Team 5
From Instructional Technology Wiki
Contents |
EDUCATIONAL RADIO
INTRODUCTION
Those in today’s society are surrounded by dramatically changed technologies and the amount of information available to those living in developed countries is mind-boggling. Therefore, learning is becoming a life long process and the most essential part of jobs. To meet the demand of acquiring more knowledge, educational institutions are investing in all kinds of new expensive technology such as computers and handheld devices. However, radio helped form the grassroots of educational technology along with film and is still around today. Educational radio is almost universally available and most widely recognized through National Public Radio. Though its use in North America is limited, many impoverished countries still rely on this medium to educate those in the most remote parts of the world.
HISTORY
Radio has only voice, so it’s often referred to as an easy technology. Although there was nothing easy about it’s invention. It took almost sixty years and several scientists collaborating before the first radio station, KDKA, started broadcasting programs in 1920 in Pittsburg, PA. A couple of years later, the first educational radio programs were broadcast to schools as educational films were on the decline. Between 1921 and 1925, 176 broadcast licenses were issued to colleges and universities. (Fabos, 2001) After its growth, radio spread out worldwide in a fifteen –year period. (Yuzer and Kurubacak, 2004) Between the two world wars, some educators believed that radio would radically transform American higher learning. A trend setter in the early days of educational radio, the University of Iowa started educational broadcasts in 1924 that were deemed boring and ineffective. In response, the university changed its broadcasts to more course-centered programming over the next two years, but by 1932 its educational broadcasts started vanishing. Various reasons were cited for its decline including scant broadcast parts of courses and little interest from faculty in lecturing on the radio. (Maskow, 2001) By 1940, educational radio had almost vanished nationwide as well as its government funding. Around the middle of the 20th century televisions were starting to increase and bypass those of radio. In the 1970s, National Public Radio was the main source of educational programming. Since that time, television had stepped in as the newest and best educational technology medium. In North America today, educational radio is relatively unused. ((Maskow, 2000)
DESCRIPTION
Upon its inception, educational radio programs created a new learning environment without walls. It was referred to as a medium designed to inform the public and at the same time carry major content of formal university credit courses delivered through distance education. Radio is used widely as a distance education technology in countries that have large bodies of students but inadequate infrastructures to serve them. (Maskow, 2000) In its infancy, radio did not have a chance to develop before being used as an educational medium. As soon as stations began broadcasting, most of the programs were governed by those in education. Unlike film, radio did not have a chance to be introduced commercially or to the masses before it made its classroom debut. Also unlike its predecessor film, radio is universal, inexpensive and not a difficult piece of technology to master. All you needed was a radio transmitter and receiver kit. No special film, editing skills or labs were needed to use radio. Finally, the scope of radio went beyond any medium before it. One radio broadcast can target thousands of people at one time.
POSITIVES OF EDUCATIONAL RADIO
The major positives of educational radio are that is is free, reaches a large number of people and requires low technical knowledge to use. Educational radio is among the first communication to be used in education. Radio programs provide more flexibility and openness to the transmission of knowledge (Kurubacak, G.; Yϋzer, T. 2004). Universities such as Anadolu University in Eskisehir, Turkey are using educational radio to reach long distance students that may not have access to more modern forms of communication such as computers, cell phones, and television. Radio in distance education systems can provide learners with the needed resources for continuing their education and at the same time easily solve all these arguments that can be raised by opponents. These arguments can be but not limited to the formal exchange of ideas, the promotion of higher order thinking skills and limitations such as time, age, gender and language. These arguments fade away when confronted by the low cost of radio and the new implementations of well developed printed supplements. (Rowntree, 1994; McLeish, 1999)
NEGATIVES OF EDUCATIONAL RADIO
Negatives
Radio is called the blind medium (Keith, 2000). Radio is a one way communication tool that many educators did not like to use in their classrooms. Many educators felt like they should be the only instructors in their classroom and textbooks were the best form of instructional media to be used. (Leach, 1983) More advanced educational technologies took over the bulk of educational use. Mostly the computer with its quick retreival of information and the two way communication option it provided. Distance education programs have a printed supplement to their radio instructions that could add a costly factor to the use of radios in the classroom. (Kurubacak, Gϋ lsϋn, Yϋzer T., 2004). In addition to the printed supplements, many programs require a phone for group discussions and exchange of ideas.
SUMMARY
In conclusion, educational radio is still a viable source of learning. With the addition of supplemental materials, it is an excellent way for learning to occur in areas of the world with limited access to new technologies. In the United States educational radio is not as highly valued due to the abundance and easy assess to more technologically advanced resources such as computers. National Public Radio (NPR) is the leader in America in educational radio. Americans use NPR as a means of intellectual stimuli on current events and special interest such as Science Friday and Car Talk on sundays.
Fabos, Bettina (2001, April) Media in the Classroom: An Alternative History. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association (Seattle, WA, April 10-14, 2001). Retrieve June 5, 2007. Keith, M.C. (200). The Radio Station. Fifth Edition. Oxford: Focal Press
Kurubacak, G. & Yuzer, T. (2004, October 26). The Building of Knowledge Networks with Interactive Radio Programs in Distance Education Systems. Online Submission, (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED489939) Retrieved June 5, 2007, from ERIC database. http://www.editlib.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Reader.ViewAbstract&paper_id=11233
Leach, Eugene E. “Tuning Out Education: The Cooperation Doctrine in Radio, 1922-38.” Originally appeared in Current in January, February and March 1983. Republished on the web, Dec. 13, 1999. Retrieved June 10, 2007 from Http://www.current.org/coop/coopl.html
Maskow, M. (2000, January 1). Radio as a Learning Technology. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ617415) Retrieved June 5, 2007, from Eric database.
