CHAPTER 4: MEDIA AND MATERIALS

 CHAPTER 4 MEDIA AND MATERIALS

A. MANIPULATIVES

    Real objects such as coins, tools, artifacts, plants, and animals are some of the most accessible, intriguing, and involving materials in educational use. They are known as manipulatives because students may handle and inspect them.  Real objects may be used as is, or you may modify them to enhance instruction.  Examples of modification include the following:

-Cutaways: Devices such as machines with one side cut away to allow close observation of the inner working.
-Specimens: Actual plants, animals, or parts thereof preserved for convenient inspection.
-Exhibits: Collections of artifacts, often of a scientific or historical nature.

1. Computer Programs and Manipulatives

   An exciting science CD ROM series that combines the power of technology with the effectiveness of hands-on manipulatives is available in an all in one easy to use kit. 

  Student learn about a problem from the software, use the manipulatives includes in the package to experiment with possible answers, and then when they feel they have resolved it, they enter the information into the computer to see if they have the right answer to the problem.

B. FIELD TRIPS

The files trip, an excursion outside the classroom to study real processes, people, and objects, often grows out of students' need for firsthand experiences. It makes it possible for students to encounter phenomena that cannot be brought into the classroom for observation and study.

C. PRINTED MATERIALS

Printed materials include textbooks, fiction and non- fictiol books, booklets, pamphlets, study guides, manuals, and worksheets, as well as word processed documents prepared by students and teachers. Text- books have long been the foundation of classroom in struction. The other forms of media discussed in this book are frequently used in conjunction with and as supplements to printed materials.

Advantages
-Availability. Printed materials are readily available on a variety of topics and in many different formats.
-Flexibility. They are adaptable to many purposes and may be used in any lighted environment.

-Portability. They are easily carried from place to place and do not require any equipment or electricity.

-User friendly. Properly designed printed materials edi are easy to use.

-Economical. Printed materials are relatively inexpensive to produce or purchase and can be reused.

Limitations .
-Reading level. The major limitation of printed materials is that they are written at a certain reading level.

-Prior knowledge. Even though textbooks are generally written to be more considerate of the reader, with clear language and simple sentence structures, readers who lack some prerequisite knowledge may struggle to comprehend the text.

-Memorization. Some teachers require students to memorize many facts and definitions.

-Vocabulary. Some texts introduce a large number of vocabulary terms and concepts in a short amount of space.

-One-way-presentation. Since most printed materials are not interactive, they tend to be used in a passive way, often without comprehension.

-Curriculum determination. Sometimes textbooks dictate the curriculum rather than being used to support the cutriculum.

-Cursery appraial. Selection committees might not examine textbooks carefully.

Integration: The most common applicatios of printed materials is presenting content information. Students are given reading asignments and are held accountable for the material during class discussions and on tests.

Utilization: When using printed materials for instruction, one of the main roles of the teacher is to get learners actively involved with the material. One technique is to have students use the "SQ3R" method: Survey Question, Read, Recite, and Review.

D. FREE AND INEXPENSIVE MATERIALS

     These free and inexpensive materials can supplement instruction in many subjects; they can be the main source of instruction on certain topics. For example, many videotapes are available for loan without a rental fee; the only expense is the return postage.

     The types of free and inexpensive materials are almost endless. The more commonly available items include posters, games, pamphlets, brochures, reports, charts maps, books, audiotapes, vidcotupes, multimedia kits and real objects. The more costly items, such as videotapes, are usually sent only on a free-loan basis and must be returned to the supplier after use.

Advantages

-Up to date. Free and inexpensive materials can provide up-to-date information that is not contained in textbooks or other commercialy available media.

-In-depth treatment. Such materials often provide in-depth treatment of a topic.

-Variety of uses. These materials lend themselves to your own classroom presentations Individual students who want to explore a subject of interest can use the audiovisual materials for self-study or for presentation to the class.

-Student manipulation. Maerrials that are expendable have the extra advantage of allowing learners to get actively involved with them. 

Limitations

-Bias or advertising, Many free and inexpensive materials are described as sponsored materials because their production and distribution are sponsored by particular organizations.

-Special interests. What may even more trouble- some is sponsored material that does not contain outright advertising but promotes some special interest in a less obvious way.

-Limited quantities. With the increasing expense of producing both printed and mediated matcrials, your supplier may have to impose limits on the quantities of items available at one time.

Sources: There are local, state, national, and international sources of free and inexpensive materials, and many of these are now available as websites. Many local government agencies, community groups, and private businesses provide will informational materials on free loan.

1. Obtaining Materials

When you have determined what you can use and where you can obtain it, write to the supplier, some agencies will not supply free and inexpensive materials unless you write on school or company letterhead. For classroom quantities (when they are available), send just one letter. Do not have each student write individually. If a single student is requesting one copy of something for a class.

2. Appraising Materials

As with any other types of material, appraise the educational value of free and inexpensive materials critically. Some are very slick (technically well presented) but not educationally sound. Use the appropriate "Appraisal of Checklist" for the type of media (printed material, b vidcotapc, etc.) you are appraising.

E. DISPLAY SURFACES

If you are going to use visuals such as photographs drawings, charts, graphs, or posters, you need a way to display them. Visuals may be displayed in the classroom in a varicty of ways, ranging from simply holding up a single visual in your hand to constructing elaborate exhibits for permanent display.

1. Chalkboards: The most common display surface in the classroom is of course, the chalkboard.

2. Multipurpose Boards: Some classrooms are equipped with multipurpose boards, instead of chalkboards. As the name implies, you can use them for more than one purpose.

3. Copy Boards: A high-tech variation of the multipurpose board is the copy board, or electronic whiteboard. This device makes reduced-size paper copies of what is written on the board.

4. Pegboards: Another popular display surface is the pegboard. It is particularly useful for displaying heavy objects, three dimensional materials, and visuals.

5. Bulletin Boards: The term bulletin board implies a surface on which bulletins brief news announcements of urgent interest are posted for public notice. This was the original purpose of bulletin boards.

Criteria for Evaluating your Bulletin Boards.

-Emphatic. Conveys message quickly and clearly -Attractive. Color and arrangement catch and hold interest

-Balanced. Formal or informal

-Unified. Repeated shapes or colors or use of borders hold display together visually

-Interactive. Involves the viewer

-Legible. Lettering and visuals can be read across the room

-Lettered properly. Spelled correctly, plain typeface, use of lowercase except where capitals needed.

-Relative. Correlated with lesson objectives

-Durable. Well constructed physically, items securely attached

-Neat. A dlean, neat appearance makes the display more attractive.

6. Cloth Boards: Cloth boards are constructed of cloth stretched over a stirdy backing material such as plywood, Masonite, or heavy cardboard. The cloth used for the board may be of various types, including flanned, felt, or hook-and-loop material.

7. Magnetic Boards: Magnetic boards serve much the same purpose as cloth boards. Visuals are backed with magnets and then placed on the metal surface of the board. Magnetic boards, magnets, and fiexible strips of magnetic materials for use in backing are available commertially.

8. Flip Charts: A flip chart is a pad of large paper fastened together at the top and mounted to an easel. The individual sheets each hold a limited verbal/visual message and usually loth are arranged for sequent presentation to a small aced group.

a. Exhibits

Exhibits are collections of various objects and visuals designed to form integrated whole for instructional purposes. Exhibits used for same instructional.

b. Displays

A display is an array of objects, visuals, and printed materials (e.g., labels and descriptions). Most displays include descriptive information about the objects or visuals shown.

c. Dioramas

Dioramas are static displays consisting of a three-dimensional foreground and a flat back ground to create a realistic scene.