Unit One - Digital Media
Objectives
At the conclusion of this unit, you will be able to state:
- what digital media is.
- what the advantages are.
- how it fits in.
Instruction
What is digital media?
We experience media all the time; movies, music, photos, words, etc. Digital media is much the same. So how is digital media different? Well it's all in the way it is created, stored and transported. Conventional media is usually created in a factory, stored in boxes and transported to your local store by a truck. Digital media is easily created by anyone, stored on a digital device, able to be transported to other digital devices and all the while staying 1s and 0s. (See figure 1) True digital media never takes on a physical form.
What are the advantages?
Digital media has many purposes and advantages. Today we are most interested in one of these, flexibility. Figure 2 shows separate devices displaying and using the same content over a wireless network. It would also be possible for students to create original material and share it with others or for teacher evaluation later. Digital media gives us the flexibility to:
- acquire any content immediately
- carry and use content wherever needed
- use many different types of media on one device
- create original material without expensive equipment
How does it fit in with teaching?
Digital media fits in very well with teaching phonological awareness and phonics. The various media types reinforce each other to convey a strong and clear message to the learner. Many of the different learning styles can be expressed through various media. Digital media offers a visual learner something to see, a verbal learner communication, a kinesthetic learner interaction, musical learners song, etc. Just as we enjoy digital media in our personal lives, so can learners enjoy it in their work. In our example we see the letter A. There are many ways we can use digital media to help students understand a new concept. In figure 3, we see a large letter A which can display various rotating typefaces if so desired. Around it you see the various options that could be available. You can see some standard buttons, listening, seeing and song. Some other not so common buttons like tapping the alligator could make it come alive and/or say the word, speaking button could allow students to record their voices, and touching to let the student draw the letter. Depending on the needs of a student or the needs of your instruction, you can get the right tool for the right job.
Check Your Understanding
Fill in the blanks to check your understanding of the material in this unit.
1) Digital media can be movies, _______, _______ and _______. It is made up of ___ and ___.
2) Digital media has the advantage of being ________. Content can be received _________. You can _____ the content anywhere.
3) Digital media fits in nicely with learning __________ __________ and __________. Different _________ styles can be expressed through various media. Some examples of students interacting with a device would be listening, ________, ________ and ________.
Unit One - Digital Media Answers
Evaluation
Do you feel your objectives were not met? Was there material that was unclear or confusing? Please leave a comment in the discussion area so that I can improve the lesson. Thanks.
Continue on to Unit Two - Hardware
Return to Digital mobile devices as a teaching tool for phonological awareness.