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Audiovisual education or multimedia-based education (MBE) is an instruction method where particular attention is paid to the audiovisual or multimedia presentation of the material to improve comprehension and retention.
The concept of audiovisual aids can be traced back to the seventeenth century, when John Amos Comenius, a Bohemian educator, used illustrations of everyday objects as teaching aids in his book, Orbis Sensualium Pictus. [1] Other early advocates of using visual materials in teaching included Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke and J.H Pestalozzi. [2] [3]
Audiovisual aids were also widely used by the armed forces during World War II. The United States Air Force created over 400 training films and 600 film strips to be shown to military personnel. [4] [5]
Various types of audiovisual materials range from film strips, microforms, slides, projected opaque materials, tape recordings, and flashcards. In the current digital world, audiovisual aids have grown exponentially with multimedia such as educational DVDs, PowerPoint, television educational series, YouTube, and other online materials. The goal of audio-visual aids is to enhance the teacher's ability to present the lesson in a simple, effective, and easy to understand for the students. Audiovisual materials make learning more permanent since students use more than one sense. It is important to create awareness for the state and federal ministry of education as policymakers in secondary schools of the need to teach audiovisual resources as the main teaching pedagogy in curricula. The outcome is promoting audiovisual material in secondary schools because they lack the resources to produce them. Visual instruction makes abstract ideas more concrete for the learners. This is to provide a basis for schools to understand the important roles in encouraging and supporting the use of audiovisual resources. In addition, studies have shown a significant difference between the use and non-use of audiovisual material in teaching and learning. [6]
We use digital tools to improve the teaching-learning process in the modern world. The most common tool we use in the classroom these days is PowerPoint slides, which make the class more interesting, dynamic, and effective. Moreover, they also help introduce new topics easily. The use of audiovisual aids makes the students remember the concept for a more extended period. They convey the same meaning as words but give clear concepts, thus helping to bring effectiveness to learning.
Integrating technology into the classroom helps students to experience things virtually or vicariously. For example, if the teacher wants to give a lesson on the Taj Mahal, only some of the students in India may have visited the place, but you can show it through a video, allowing the students to see the monument with their own eyes. Although first-hand experience is the best way of educative experience, such an experience can only sometimes be done practical, so we need to have substitution.
Using audio-visual aids helps maintain discipline in the class since all the student's attention is focused on learning. This interactive session also develops critical thinking and reasoning which are important components of the teaching-learning process. [7]
Audiovisual provides opportunities for effective communication between teachers and students in learning. For example, in a study on English as Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms, the difficulties faced by EFL learners are lack of motivation, lack of exposure to the target language, and lack of pronunciation by the teacher, and such challenges can be overcome by Audio as the purpose of communication and Visual as more exposure. [8]
Students learn when they are motivated and curious about something. Traditional verbal instructions can be boring and painful for students. However, using audio-visual motivates students by piquing their curiosity and stimulating their interest in the subjects. [9]
One should have an idea that too much audio-visual material used at one time can result in boredom. It is applicable only if it is implemented effectively. Considering that each teaching/learning situation varies, it is essential to know that not all concepts can be learned effectively through audiovisuals. Most of the time, equipment like projectors, speakers, and headphones are costly; hence, some schools need more money to afford them. It takes a lot of time for teachers to prepare lessons to have interactive classroom sessions. Also, the teacher's valuable time in gaining familiarity with new equipment may need to be recovered. Some students may feel reluctant to ask questions while the film is playing, which can be a physical barrier in small rooms. In places where electricity is not available, i.e., in rural areas, it is not feasible to use audio-visual aids that require electricity.
Audiovisual aids are essential tools for teaching the learning process. It helps the teacher to present the lesson effectively, and students learn and retain the concepts better for a longer duration. The use of audio-visual aids improves student's critical and analytical thinking. It helps to remove abstract concepts through visual presentation. However, improper and unplanned use of these aids can negatively affect the learning outcome. Therefore, teachers should be well trained through in-service training to maximize the benefits of using these aids. The curriculum should be designed with options for activity-based learning through audio-visual aids. In addition, the government should fund resources to purchase audio-visual aids in schools.
A teaching method is a set of principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly by the subject matter to be taught, partly by the relative expertise of the learners, and partly by constraints caused by the learning environment. For a particular teaching method to be appropriate and efficient it has to take into account the learner, the nature of the subject matter, and the type of learning it is supposed to bring about.
