EDUC 210: Educational Technology

Module 1: Teachnology in the Frontier

Understanding the Basic Concepts in Educational Technology

Note: Most of the items in this module are lifted

from our main reference to facilitate the
directions of those who may not yet have
acquired the textbook: Corpus, Lucido (2012)
Educational technology 1, Lorimar Publishing, Inc.

Please secure a copy of the main text.

OBJECTIVES

Module 1 aims to accomplish the following targets:

1. Differentiated the delineation among educational technology from instructional

technology and technology in education, and media technology as a
manifestation that the concepts are understood;

2. Provided examples of the various instructional materials appropriate for given

instructional contexts;

3. Familiarized with Dale’s Cone of Experience and provided classroom processes or

practices that exemplify each stratum of the Cone of Experience; and

4. Discussed issues affecting decisions made related to instructional processes.

Defining Educational Technology

The organization of this course is based on the broad meaning of educational
technology. Let us try to have a better understanding of the term.

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QUESTION PROMPT

What comes to your mind when you hear the word educational
technology?

Make a cluster of words that you associate with educational technology.

Educational
Technology

What have you noticed? Please write your response.

The words that I incorporated with the term Educational Technology are all products of
technology. Internet, computers, laboratories, google classroom, video and audio clips are
all facilities and aids in delivering learning to the students. Using these, teachers could devise techniques and
methods for engaging students in a meaningful learning process and to help improve the process of learning.

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Here are some thoughts on the main concept of what we know as educational
technology.

 Greek word “techne” meaning craft or art

 Technology is more than hardware. Technology consists of the designs and the
environments that engage the learners.
 Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning
and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate
technological processes and resources. It includes, but not limited to, software,
hardware as well as internet applications and activities.

Differentiate educational technology from technology in education by the help of these

arrows. The direction of the arrows shows that they differ.

 Lucido and Borabo  incorporation of technology in education

 a field study which is concerned with the practice of  Includes the following:
using educational methods and resources for the  Devices
ultimate goal of facilitating the learning process  Gadgets
 Jonassen  Machines
 a field involved in applying a complex, integrated  Instruments
process to analyze and solve problems in human  The application of technology to any of those processes
learning involved in operating the institutions in which house
 Define
made up the following
of organized effort toterms:
implement the theory, the educational enterprise. It includes the application of
intellectual technique and practical application of technology to food, health, finance, scheduling, grade,
educational technology reporting and other processes which support education
within institutions.

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Define the following:

 Technology in Education

It is the incorporation of technology in education. Examples of technology in education include devices,

gadgets, machines and instruments.

The application of technology to any of those processes involved in operating the institutions in which house
the educational enterprise. It includes the application of technology to food, health, finance, scheduling,
grade, reporting and other processes which support education within institutions.

 Educational Technology

is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using
and managing appropriate technological process and resources.

 Instructional Technology

“Is a part of Educational Technology.”

Refers to those aspects of educational technology that “are concerned with instruction as contrasted to
designs and operations of educational institutions.”

 Media Technology

are channels or avenues or instruments of communication. Examples are books, magazines, newspapers,
radio, television, and internet. These media also serve educational purposes.

The Cone of Experience

“The cone is a visual analogy, and like all analogies, it does not bear an exact and
detailed relationship to the complex elements it represents.“ – Edgar Dale

Introduction:

Let us tackle Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience to get acquainted with various
instructional media which form part of the system’s approach to instruction.

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With reference to the 8 M’s of instruction, one element is media. Another is

material. These 2 M’s (media, material) are actually the elements of this Cone of
Experience.

Figure 3. The Cone of Experience

ANALYSIS

Discussion Questions:

How are the experiences of reality arranged in the Cone of Experience?

The experiences were arranged based on how tangible the experiences are. It started from the most concrete (direct
purposeful experience) and the top most of the cone, verbal symbols, is the most abstract.

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Which way of is closest to the real world?

The base of the cone which is the Direct Purposeful Experience

Which way is the farthest from the real world, in the basis sense most abstract?

The top most of the cone, verbal symbols, is the most abstract.

Is the basis of the arrangement of experiences difficulty of experience or degree of

abstraction (the amount of immediate sensory participation involved)?

