MARSHALL MCCLUHAN'S FAMOUS DICTUM that "The medium is the message" is sometimes cited to justify using video or compter-assisted instruction rather than a textbook. Evidence, however, shows that in educational media, the instructional method--not the medium used to deliver the message--may be of paramount importance, at least as far as learning is concerned.

In the 1970s and 80s, educational researchers attempted to show that people learned arithmetic and other subjects better using various computer-assisted tutorials, simulations, and drills than they did in a "traditional" classroom learning situation.

They showed impressive results. Children and adults using computers seemed to far outpace their conventionally taught peers on final exams and standardized tests.

Do people learn faster or better from

 computers than they do from teachers?

The type of media used to deliver the instruction was not, however, the only difference between the computer-assisted and teacher-delivered instruction. Clark (1983, 1985) looked at a large number of studies and concluded that the computer-assisted instruction used different teaching methods than did the teacher-led environments.

The early studies compared apples with oranges.

It was like comparing a truck load of coal with a boat load of cotton.

The type of delivery vehicle is more or less irrelevant. What

counts are the content and tools (instructional methods) they deliver.

As you might guess, good teaching methods, including appropriate content, seem to improve learning regardless of whether a teacher, a computer, or a book delivers the instruction.

Analyze audience and content and design

methods before selecting delivery media.

Clients often come to the table requesting "A web-based course" or "An instructional video," but instructional designers try to hold off selecting delivery media until they've devised instructional methods that serve the audience and the content.

As a result of this and other studies, instructional designers have come to insist on analyzing the audience and content, then devising effective instructional methods, and only then choosing appropriate delivery media.

Bob Hoffman, PhD

Hoffman, B. (2001). The medium is not the only message. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. Retrieved July 15, 2010, from file:///D:/实验室/eet/articles/MediaLearning/start.htm