8

Using Media to Support Learning

What’s Inside This Chapter

• The factors that affect the use of media in a learning event

• Which media are most appropriate for each factor

• Tips for using each type of media

Have you ever seen one of those Super Bowl Sunday television commercials that was memorable and you really liked—because it was exceptionally funny or touching—but later couldn’t even remember what product was being advertised? That’s also a potential pitfall in using media in the learning environment. You want the learners to remember and use the content of your course, not the flashiness of your media. Your course is never about the media you use—no matter how colorful, arresting, or technologically advanced it is. It’s about the learning. The media that you use must support and augment the learning program.

Media can be effective tools for you as you create a course and strive to make the learning interesting and memorable. This chapter discusses the factors that affect the use of media in a learning event, and identifies the most appropriate type of media for each factor. It also includes tips to assist you in using each type of media.

That said, media can enhance learning. As such, there is much more involved than just using PowerPoint or a whiteboard. Media should support the facilitation while engaging the learner.

Factors That Affect the Use of Media in Supporting Learning

Selecting media to use as you facilitate a course is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as you plan a learning event. Remember that the most important rule is to ensure that the media you select supports the learning objectives. Otherwise, it might distract the learners and actually pose a barrier to learning.

As you’re deciding which media to use, think about how you like to move throughout the room as you facilitate, how formal your learning event will be, and the level of learner interactivity that you wish to encourage.

Facilitator Movement

It was noted in earlier chapters that your ability to move around the room and among the learners is important in creating an interactive learning experience. The room setup and how it supports—or hinders—your movement was already discussed. Your media must also support your desired level of movement. If you want to move around quite a bit (which is encouraged), you won’t want to use something that hampers your movement or keeps you tied to one part of the room or piece of equipment.

The media that allow the most movement on the part of the facilitator include written materials; flipcharts; PowerPoint slides and digital presentations with a remote control; physical props; and videos and DVDs. The media that allow less movement include whiteboards and PowerPoint and digital presentations without a remote control.

While the virtual classroom does not afford the opportunity to move around the room, you can easily move among different media. For example, you can quickly transition from a PowerPoint slide to a whiteboard to a video using a simple click.

Level of Formality

The level of formality in your learning event is dictated by a number of factors, including the organizational level of your audience, the physical environment, and the organizational culture. The higher the level of the audience (for example, executives as opposed to middle managers and first-line supervisors), the more formal your media should be. The more formal the environment (for example, an executive meeting room with drapes and mahogany furniture as opposed to an employee cafeteria), the more formal your media should be. And, the more formal the organizational culture, the more formal your media should be. If you’re not sure about the formality of the culture, take a look at how everyone dresses (casual, business casual, professional); type of industry (blue collar, white collar); and the type of environment your audience works in (office, plant, lab, and so forth).

The more advanced your media technology, the more formal it is. Based on this rule, the order of formality (from most formal to least formal) is:

1.  PowerPoint and digital presentations

2.  YouTube videos, DVDs, and CDs

3.  written materials

4.  whiteboards

5.  flipcharts and easels

6.  physical props.

Learner Interactivity With Media

In an earlier chapter, we noted that learning activities must correspond to the learners’ level of knowledge: The more they know, the more active and self-directed the activity. The same characteristic applies to media, and it is recommended that you use media at the highest level of interactivity that is appropriate for the learning involved.

Learner interactivity means how much intellectual or physical involvement learners have with the media (Table 8-1). Do the learners have an effect on the message communicated by the media? Do they get to touch or manipulate the media in some way? Are learners more passive than active in how they are using or interacting with the media?

Table 8–1. Interactivity Levels Associated With Different Media

Media With Higher Interactivity	Media With Lower Interactivity
• Handouts with blanks to be filled in* • Flipcharts that learners create themselves • Whiteboards that learners write on themselves* • Whiteboards and flipcharts with blanks that the facilitator fills in as the discussion continues* • Wallboards that learners write on • Physical props that learners handle	• Whiteboards (pre-prepared) • Flipcharts (pre-prepared) • Wallboards (pre-prepared) • Handouts with all text filled in* • Videos and DVDs* • PowerPoint slides and digital presentations* • Physical props that only the facilitator handles

^* Appropriate for the virtual or online classroom.