The basis of arrangement is the degree of abstraction. This would mean that the farther you go from the bottom of the
cone, the more abstract the experience becomes.

Do the bands of experience (e.g. direct experiences, contrived experience, etc.) follow a
rigid, inflexible pattern? Or is it more correct to think Cone overlap and blend into one
another?
The bands of experience do not necessarily follow a rigid pattern. The experiences are fluid. This would mean that the
experiences can overlap and blend into other experiences.

Does the Cone of Experience device mean that all teaching and learning must move
systematically from base to pinnacle?
Dale (1968) stipulated that:
“As we have noted, young children use many simple abstractions verbal symbols.
Before entering school they have mastered the meanings of at least 2500 words, or
verbal symbols, each one of which is an abstraction. The fact that something is an
abstraction does not necessarily make it difficult to understand. Actually, there are wide
variations in degree of difficulty.”
My take:
I also do not thoroughly agree to the idea of learning following a systematic process. This could perhaps
explain some occurrences of savant children/learners or the principle of multiple intelligences.

Is one kind of sensory experience more useful educationally than another?

I believe that all are created equal. And this principle can also be used to dispute the notion that one kind of
sensory experience is more useful educationally than the others.

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A sensory experience is never experienced in isolation. As teachers, we must be able to provide a learning experience
where it is possible for the sensory experiences to be mixed and interrelated to guarantee a holistic learning
experience.

Can we overemphasize the amount of direct experience that is required to learn a new
concept?
According to Dale:
Yes, this is a danger. Perhaps the new abstraction can be mastered with less firsthand
experience than you might think necessary. Indeed, too much reliance on concrete
experience may actually obstruct the process of meaningful generalization. Certainly a
mathematician could not develop a system of higher mathematics by counting on his
fingers.
My take:
Teachers should always be able to provide concrete and abstract learning to the students. As a literature
teacher, I would always require my students to think beyond the box. This would mean to use their imagination,
creativity and/ or artistic talent in negotiating meaning out of the literary text we had read.

Are the upper levels of the Cone for the older student and the lower ones for the child?

Dale’s:
It is true that the older a person is, the more abstract his concepts are likely to be. We
can explain this developmental change by a greater physical maturation, greater
opportunity for vivid experiences, and (in certain circumstances) greater motivation
for learning. But an older student does not live exclusively in the world of his abstract
concepts, just as a child does not live only through the impressions his senses give him.
The shuttling process, in fact, continues not only through the learning of a particular
concept, but throughout all life. And this interaction is an indication of the nature and
complexity of concepts themselves. Instructional materials at all levels of the Cone
can help us to extend the web of relationships that our concepts involve. Even the
most advanced student, therefore, can deepen his understanding of concepts and his
enjoyment of life by participating in experiences all along our Cone. … the Cone of
Experience stands for activities that are available, in varying degrees, to learners in all
age groups.

My take:
I had experienced talking to a child and making the most out of the discussion as compared to some of my
college students. This could help me justify my answer that sometimes age is not a basis in explaining the
development of a person.

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According to the author, the cone of experience stands for activities that can be presented to learners no
matter what their age is.

What is the Cone of Experience?

As I read the module and other sources, I arrive with the conclusion that the cone of experience represents
instructional messages in terms of how concrete or how abstract it is. The cone is not an actual representation of rank-
order of the learning process but on the contrary it presents learning activities that are fluid and can be applied to
any ages.

What are the learning aids found in the Cone of Experience?

The cone of experience provided the following learning and teaching iads:
a. Visual aids such as actual objects, flashcards pictures etc.
b. Audio aids such as utilizing cassette tapes, recordings etc
c. Audio-visual aids such as movies, motion pictures etc.
d. The cone of experience also include demonstrations, field trips and exhibits.

ABSTRACTION

The Cone of Experience is a visual model; a pictorial device that presents bands
of experience arranged according to degree of difficulty. The farther you go from the
bottom of the cone, the more abstract the experience becomes.

Dale (1969) asserts that:

the pattern of arrangement of the bands experience is not difficulty but

degree of abstraction – the amount of immediate sensory participation
that is involved. A still photograph of a tree is not more difficult to
understand than a dramatization of Hamlet. It is simply in itself a less
concrete teaching material than the dramatization (Dale, 1969).

