Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in ... - ADEA

Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in Africa: an overview
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3. Understanding Media
and Technologies ...............................
In order to make choices about the educational use of technologies, it is
worth differentiating between media and technologies, two concepts that
are often used interchangeably. Such use masks important conceptual
differences in the way the terms are used throughout this document.
Tony Bates developed a useful grid to highlight the differences, and
relationships, between media and technologies (Bates, 1984, p248). This
table was amended by the TELI Research Team, and has been further
amended for inclusion below. It is by no means a comprehensive map
of the full range of media and technologies, but helps to illustrate the
relationship between the two.
This grid is complicated by rapid convergence in both form and functionality
of many information, communication, and broadcasting technologies,
as has been discussed above. This convergence, however, reinforces
the importance of distinguishing between technology and medium,
particularly when trying to understand potential educational roles for
different technologies. Communication technologies are the means of
delivering media messages. Using a simplistic analogy, the technology
might be considered to be the type of pipe used, while the medium (or
media) is the form of the substance (or combination of substances)
flowing down the pipe. Thus, a key criterion in assessing the potential
educational value of a particular technology is to understand which
medium – or combination of media – can travel down the ‘pipe’ under
evaluation and in which directions it can travel. This understanding can
then be related back to predetermined educational goals and objectives
in order to determine whether or not a specific technology can be used
to support or enhance an identified teaching and learning environment.
Naturally, this process will need to take into account financial constraints
and cost-effectiveness.
3.1 .....Using Technologies to Support Education
All education and training involves processes of communication between
an educational provider and learners, and it is essential to develop
an understanding of the modes of communication most appropriate
to a particular teaching and learning process. Those deciding to use
3. Understanding Media and Technologies