McLeish, R. (1999). Radio Production: A Manual for Broadcasters. Fouth edition. Oxford: Planta Tree.
Potter, C., & Naidoo, G. (2006, May 1). Using Interactive Radio to Enhance Classroom Dearning and Reach Schools, Classrooms, Teachers, and Learners. Distance Education, 27(1), 63. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ737396) Retrieved June 5, 2007, from ERIC database.
Rowntree, D. (1994). Teaching with Audio in Open and distance learning. London, Uk:koganpage
PAPER II
THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
Guess what? It has happened. It is happening! Our world is filled with amazing technologies that our children take for granted and that tend to bewilder those of us old enough to remember the day our family bought its first TV set! VCRs, compact disc players, remote controls, computers, modems, fax machines, cellular phones, microwave ovens, photocopy machines, bar code scanners, digital cameras, palm pilots—all are wondrous technologies that allow us to do things better, faster, easier. Where will it lead? What are the possible impacts on and for education? The potential is mind-boggling!
Technology's advancements are not going to disappear. Even those teachers and administrators who are reluctant to jump on the technology bandwagon must now admit that what looked like just another fad on the educational scene 20 years ago is here to stay. Technology is education’s "newest" tool, a tool that constantly changes and offers new opportunities for learning. Even so, old habits and sacred paradigms are hard to change.
The American school system paradigm was developed more than a century ago. Changing that paradigm to create a technology-based educational paradigm is challenging but necessary on all educational levels. Complacent college and university professors should teach with technology so future teachers will “teach as they were taught.” Teachers and administrators must wake up and realize that waiting to implement a technology plan only cheats students of valuable learning opportunities. Administrators must formulate strategic planning committees and find ways not only to provide their schools with hardware, software, and networking tools but also to provide all staff with much-needed technology training, follow-up, and technical support.
Americans accept the advantages technology offers us at home, on the highway, in business and industry. We accept, expect, and perhaps, even demand, these advantages in all aspects of our lives except education. Why is it that the educational "we’ve always done it this way" and "it’s worked for over 100 years" attitudes block the integration of technology into our schools where we are educating children for a future that demands they understand and use technology? The fact is that if America wishes its future generations to be able to meet the demands of a global community, to compete in a world that is technology-based, and to manage the vast amounts of data and information available, we must give today’s children the tools through education.
Computers, the Internet, distance learning, and other educational technologies are a fact of life. Traditional textbooks and worksheets—along with traditional learning environments—may soon go the way of slate tablets. Administrators, teachers, and parents who bury their heads in the sand hoping the technology "fad" will pass them by may be resisting because they see change as a threat or because they do not understand how technology can be integrated into the traditional educational system. Whatever the reason, the longer they delay, the more they are shortchanging children's futures. As research indicates, technology is an important equalizing tool for children with disabilities. It is an equally important tool for all children.
VIRTUAL SCHOOLS
Pennsylvania currently has children enrolled in cyber charter schools. The state leads the nation in cyber charter school innovation and controversy. Cyber charter schools offer students a flexible well-researched on-line curriculum that is accessible at all times and is not constrained by a physical building. Since cyber charter schools do not have high capital costs in terms of physical infrastructure, they can invest most of their resources into curriculum research and development and into hiring talented teachers. These schools have the potential to provide an array of new educational options to students offering almost complete flexibility to children served best by a custom-tailored curriculum.
In many ways, cyber charter schools are the same as more traditional brick and mortar charters. They are independent public schools sponsored by local or state educational organizations. The charter issuing authority monitors their quality and integrity, but they are otherwise free of traditional bureaucratic and regulatory control. A cyber charter school's success and existence is dependent on its meeting student achievement goals specified in its charter, and on effectively managing its financial and operational responsibilities.
Of all the traits shared by cyber and physical charter schools, however, the most important is that they are accountable to parents and students, the consumers of their products. If they fail to meet their needs, they will cease to exist.
The differences between the charters are not inconsequential. While traditional charter schools are constrained by geography and can only serve limited areas, most cyber charters can be accessed at any time, from anywhere in the world. It is this freedom that is the source of cyber charters' greatest strength and problems.
Another key to understanding cyber charter schools is to recognize that there is a difference between the schools and the curricula they offer. Cyber charter schools can offer multiple curricula or programs from which families can choose, whereas a site-based charter has only one.
Finally, though "cyber" is an integral part of their name, cyber charters often offer programs beyond just computer-based lessons. These can include physical education classes coordinated with organizations such as the YMCA; regular educational trips with teachers and other cyber charter students; and various extra-curricular activities.
THOUGHTS ABOUT EDUCATION IN 2050
It was hard not to title this section "School in 2050" but upon close examination and much thought, will the term "school" actually be relevant in 2050. Will parents drive their kids two to twenty miles each morning at 7:30 and drop them off on the corner at "Model School Elementary", home of the Tigers? When you attempt to picture education forty years from now you have to picture education forty years ago and see how far it has come. The teaching methods may be different, computers may have replaced chalk boards and books but one key similarity remains... the school building. The "institution" still remains in education now and then. In fact, many children attend the same school that was built fifty years ago. What will shape the future forty years from now has to be the "online" world and how far the internet will have advanced by 2050. Colleges and Universities have already jumped online with course offerings and programs of study while public education (K-12), for the most part, remains in a school building. Without predicting wild and wacky inventions of the future and what will be used in education it easy to get caught up in what we think will be invented in forty years. When discussing the future it is better to talk in terms of how children may learn forty years from now. In 2050, the amount of information available to children (if current trends continue) will be exponentially greater than the information available today. The key will be how they gather and process all of the information available to them.