Dale further explains that “the individual bands of the Cone of Experience stand
for experiences that are fluid, extensive, and continually interact.” (Dale, 1969) It
should not be taken literally in its simplified form. The different kinds of sensory aid
often overlap and sometimes blend into one another. Motion pictures can be silent or

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they can combine sight and sound. Students may merely view a demonstration or they
may view it then participate in it.

Does the Cone of Experience mean that all teaching and learning must move
systematically from base to pinnacle, from direct purposeful experiences to verbal
symbols? Dale (1969) categorically says:

…No. We continually shuttle back and forth among various kinds experiences.
Every day each of us acquires new concrete experiences—through walking on the street,
gardening, dramatics and endless other means. Such learning by doing, such pleasurable
return to the concrete is natural throughout our lives-and at every age level. On the
other hand, both the older child and the young pupil make abstractions every day and
may need help in doing this well.

In our teaching, then, we do not always begin with direct experience at the base
of the Cone. Rather, we begin with the kind of experience that is most appropriate to the
needs and abilities of particular learning situation. Then, of course, we vary this
experience with many other types of learning activities. (Dale, 1969)

One kind of sensory experience is not necessarily more educationally useful than
another. Sensory experiences are mixed and interrelated. When students listen to you
as you give your lecturette, they do not just have an auditory experience. They also have
visual experience in the sense that they are “reading” your facial expressions and bodily
gestures.

We face some risk when we overemphasize the amount of direct experience to

learn a concept. Too much reliance on concrete experience may actually obstruct the
process of meaningful generalization. The best will be striking a balance between
concrete and abstract, direct participation and symbolic expression for the learning that
will continue throughout life.

It is true that older a person is the more abstract his concepts are likely to be.
This can be attributed to physical maturation, more vivid experiences and sometimes
greater motivation for learning. But an older student does not live purely in his world of
abstract ideas just as a child does not live only in the world of sensory experience. Both
old and young shuttle in a world of the concrete and the abstract.

What are these bands of experience in dale’s Cone of Experience? It is best to

look back at the Cone itself. But let us expound on each of them starting with the most
direct.
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Direct purposeful experiences – These are first hand experiences which serve as
the foundation of our learning. We build up our reservoir of meaningful information and
ideas though seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling. In the context of the
teaching-learning process, it is learning by doing. If I want my student to learn how to
focus a compound light microscope, I will let him focus one, of course after I showed
him how.

Contrived experiences – In here, we make use of a representative models or

mock ups of reality for practical reasons and so that we can make the real-life accessible
to the students’ perceptions and understanding. For instance a mock-up of Apollo, the
capsule for the exploration of the moon, enabled the North American Aviation Co. to
study the problem of lunar flight.

Remember how you were taught to tell time? Your teacher may have used a
mock up, a clock, whose hands you could turn to set the time you were instructed to
set.

Dramatized experiences — By dramatization, we can participate in a

reconstructed experience, even though the original event is far removed from us in
time. We relive the outbreak of the Philippine revolution by acting out the role of
characters in a drama.

Demonstrations — It is a visualized explanation of an important fact, idea or

process by the use of photographs, drawings, films, displays, or guided motions. It is
showing how things are done. A teacher in Physical Education shows the class how to
dance tango.

Study trips — These are excursions and visits conducted to observe an event that
is unavailable within the classroom.

Exhibits — These are displays to be seen by spectators. They may consist of

working models arranged meaningfully or photographs with models, charts and posters.
Sometimes exhibits are “for your eyes only.” There are some exhibits, however, that
include sensory experiences where spectators are allowed to touch or manipulate
models displayed.

Television and motion pictures — Television and motion pictures can reconstruct
the reality of the past so effectively that we are made to feel we are there. The unique
value of the messages communicated by film and television lies in their feeling of

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realism, their emphasis on persons and personality, their organized presentation, and
their ability to select, dramatize, highlight, and clarify.

Still pictures, Recordings, Radio – These are visual and auditory devices which
may be used by an individual or a group. Still pictures lack the sound and motion of a
sound film. The radio broadcast of an actual event may often be likened to a televised
broadcast minus its visual dimension.