Variability in Content Emphasis

Emphasis on course content can vary according to specific learner audiences or as the subject matter itself continues to evolve. Media must allow real-time change and low-cost, low-effort revision when the emphasis on course content varies (Table 8-2).

For online training, the media will need to be prepared and uploaded to the program’s site, so the learner can download it. For the virtual classroom, the learner will need presentation rights in order to manipulate the media. You can also record the virtual classroom discussion for later use in an online environment. Learners who access the training program will be able to listen to the recording and see the media.

Table 8–2. Ease of Revision for Certain Material

Real-Time Change	Low-Cost, Low-Effort Revision	Content That Does Not Vary or Evolve
• Flipcharts • Wallboards • PowerPoint slides* • Whiteboards*	• Flipcharts • Whiteboards* • PowerPoint slides* • Written material other than books (handouts)* • Physical props	• Videos* • DVDs* • Books • Digital presentations* • Wallboards

^* Appropriate for the virtual or online classroom.

Generating or Revising Material on the Fly

When your learning activity requires that you (or the learners) brainstorm ideas or generate a list of items on the spot, you need to use a medium that allows you (or them) to write items down in real time. The media that provide this opportunity are flipcharts, fill-in handouts, and whiteboards. The virtual classroom allows you to list items on a whiteboard, as well as writing, highlighting, and drawing on PowerPoint slides.

However, just because you’ll be working on the fly to list brainstorming ideas doesn’t mean you don’t have to be prepared. For example, make sure you have the equipment you need, including the correct writing instruments for the medium you are using. Flipcharts require water-based markers so that the writing doesn’t bleed through onto the pages behind, or worse, onto another surface, such as a wall. Whiteboards require dry-erase markers. Here’s what happens if you use the wrong marker:

• Dry-erase markers used on flipcharts results in not enough ink being applied, which causes faded lettering that is hard to see.

• Water-based markers used on whiteboards can’t be erased on the spot; they require special cleaning.

Need for Continued Visibility

In many learning events, the facilitator wants not only to save media that have been produced during the class, but also to keep it visible as an ongoing record of what the learners have produced. This helps learners review concepts, look back at prior events, and see the progress they have made. Posting flipcharts and wallboards on the wall work very well for this. Whiteboards can work if you have several in your room.

In a virtual classroom you have the ability to save the training session. This allows the learners to go back to the session to hear the discussion as well as see the media. This is good for reinforcement. In addition, other learners who did not attend the session can access the recording and experience the training.

Portability

Sometimes you have to transport your learning materials on the road to a different site or sometimes simply to a different room in your facility. In this case, ease of portability becomes a factor. Part of the decision rests on what media or technology is provided at the facility you’ll be using.

PowerPoint and digital presentations are very portable on a laptop computer or flash drive if the room you’ll be using is equipped with a projector. Videos and DVDs likewise are very portable if the equipment is available at your site. However these items become much less portable if there is no audiovisual equipment at your site. In this case, the best option is to bring a small, portable projector.

Flipcharts are not very portable; even the supposedly easy to carry charts and easels aren’t! (Ask anyone who has had to lug flipcharts around.) The best option is to request a flipchart and easel at the site, or to use blank PowerPoint slides in place of a flipchart. A large number of handouts are not very portable either, and can be quite heavy. Your best bet is to use a rolling suitcase to carry them—even for a short trip from the trunk of your car into the building!

Alternatively, you can ship materials and equipment to the site ahead of time. If you do this, make sure to get the name of the person who will be receiving your shipment. Then, follow up to be sure the material arrived and will be in the room.

With online and virtual learning, portability is not an issue. Learners can access the course from anywhere as long as they have an Internet connection. Media can be downloaded to the learners’ computers or to the virtual classroom.

