CECS 5110 WEEK 1

Week 1 - Blog

1. What do you think you already know about the use of media for learning and teaching?

Media is the source for mass communication such as television, radio, newspaper, laptop, mobile device, bill board, mail, fax, film and cinema. Internet is a form of media where it allows access to all the content from these source of media. The use of these media were for mass communication but now it is used in different fields. It is used in educational purpose to enhance and outreach the learning and teaching process. It makes learning interesting and motivates students to learn. It is easier to understand any concepts when it is presented in audio and video form. Students remember two hours long movie but hard to remember fifty minutes lecture. 60 seconds advertisement contains lot of information about the product which influence people to buy it. Media plays the same role in education. IT presents the complex idea in simple form in few minutes and inspires students to learn more. It helps students to understand any concept easily. When I was young, I had hard time understanding the time difference between America and Nepal. Nepal is 11 hours 45 minutes ahead from America. It took me long to understand when it be afternoon in Nepal and it is night in America. If that time I had watched a video on this topic I would have understood this in few minutes. Video and audio helps in recall as well. When teachers make podcast of the lecture, students who missed the class can listen to the audio, students who needs to recall what was taught in the class can also listen it. Students can find answer instantly to any question: who, what, when, where, how, whose. They do not have to wait to meet their teacher or don’t have to search entire library.

1. Discuss some examples of instances in which you have used media to teach or learn personally and how effective you found it to be.

There were times when watching video was effective than listening to someone. While I was doing my undergraduate, I stayed in a dorm for a year then moved out in the apartment with my friend. I did not know how to cook and I was bored of eating fast food. So I called my mom how to cook. She gave me the list of ingredients and recipe to cook. After finishing talk with my mom I went to kitchen, I only remember half of the recipe, had to call her again, kept her on call while I was cooking. We both would have saved time and energy if only I had watched video how to cook the dish. Nowadays I google or watch YouTube if I need recipe for any dishes.

One day my mom called me and told me that dad gifted her an iPad. She wanted me to teach her how to set up and install apps in it. I tried telling her over the phone then I realized I should send her the link where it teaches it all. I send her the link in facebook message. She watched that video and after an hour she faced timed me to show that her iPad was working.