Visual symbols — These are no longer realistic reproduction of physical things for
these are highly abstract representations. Examples are charts, graphs, maps, and
diagrams.

Verbal symbols – They are not like the objects or ideas for which they stand.
They usually do not contain visual clues to their meaning. Written words fall under this
category. It may be a word for a concrete object (book), an idea (freedom of speech), a
scientific principle (the principle of balance), a formula (e=mc2)

What are the implications of the Cone of Experience in the teaching-learning

process?

1. We do not use only one medium of communication in isolation. Rather

we use many instructional materials to help the student conceptualize his
experience.

2. We avoid teaching directly at the symbolic level of thought without

adequate foundation of the concrete. Students’ concepts will lack deep
roots in direct experience. Dale cautions us when he said: “The rootless
experiences will not have the generative power to produce additional
concepts and will not enable the learner to deal with the new situations
that he faces.” (Dale, 1969)

3. When teaching, we don’t get stuck in the concrete. Let us strive to bring
our students to the symbolic or abstract level to develop their higher
order thinking skills.

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APPLICATION

A. Harvard psychologist, Jerome S. Bruner, presents a three-tiered model of

learning where he points out that every area of knowledge can be presented and
learned in three distinct steps. Study his model below:

Third THROUGH A SERIES OF SYMBOLIC

SYMBOLS

Second THROUGH A SERIES OF ILLUSTRATIONS ICONIC

First THROUGH A SEQUENCE OF ACTIONS ENACTIVE

SYMBOLIC
increasing abstraction

ICONIC hence…increasing
difficulty
(Source: Philip T. Torres. Learning
Excellence. (1994), Mandaluyong, ENACTIVE
MM: training Systems Associates. Ins.)

Figure 4. Bruner’s Three-Tired Model of Learning

It is highly recommended that a learner proceed from the ENACTIVE to

ICONIC and only after to the SYMBOLIC. The mind is often shocked into
immediate abstraction at the highest level without the benefit of a gradual
unfolding.
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Question: Are the implications of the Cone of Experience in the teaching-learning

process the same things that are recommended by Bruner’s three-tiered model of
learning?
Bruner’s three-fold analysis suggest that learning is more impressive if one proceeds from the concrete to
abstract, or from specific to general because more senses are involved and the relationships are built in a more
pronounced manner. This is also reflected in Dale’s cone of experience. Both believes in the idea that if we, as
educators want out students to remember and master what was taught, we make use of a combination of as many
learning resources as we can and to proceed to the abstract only after we have presented the concrete.

Which learning aids in Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience corresponds to each tier
or level in Bruner’s model? Write your answers
on the space provided.

 SYMBOLIC
Verbal and visual symbols

 ICONIC
Exhibits, Television
Motion Pictures
Recordings, Radio
Still Pictures

 ENACTIVE
Direct and Purposeful Experiences,
Contrived Experiences
Dramatized Experiences
Demonstrations
Field Trips

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B. Discuss with a classmate (whether you do it through mediated communication

or personally) your ideas given the following situations.

A Math professor Asked a Math student specializing in Math why

(a + b) =a2+2ab+b2

She proceeded with: (a+b) (a+b)

Is this a concrete explanation of the equation? If not, what is a concrete

representation of the equation?
No. The Math student used visual symbols in explaining the equation. But since this is algebra
(higher mathematics), I think that it is appropriate to explain the equation using Visual Symbols. It is a
given fact that before studying Algebra, students had undergone basic Mathematics.
PS: I cannot concretely represent the equation because in the first place I cannot understand it. I
think I need to go back to my Algebra lessons in high school, for this Sir.

If you teach a lesson on the meaning of 1/2, 1/3, and ¼, how will you proceed if
you follow the pattern in Dale’s Cone of Experience beginning with the concrete
moving toward the abstract?
Teaching fraction following Dale’s Cone of Experience
a. Direct Purposeful Experiences and Contrived Experiences:
I can bring a pie in the classroom and divide it into parts (e.g. 2, 4 or 8) or I can use an illustration of a
pie to explain fractions.
b. Television and Motion Pictures
I can show them an episode of MATHinik where fractions are discussed
c. Visual and Verbal Symbols
In here I can now give them problems (e.g. ½ + ½ = ?).

