Preparation, implementation and evaluation of audiovisual media use
The use of audiovisual media in the classroom can be planned or spontaneous. With some audiovisual media, planning and organization is absolutely necessary, for example when a suitably equipped room has to be visited, while with other media, almost no preparation is necessary.
If preparation is necessary, four phases come into play: orientation about the media on offer and pre-selection, examination of the selected media, preparation of individual teaching units.
Orientation about the range of media should take place in good time, as the use of media may have to be coordinated with other teachers. Various factors come into play in the pre-selection, which the teacher must consider and clarify with regard to their planned use of media. The examination of the selected media includes a sighting and assessment of the materials. This can be done using a catalog of criteria. If the assessment of the materials leads to a positive result, the teacher concentrates on the preparation of individual lessons.
In teaching, audiovisual media can take on different functions, be used in different phases or occupy a central or more peripheral position. If media play a central role, it is important to integrate them as well as possible in the teaching context. Irrespective of which function the audiovisual media take on in the lesson, preparatory and follow-up lesson phases should be planned before and after the use of the media. The forms of action and social activities should be different from those used in the media.
Ideally, the use of media in the classroom should be followed by an evaluation, i.e., a retrospective, evaluating analysis of the use of media. The analysis can help to avoid mistakes in future lessons and use the media more effectively. An expert summarizes some key points of analysis in the form of questions. The questions deal with the relationship between media and teaching goals, content, methods, teachers, students, school and teaching organizational conditions.
They can be sorted according to their relevance for the individual analysis of the lesson. Researchers make it clear that a comprehensive analysis that deals with all questions is not always necessary or possible in time.
Effect of audiovisual media in the teaching-learning process
It is characteristic of all audiovisual media devices that they convey information simultaneously through language and visual impressions. In this way, information can be better received, because the fear that image and sound will block each other rather than complement each other, which can lead to a reduction in processing power is not confirmed. However, the effectiveness of audiovisual media is somewhat controversial, since their effect on learning processes has not been clearly clarified.
Nevertheless, the use of audiovisual media in the can have a positive emotional effect, since the teacher is relieved for the period of use. The students’ attention is drawn to the medium and no longer exclusively to the teacher. Any tension in the teacher-student relationship fades into the background.
Problem areas of the audiovisual media
Deficits in audiovisual media can lie in didactic, methodological, formal, content-related or organizational areas. The problems in terms of content can be that the majority of audiovisual software (films, CDs) is now produced commercially. The teacher indirectly represents the interests of the industry and may have to accept statements that are irrelevant in terms of content in favor of the material as a whole.
In the organizational area, it would be problematic to mention that the use of audiovisual media is often associated with a great deal of time and organizational effort. However, this effort can hardly be afforded within the traditional limits of the timetable.
The deficits in the didactic field lie in the fact that the teaching staff has not yet been given sufficient media didactic and pedagogical skills. Furthermore, there is a theoretical deficit that concretely deals with the teaching practice in the subjects, school types and school levels.
The problems in the methodological area are similar to those in the didactic area. Here, too, there is a lack of usable theories on the use of audiovisual media. There is not enough material for certain tasks and situations in the classroom – repetition, practice, success control, which limits the use of audiovisual media to the functions of presentation and motivation. In the last few decades, the variety of media in daily life has increased enormously and necessitates new approaches to dealing with media.
The classic audiovisual media
All classic audiovisual media only work via one-way communication. This means that the student falls into a passive-receptive role that is very similar to the student’s role in frontal teaching. It is hardly possible to help shape the course of the lesson, since the teacher has control over the media and the use of media. There is a risk that topics relevant to students will not become part of the lesson content despite the use of media. It is better to use project management software for smooth operations.
Another problem with the use of classic audiovisual media is that many of the devices are simply outdated. This influences the choice of content of the materials to be used, since current topics are no longer commercially produced for certain devices, e.g., records, 8mm and 16mm films.
The new media/multimedia
The use of new media is also not unproblematic. On the one hand, high acquisition costs for the hardware cannot be ruled out. In most cases, specially equipped rooms have to be used, which makes it difficult to integrate the media into the lesson and involves a great deal of organizational effort for the teacher. Dealing with the new media sometimes requires a high degree of mechanization. Pupils and teachers must acquire technical knowledge and constantly ‘educate themselves’.
The lack of theory coverage is particularly noticeable when dealing with multimedia; AV Management CRM solution for installation is the best way to get things done rapidly. The factors that were already difficult to survey when using conventional audiovisual media in the institutes have multiplied with the new media. Since it is no longer a one-way communication situation, completely new teaching concepts have to be developed using workflow management software. This has an impact on the content and goals, but also on the methodology in the classroom.
Foresight
The importance of the media has changed fundamentally in recent decades. From researchers in the information society, media have risen to become infotainment moguls. Many media software, including workflow management for Audio-Video System Integrators, are integrated into everyday life in such a way that it is impossible to imagine everyday life without them.
Their importance and their ubiquitous presence require a conscious approach to the media. In everyday life, dealing with the media is characterized by a “superficial, casual perception”.
