Discussion Board 2 EDU 626 - Essay Example

Instructional Media in Instructional System Design (First, Middle Initial and Last) Your School Instructional theories are designed to make the learning process more goals oriented to satisfy the needs and requirements of a learning process. It has different aspects including designing, selection of correct methodology, selection of the most suitable and available tools, use of appropriate technology, method of instruction assessment and documentation. This essay focuses on the selection, application and practical implementation of the suitable instructional media.

All the materials and physical objects that an instructor might use to deliver the information to the students or participants are called instructional media. Formally, it can be defined as "the physical means via which instruction is presented to the learners" (Reiser and Dempsey, 2007- pg 18). For instance usage of a text book, computer or even the in-class physical demonstration of an instructor can be labeled as an instructional medium. In any Instruction System Design (ISD), instructional media is used to make the audience understand the delivered material.

It may be used to get the participant’s attention, to invoke the imagination of the students, to or to explain the explicit/implicit instructional goals. A research-based theory or a model is termed as Instruction System Design or Development (ISD). Such a model is designed after repeated experiments with different set of conditions (Merrill & Boutwell, 1973). It is important to note that each model is entirely dependant on its designer’s perceptions and ones understanding of the requirements for the instructional process.

Once it is decided that an instructional medium is helpful in the process, there are number of factors to be considered before selecting a particular medium. Selection should be made after careful analysis of cost, availability, and the practical implementation of the entire course syllabus. Media and syllabus selection are co-dependent. Sometimes an instructor has to review the syllabus based on media selection. Media selection is perhaps the most confusing step in an ISD. There can be a specially designed model for a unique setup with a particular environment.

Models range from very simple to complex designs. There are three major factors for media selection i.e. its practicality, audience appropriateness and instructional appropriateness (Reiser and Dempsey, 1996). Adopting the instructional strategy, I designed a plan and implemented it to teach my younger sister mathematics more effectively. After analyzing that it is hard for her to grasp the idea of addition and subtraction merely using a paper and a pencil. I tried to deliver the concept using visual aid method.

I found it simple, fast and easier for her to understand the basic concepts. Utilizing the above methodology, let’s understand the selection of an instructional medium for this class, as a practical example, that should make it easier to understand the process. Firstly, goals for each lesson as well as for the entire course should be written down. Secondly, Instructional objectives should be identified. Normally several objectives are written for every class or chapter. Each lesson’s objectives accumulate the final objective of the class.

Thirdly, instructional strategy, in this case perhaps study tours, should be adopted. Fourthly, different types of training materials, e.g. a text book or a visual aid, should be selected. It should, however, satisfy the minimum requirement of the class objectives. Finally, its time to select the right instructional medium; depends upon the type of audience, class size, location, time etc. St. Cloud State University. “Developing Support Materials” 1997. Retrieved from http://lrs.stcloudstate.

edu/cim/courses/pine/develop.html.   Strauss, J. and Frost. R.D. “Instructional Technology Selection (1999)”. Retrieved from http://unr.edu/homepage/jstrauss/merpaper.html.