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Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience is a visual representation of learning

resources arranged according to degree of abstractness. The farther you away
from the base of the cone, the more abstract the learning resource becomes.
Arranged from the least to the most abstract the learning resources presented in
the Cone of Experience are:

o direct purposeful experiences

o contrived experiences
o dramatized experiences
o demonstrations
o study trips
o exhibits
o educational television
o motion pictures
o recordings, radio, still pictures
o visual symbols
o verbal symbols

The lines that separate the learning experience should not be taken to
mean that the learning experiences are strictly delineated. The Cone of
Experience should not be taken literally. Come to think of it. Even from the base
of the Cone, which is direct purposeful experiences, we already use words-verbal
symbols-which are the most abstract. In fact, we use words which are verbal
symbols, the pinnacle of the cone, across the cone from top to bottom. Or many
times our verbal symbols are accompanied by visual symbols, still pictures.

Three pitfalls that we, teachers, should avoid with regard to the use of
the Cone of Experience are:

o using one medium in isolation

o moving to the abstract without an adequate foundation of concrete
experience.
o getting stuck in the concrete without moving to the abstract hampering
the development of our students’ higher thinking skills

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MAKING THE CONNECTION

1. After a lesson on the Cone of Experience, can you now explain why our
teachers in Literature discourage us from reading only comics or
illustrated comic version of novels which can be read in pocketbooks?

Actually I am teaching Literature in college. One requirement that I would usually

emphasize to my students is to READ. This would mean grabbing a copy of a story, novel or any
literary work to fully grasp the content and to not rely on the internet for a summary of the text.
In reading, one can experience what the characters are experiencing. They can be transported to
other dimensions, feel the atmosphere of the setting or taste what was being described. Thus,
understanding or feeling what the author wanted to impart to the readers.
However, based on my experience, students tend not to read long passages, stories or
novels. So I make possible ways to reach out to them by presenting other forms of that literary text
through a movie or graphical representations. This is in hope of whetting their appetite, arousing
their senses to read the original text.

2. How does the dictum in philosophy “there is nothing in the mind that was
not first in the senses” relate to what you learned from the Cone of
Experience?
Learning starts from the awakening of our senses. We learned that an ice is cold or a coal is hot
when we touched these objects. This is also reflected in Dale’s Cone of Experience. The more
concrete the experience is, the more it can be sensed and perceived by the learner, the more
meaningful it becomes.

3. Alfred North Whitehead said: “In the Garden of Eden, Adam saw the
animals before they see them. In the traditional system, children name
the animals before they see them.” How would you relate this remark to
the Cone of Experience?
This would mean that traditionally we are taught WHAT to learn instead of HOW to learn. This
would sometimes result to confusion or over generalization. (I remember my nephew calling all
the animals with four legs as a “dog”.)

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Using the Cone of Experience can be a way of changing the traditional system. One should start
with what is concrete (perceived and seen) rather than presenting them immediately with abstract
experiences.

4. When Dale formulated the Cone of experience, computers were not yet a
part of educational or home settings so they are not part of the original
Cone. The computer technology actively engages the learner, who uses
seeing hearing and physical activity at the keyboard as well as range of
mental skills. Where will the computer be on the Cone?
I think the computer technology encompasses all the parts of the cone except for the Direct
Purposeful Experiences.

PS
Write your own Personal Postscript on what you have learned covered by this Module.

Reviewing my answers, I had noticed a lot of contradictions. This is probably because I agree with some of the concepts of the
Cone of Experience but I also disagree with some of it.

But one thing is for sure, the Cone of Experience had provided me with a wide range of possible activities that I can utilize as I
continue to progress in this journey called teaching.

Moreover, I had learned the importance of balancing the abstract and concrete experiences I am giving to my students.

The cone of experience had also emphasized the importance of introducing concrete experiences before diving into abstract
ones. More importantly, as cultivators of learning, we must not allow our students to be stuck in concrete level only or to
overemphasize the amount of direct experiences. Reaching the pinnacle of the cone, where the experiences are abstract is also
a must to trigger higher order thinking skills.

End of Tasks

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