Computer-assisted language learning (CALL), known as computer-aided instruction (CAI) in British English and computer-aided language instruction (CALI) in American English, Levy briefly defines it as "the exploration and study of computer applications in language teaching and learning." CALL embraces a wide range of information and communications technology "applications and approaches to teaching and learning foreign languages, ranging from the traditional drill-and-practice programs that characterized CALL in the 1960s and 1970s to more recent manifestations of CALL, such as those utilized virtual learning environment and Web-based distance learning. It also extends to the use of corpora and concordancers, interactive whiteboards, computer-mediated communication (CMC), language learning in virtual worlds, and mobile-assisted language learning (MALL).
Instructional scaffolding is the support given to a student by an instructor throughout the learning process. This support is specifically tailored to each student; this instructional approach allows students to experience student-centered learning, which tends to facilitate more efficient learning than teacher-centered learning. This learning process promotes a deeper level of learning than many other common teaching strategies.
English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), English as a second language (ESL), English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), English as an additional language (EAL), or English as a new language (ENL), these terms denote the study of English in environments where it is not the dominant language. Programs such as ESL are designed as academic courses to instruct non-native speakers in English proficiency, encompassing both learning in English-speaking nations and abroad.
Active learning is "a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement." Bonwell & Eison (1991) states that "students participate [in active learning] when they are doing something besides passively listening." According to Hanson and Moser (2003) using active teaching techniques in the classroom can create better academic outcomes for students. Scheyvens, Griffin, Jocoy, Liu, & Bradford (2008) further noted that "by utilizing learning strategies that can include small-group work, role-play and simulations, data collection and analysis, active learning is purported to increase student interest and motivation and to build students ‘critical thinking, problem-solving and social skills". In a report from the Association for the Study of Higher Education, authors discuss a variety of methodologies for promoting active learning. They cite literature that indicates students must do more than just listen in order to learn. They must read, write, discuss, and be engaged in solving problems. This process relates to the three learning domains referred to as knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA). This taxonomy of learning behaviors can be thought of as "the goals of the learning process." In particular, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
An interactive whiteboard (IWB), also known as interactive board, interactive display, interactive digital board or smart board, is a large interactive display board in the form factor of a whiteboard. It can either be a standalone touchscreen computer used independently to perform tasks and operations, or a connectable apparatus used as a touchpad to control computers from a projector. They are used in a variety of settings, including classrooms at all levels of education, in corporate board rooms and work groups, in training rooms for professional sports coaching, in broadcasting studios, and others.
Educational technology is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech", it often refers to the industry of companies that create educational technology. In EdTech Inc.: Selling, Automating and Globalizing Higher Education in the Digital Age, Tanner Mirrlees and Shahid Alvi (2019) argue "EdTech is no exception to industry ownership and market rules" and "define the EdTech industries as all the privately owned companies currently involved in the financing, production and distribution of commercial hardware, software, cultural goods, services and platforms for the educational market with the goal of turning a profit. Many of these companies are US-based and rapidly expanding into educational markets across North America, and increasingly growing all over the world."
Sheltered instruction is an educational approach designed to make academic content more accessible to English language learners (ELLs) while promoting their language development. It involves modifying instruction to accommodate students' language proficiency levels and providing additional support to help comprehend and engage with material effectively.
Technology integration is defined as the use of technology to enhance and support the educational environment. Technology integration in the classroom can also support classroom instruction by creating opportunities for students to complete assignments on the computer rather than with normal pencil and paper. In a larger sense, technology integration can also refer to the use of an integration platform and application programming interface (API) in the management of a school, to integrate disparate SaaS applications, databases, and programs used by an educational institution so that their data can be shared in real-time across all systems on campus, thus supporting students' education by improving data quality and access for faculty and staff.
"Curriculum integration with the use of technology involves the infusion of technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a content area or multidisciplinary setting... Effective technology integration is achieved when students can select technology tools to help them obtain information on time, analyze and synthesize it, and present it professionally to an authentic audience. Technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions—as accessible as all other classroom tools. The focus in each lesson or unit is the curriculum outcome, not the technology."
A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the needs of the students. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan. A lesson plan is the teacher's guide for running a particular lesson, and it includes the goal, how the goal will be reached and a way of measuring how well the goal was reached.
