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Running head: MEDIA AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING

Media and Instructional Technology in Learning

Amber Gunnin
University of West Georgia

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Media and Instructional Technology in Learning

In todays society, everyone has technology at the palm of their hand, which has made
technology and media a huge part of the educational process. The debate with Richard Clark and
Robert Kozma is about whether technology helps our students learn better. The question asked
appears to be whether technology or media affect the learning process or is media just the vehicle
for instruction? In classrooms today, students have media with them all the time. They almost
need some form of media to learn because that it how they function in everyday life. When
developing these courses based on media, instructional designers need to be fully aware of how
the mind works to promote the best learning. This is connected to John Swellers cognitive load
theory and Richard Mayers cognitive theory of multimedia learning. Their theories could be
connected in resolving the debate between Clark and Kozma by showing the best way for a
learners mind to retrieve and understand information.
Clark and Kozma Debate
Clarks debate about media in instruction is that teaching methods have the most
influence on instruction and media is simply a way to deliver the material. According to Clark
(1994), If learning occurs as a result of exposure to any media, the learning is caused by the
instructional method embedded in the media presentation (p.26). However, today students are
digital learners because they have always known technology. They learn from technology
everyday by researching and getting instant results. Before a student would even look through
their text book, they would YouTube or research how to solve a problem or a topic. As Kozma
stated (1994), The visual and social nature of the story, as presented with video, is more likely
to activate relevant situation-based prior knowledge so that students can use this to solve the

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problem (p. 12). Students thrive from the internet and having technology available for them at
all times. Teachers have had to adapt in their teaching styles and methods due to the growth in
technology. They have become designers of instructional technology and facilitators of learning.
Research on Cognitive Theories
With teachers becoming instructional technology designers, it is important they
understand the way the mind works to ensure the best learning for students. Teachers have to
understand that the mind can be overloaded with too much information using technology with a
lot of pictures and words. Mayer and Moreno (2003) stated, A potential problem is that the
processing demands evoked by the learning task may exceed the processing capacity of the
cognitive system-a situation we call cognitive overload (p.45). This can be a difficult task for
teachers because they do not want their students to become frustrated with the instruction.
Mayer and Moreno give many solutions to prevent cognitive overload.
For example, Moreno and Mayer (2003) explained:
When no animation is presented, students learn better from a presentation of concurrent
narration and on-screen text than from a narration-only presentation. An explanation for
this effect is that adding on-screen text does not overload the visual channel because it
does not have to compete with the animation. (p.49)
Preventing cognitive overload can be difficult, but very important when designing an
instructional technology classroom. The students must be actively engaged in the learning
process and should create knowledge by making connections with previously learned material.
Their learning environment must encourage students to make these connections. Therefore, it is
important for teachers to know how to develop a technology enhanced classroom or an e-core

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class.
Resolving the Debate
Since the debate between Clark and Kozma, much research has been done which could
resolve the debate. For example, evaluation research on computers and learning. Michael
Simonson discussed many different types of research on learning through technology, including
evaluation research. Simonson (2003) stated, Most recently, researchers experimented to
discover if people could learn from computers. The results were the same as the results of similar
studies conducted with other forms of media; people can learn from computers (p.12). The
study showed that students can learn from any instructional media. Another type of study
discussed by Simonson was the Aptitude Treatment Interaction Studies. According to Simonson
(2003), the Aptitude Treatment Interaction (ATI) acknowledged the interaction that occurs
between presenting media and internal cognitive processes that support learning (p.15).
Simonson (2003) summarized:
Based on the results of aptitude treatment interaction research studies, researchers began
to recognize the importance of different learning styles and methods of processing
information, as well as the various correlations that existed between learner variables and
content treatments. Thus, the study and understanding of ATIs can facilitate the design of
improved instructional systems. (p.17)
This study combines Clarks and Kozmas debate with the cognitive theories to show teachers
how to set up media learning based class correctly. The study focuses on how learners process
information the way it is presented, which can help a teacher when developing media based
courses.

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Conclusion
With todays students, it is very important to provide a classroom where they can relate.
Students have such a strong connection with technology so it needs to be implemented in the
classroom. Eventually, all classrooms will be media based and teachers will fully become
designers and facilitators. When Clark and Kozmas debate was presented, media was just a fun
addition to the classroom on occasion. It was merely used as an outside tool. Students could learn
with or without the media. Today, students need some sort of media in their instruction because
they can relate and understand how technology works. The new struggle is for teachers to begin
to adapt to the new media classrooms and become instructional designers themselves.

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References
Clark, R. E. (1994). Media will never influence learning. Educational Technology, Research and
Development, 42(2), 21 - 29.
Kozma, R. B. (1994). Will media influence learning? Reframing the debate. Educational
Technology, Research and Development, 42(2), 7 - 19.
Mayer, R. E., & Moreno, R. (2003). Nine ways to reduce cognitive load in multimedia
learning. Educational Psychologist, 38, 4352.
Simonson, M. (2003). Educational Technology: Review of the Field. Nova Southeastern
University North Miami Beach, FL