and representations presented.
Television and motion pictures and still pictures, recordings, and radio
           I decided to combine these two stages since it is related to one another. Because of the rapid development of the modern technology, a lot of people believe that Educational technology is limited to these stages. They are not aware that these sages are only a small portion of Ed Tech. For television and motion pictures, it implies values and messages through television and films. On the other hand, still pictures, recordings and radio are visual and audio devices that can be used by a learner/group of learner that could enhance and extend learning experience
Visual symbolic and Verbal symbolic

These two levels are the most complex and abstract among all the components of the Cone of Experience. In the visual symbolic level, charts, maps, graphs, and diagrams are used for abstract representations. On the other hand, the verbal symbolic level does not involve visual representation or clues to their meanings. Mostly, the things involved in this level are words, ideas, principles, formula, and the like.

          After going through the different components of the Cone of Experience, it could be said that in facilitating learning, we can use variety of materials and medium in order to maximize the learning experience. One medium is not enough thus if we can take take advantage of the other media. There’s nothing wrong with trying to combine several medium for as long as it could benefit the learners. Also, through the levels provided by the Cone of Experience, it could be said that concrete experiences must be provided first in order to support abstract learning.  Lastly, staying on the concrete experiences is not even ideal because through providing abstract experiences to the learner, the more he/she will develop his/her higher order thinking skills which is important for more complex way of thinking and for dealing with more complex life situations.

Through understanding each component of the Cone of Experience, it could be said that Educational Technology is not limited to the modern gadgets that we have right now but rather it is a broad concept that includes all the media that we can use to attain balance as we facilitate effective and meaningful learning.

               

THE ROLES OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING

            Technology has many roles in learning. In terms of  traditional role, technology is a delivery vehicles for instructional lessons. In this role, he learner learns from the technology and the technology serves as a teacher. In other words, the learner learns the content presented by the technology  in the same way that the learner learns knowledge presented by the teacher.   From the traditional point of view, technology serves as source and presenter of knowledge and it is assumed that knowledge is embedded in  technology.

              From the constructionist point of  view, educational technology serves as learning tools that learners learn with.   It engages learners in" active, constructive, intentional, authentic, and cooperative learning. It provides opportunities for technology and learner interaction for meaningful learning.  Technology  serves as  supporter of knowledge construction such as representing learner's ideas, understanding and beliefs,producing organized,multimedia knowledge bases by learners. It serves as information  vehicles for exploring knowledge to support learning by constructing such as accessing needed information, comparing perspectives, beliefs and world views.

            It serves as context to support learning -by - doing like representing and simulating meaningful real- world problems,situation and contexts,defining a safe ,controllable problem space for student thinking.  It serves as a social medium to support learning by conversing like for  instance  collaborating with others, discussing, arguing,and building consensus among members of the community. It serves as  intellectual partner to support learning- by- reflecting such as helping learners articulate and represent what they know,reflecting of what they have learned and  how they come to know it,supporting learner's internal  negotiations  and meaning making.

          Whether  used from traditional or constructionist point of view,when used effectively, research indicates that technology increases student's learning, understanding, and achievement but also augments motivation to learn , encourages collaborative learning and supports the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

              By effectively using the technology, I can now apply my learning.

MEANING OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Educational technology is the effective use of technological tools in learning. As a concept, it concerns an array of tools, such as media, machines and networking hardware, as well as considering underlying theoretical perspectives for their effective application.

Educational technology is not restricted to high technology.  Nonetheless, electronic educational technology, also called e-learning, has become an important part of society today, comprising an extensive array of digitization approaches, components and delivery methods. For example, m-learning emphasizes mobility, but is otherwise indistinguishable in principle from educational technology.

Educational technology includes numerous types of media that deliver text, audio, images, animation, and streaming video, and includes technology applications and processes such as audio or video tape, satellite TV, CD-ROM, and computer-based learning, as well as local intranet/extranet and we-based learning. Information and communication systems, whether free-standing or based on either local networks or the Internet in networked learning, underlie many e-learning processes.

Theoretical perspectives and scientific testing influence instructional design. The application of theories of human behavior to educational technology derives input from instructional theory, learning theory, educational psychology, media psychology andhuman performance technology.

Educational technology and e-learning can occur in or out of the classroom. It can be self-paced, asynchronous learning or may be instructor-led, synchronous learning. It is suited to distance learning and in conjunction with face-to-face teaching, which is termedblended learning. Educational technology is used by learners and educators in homes, schools (both K-12 and higher education), businesses, and other settings.