The audio-lingual method or Army Method is a method used in teaching foreign languages. It is based on behaviorist theory, which postulates that certain traits of living things, and in this case humans, could be trained through a system of reinforcement. The correct use of a trait would receive positive feedback while incorrect use of that trait would receive negative feedback.
Podcasting refers to the creation and regular distribution of podcasts through the Internet. Podcasts, which can include audio, video, PDF, and ePub files, are subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device. Subscribers are then able to view, listen to, and transfer the episodes to a variety of media players, or podcatchers. Though similar to radio, there is no larger regulatory group or oversight with podcasts. Instead, podcasts simply consist of the creators and their listeners. As the technology gained popularity in the early 2000s, the uses of podcasting grew from simply the delivery of content to also creative and responsive purposes.
English-language learner is a term used in some English-speaking countries such as the United States and Canada to describe a person who is learning the English language and has a native language that is not English. Some educational advocates, especially in the United States, classify these students as non-native English speakers or emergent bilinguals. Various other terms are also used to refer to students who are not proficient in English, such as English as a second language (ESL), English as an additional language (EAL), limited English proficient (LEP), culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), non-native English speaker, bilingual students, heritage language, emergent bilingual, and language-minority students. The legal term that is used in federal legislation is 'limited English proficient'.
Language teaching, like other educational activities, may employ specialized vocabulary and word use. This list is a glossary for English language learning and teaching using the communicative approach.
The direct method of teaching, which is sometimes called the natural method, and is often used in teaching foreign languages, refrains from using the learners' native language and uses only the target language. It was established in England around 1900 and contrasts with the grammar–translation method and other traditional approaches, as well as with C.J. Dodson's bilingual method. It was adopted by key international language schools such as Berlitz, Alliance Française and Inlingua in the 1970s and many of the language departments of the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. State Department in 2012.
E-learning theory describes the cognitive science principles of effective multimedia learning using electronic educational technology.
Augmented learning is an on-demand learning technique where the environment adapts to the learner. By providing remediation on-demand, learners can gain greater understanding of a topic while stimulating discovery and learning. Technologies incorporating rich media and interaction have demonstrated the educational potential that scholars, teachers and students are embracing. Instead of focusing on memorization, the learner experiences an adaptive learning experience based upon the current context. The augmented content can be dynamically tailored to the learner's natural environment by displaying text, images, video or even playing audio. This additional information is commonly shown in a pop-up window for computer-based environments.
In education, realia are objects from real life used in classroom instruction by educators to improve students' learning. A teacher of a foreign language often employs realia to strengthen students' associations between words for common objects and the objects themselves. In many cases, these objects are part of an instructional kit that includes a manual and is thus considered as being part of a documentary whole by librarians.
Thematic teaching is the selecting and highlighting of a theme through an instructional unit or module, course, or multiple courses. It is often interdisciplinary, highlighting the relationship of knowledge across academic disciplines and everyday life. Themes can be topics or take the form of overarching questions. Thematic learning is closely related to interdisciplinary or integrated instruction, topic-, project- or phenomenon-based learning. Thematic teaching is commonly associated with elementary classrooms and middle schools using a team-based approach, but this pedagogy is equally relevant in secondary schools and with adult learners. A common application is that of second or foreign language teaching, where the approach is more commonly known as theme-based instruction. Thematic instruction assumes students learn best when they can associate new information holistically with across the entire curriculum and with their own lives, experiences, and communities.
Differentiated instruction and assessment, also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation, is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing all students within their diverse classroom community of learners a range of different avenues for understanding new information in terms of: acquiring content; processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in their ability. Differentiated instruction means using different tools, content, and due process in order to successfully reach all individuals. Differentiated instruction, according to Carol Ann Tomlinson, is the process of "ensuring that what a student learns, how he or she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he or she has learned is a match for that student's readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning." According to Boelens et al. (2018), differentiation can be on two different levels: the administration level and the classroom level. The administration level takes the socioeconomic status and gender of students into consideration. At the classroom level, differentiation revolves around content, processing, product, and effects. On the content level, teachers adapt what they are teaching to meet the needs of students. This can mean making content more challenging or simplified for students based on their levels. The process of learning can be differentiated as well. Teachers may choose to teach individually at a time, assign problems to small groups, partners or the whole group depending on the needs of the students. By differentiating product, teachers decide how students will present what they have learned. This may take the form of videos, graphic organizers, photo presentations, writing, and oral presentations. All these take place in a safe classroom environment where students feel respected and valued—effects.
