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Different types of educational experiences exist - from hands-
on apprenticeships to role-playing, from demonstrations to
reading printed text. Some educators believe that different
experiences are more or less effective for achieving differ-
ent types of instructional outcomes. For example, text with
pictures is not as effective as live demonstrations for teaching
motor skills. Instructors who are considering the use of media
should ask themselves, “How do I expect the media or type of
learning activity to make learning more effective?”
• Types of Instructional Media
• Why Use Media in Instruction?
• Media Used to Enhance Presentations
• General Presentation Guidelines
• Instructional Strategies Involving Media
• Resources on the Use of Media
Types of Instructional Media
• Real objects and models
• Printed text (books, handouts, worksheets)
• Printed visuals (pictures, photos, drawings, charts,
graphs)
• Display boards (chalk, bulletin, multipurpose)
• Interactive whiteboards
• Overhead transparencies
• Slides and filmstrips
• Audio (tape, disc, voice)
• Video and film (tape, disc)
• Television (live)
• Computer software
• The Web
Chapter 9 - Instructional Media: Chalkboards to Video
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Instruction at FSU Handbook 2010
The diagram shows how Edgar Dale’s “Cone of Experience”
(1969) - organized learning experiences according to the de-
gree of concreteness each possesses. At the bottom is hands-
on experience. As you ascend the cone, concrete experience
begins to drop out, with stimuli becoming more abstract; the
stimuli require more skill on the part of the learners to inter-
pret the messages they carry. You can see why lectures, even
illustrated lectures, are considered to be some of the most
abstract types of presentations. For certain types of learning
(such as changing attitudes or teaching motor skills), experi-
ences at the bottom of the cone are more appropriate than
those at the top.
Learning experiences at the bottom of the cone tend to