Physical Environment

The physical environment of the space you are working in will also affect your use of media. The larger the room, the “larger” your media should be—PowerPoint slides or a digital presentation. If columns or other barriers hamper visibility, multiple flipcharts stationed at multiple points help all learners feel involved. If you want to keep a record of work done, make sure the wall surfaces are amenable to tape, self-stick flipcharts, or pushpins. The lighting options available will dictate whether it is appropriate (and advisable) to use media such as videos or PowerPoints that require dimmed room lighting. In the online or virtual environments, there are no such physical constraints—every learner has complete visibility of all media.

A large room or poor acoustics dictate use of a microphone. If you must use a microphone in a large space, use a lavalier microphone with a power pack that clips to your clothing. That way you can move about the room, unlike with a stationary microphone at a podium. Another tip is to wear clothing that will make attaching the microphone and power pack easy (for example, a jacket with a lapel for the microphone and a pocket for the power pack).

A Word About Physical Props

To paraphrase, sometimes a prop or object lesson is worth a thousand words. Physical props are especially useful in illustrating analogies. Seeing or handling a prop makes learning much more meaningful to visual and kinesthetic learners. Here are a few quick examples:

• using a Slinky to illustrate cause and effect

• having learners build something with building blocks or pipe cleaners to demonstrate teamwork or effective planning

• using an actual burlap sack to illustrate the negative effect of “gunnysacking” complaints in a conflict situation.

The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and creativity. And, remember the discussion in chapter 4 about personalizing the learning to fit your style? If you have a talent or hobby, this is the place to use it to illustrate a learning point. For example, there was a description in chapter 4 about a musician who uses music and instruments to illustrate synergy and teamwork. Amateur magicians can use magic tricks to illustrate learning points, and so on.

In the virtual classroom, if all learners have cameras you could use props. You could also shoot videos of you using props and upload them to the virtual classroom. However, it is difficult to incorporate props in a meaningful way in the online and virtual environments.

Using Copyrighted Material

Are you considering making a slide or handout of a Dilbert cartoon, playing a Kenny G CD for background music, recording a sketch from Saturday Night Live to show during a course, or checking out 12 Angry Men to show the group?

Don’t do it without first checking with your legal department. Doing these things without the permission of the publisher or licenser is a potential violation of copyright law. Getting permission can sometimes be worth the trouble, so when it’s important for your learning event, contact the publisher or licenser of the material and ask for permission.

Alternatively, you can make your own cartoons with clip art or stock photos. You can buy generic, instrumental music that does not have copyright restrictions (and for a learning environment, instrumental music is the only way to go because music with lyrics distracts from the learning environment). And, there are many, many training videos and DVDs that can be rented or purchased specifically for a learning event.

Where to Begin?

You’ve been introduced to a great deal of material in this chapter. You’ll find it all summarized in Table 8-3, which can serve as a convenient reference for you as you plan to facilitate various learning events.

Table 8–3. Tips for Using Media to Support Learning

Getting It Done

Table 8-3 provided some tips and techniques that will aid you in using media to support learning. Use it as you complete the checklist in Exercise 8-1, which allows you to apply the various media implications and decisions to your own situations.

Exercise 8–1. Thinking About How to Use Media to Support Learning

Use the checklist below to make sure you have considered all media implications when you prepare to facilitate a course or module.

The media you’ve selected:
Incorporates the appropriate amount of movement for the learning activity and my facilitator style	Notes:
Maintains an appropriate level of formality and informality	Notes:
Provides an appropriate level of learner intellectual interactivity	Notes:
Offers an appropriate level of learner physical interactivity	Notes:
Includes an appropriate level of interactivity for the time of day	Notes:
The media you’ve selected:
Involves an appropriate amount of light for the room and time of day	Notes:
Is the correct medium for variability and evolution of content emphasis	Notes:
Is appropriately portable	Notes:
You’ve prepared for facilitating using media by:
Incorporating a variety of media into the course	Notes:
Having the right markers for the media	Notes:
Assessing the physical environment and matching the best media to the environment	Notes:
You’ve prepared for facilitating using media by:
Planning for backup media, just in case	Notes:
Obtaining permission for use of material	Notes:
Being familiar with the technology to use media in the online and virtual classroom environments	Notes: