MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
UNIT TITLE: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
UNIT CODE: BET4108
NAME: GATHERU SIMON KAMAU
REG.NO: BECD/2019/46721
CAT 1 and 2
1. Using Edgar Cone of Experiences, Elucidate the importance of Educational media. Use
relevant examples in your area of specialization for emphasis. (20mks)
The Cone was originally developed in 1946 and was intended as a way to describe various
learning experiences. Essentially, the Cone shows the progression of experiences from the most
concrete at the bottom of the cone to the most abstract at the top of the cone.
Edgar’s Cone of Experience is a visual model that is composed of eleven stages starting from
concrete experiences at the bottom of the cone then it becomes more and more abstract as it
reach the peak of the cone.
Also, according to Dale, the arrangement in the cone is not based on its difficulty but rather
based on abstraction and on the number of senses involved. The experiences in each stages can
be mixed and are interrelated that fosters more meaningful learning.
The numerical figures on the left side of the image, what people will generally remember
indicate that practical, hands-on experience in a real-life context will allow students to remember
best what they do.
This is in part because those experiences near the bottom of the Cone, closer to and including
real-world experiences, make use of more of our senses; it is believed that the more senses that
are used, the greater our ability to learn from and remember an event or experience.

Direct Purposeful Experiences. These are first hand experiences which serve as the foundation of
learning. In this level, more senses are used in order to build up the knowledge. Also, in this
level, the learner learned by doing things by him/herself. Learning happens through actual hands-
on experiences. This level explains and proves one of the principles in the selection and use of
teaching strategies, the more senses that are involved in learning, the more and the better the
learning will be. This level also proves that educational technology is not limited to the modern
gadgets and software that are commercially available nowadays. This shows that even the simple
opportunity that you give to each child could help them learn.

Contrived Experiences. In this level, representative models and mock-ups of reality are being
used in order to provide an experience that as close as reality. This level is very practical and it
makes learning experience more accessible to the learner. In this stage, it provides more concrete
experiences, even if not as concrete as direct experiences, that allows visualization that fosters
better understanding of the concept.

Dramatized experiences. In this level, learners can participate in a reconstructed experiences that
could give them better understanding of the event or of a concept. Through dramatized
experiences, learners become more familiar with the concept as they emerge themselves to the
“as-if” situation
Demonstrations. It is a visualize explanation of important fact, idea, or process through the use of
pictures, drawings, film and other types of media in order to facilitate clear and effective
learning. In this level, things are shown based on how they are done.

Study Trips. This level extends the learning experience through excursions and visits on the
different places that are not available inside the classroom. Through this level, the learning
experience will not be limited to the classroom setting but rather extended in a more complex
environment.
Exhibits. It is a somewhat a combination of some of the first levels in the cone. Actually, exhibits
are combination of several mock ups and models. Most of the time, exhibits are experiences that
is “for your eyes” only but some exhibits includes sensory experiences which could be related to
direct purposeful experiences. In this level, meanings ideas are presented to the learners in a
more abstract manner. This experience allows student to see the meaning and relevance of things
based on the different pictures and representations presented.
Television and motion pictures and still pictures, recordings, and Radio. these two stages can be
combined since it is related to one another. Because of the rapid development of the modern
technology, a lot of people believe that Educational technology is limited to these stages. They
are not aware that these sages are only a small portion of Educational Technology. For television
and motion pictures, it implies values and messages through television and films. On the other
hand, still pictures, recordings and radio are visual and auditor4y devices that can be used by a
learner/group of learner that could enhance and extend learning experience.

Visual symbolic and Verbal symbolic. These two levels are the most complex and abstract
among all the components of the Cone of Experience. In the visual symbolic level, charts, maps,
graphs, and diagrams are used for abstract representations. On the other hand, the verbal
symbolic level does not involve visual representation or clues to their meanings. Mostly, the
things involved in this level are words, ideas, principles, formula, and the likes.

In facilitating learning, we can use variety of materials and medium in order to maximize the
learning experience. One medium is not enough thus if we can take take advantage of the other
media. There’s nothing wrong with trying to combine several medium for as long as it could
benefit the learners. Also, through the levels provided by the Cone of Experience, it could be
said that concrete experiences must be provided first in order to support abstract learning.
Through understanding each component of the Cone of Experience, it could be said that
Educational Technology is not limited to the modern gadgets that we have right now but rather it
is a broad concept that includes all the media that we can use to attain balance as we facilitate
effective and meaningful learning.

2. Describe the reasons behind multichannel learning. Give relevant examples for
emphasis (10mks)
Multi-channel learning is a deliberate use of multi-sensory channels to teach concepts and enable
practice and application.
The channels should provide a seamless interaction and reinforce each other to optimize
learning.
The critical success factor in a multichannel learning program is purposefulness or the ‘why’
behind the learning opportunity.

Learning solutions are more successful if the learner knows why they are learning and what the
application of learning will achieve for them and the organization.
A multi-channel learning approach is a term many schools use to describe teaching methods that
involve engaging more than one sense at a time. Involving the use of visual, auditory and
kinesthetic-tactile pathways, a multisensory approach can enhance memory and ability to learn.

The following are some of the reasons as to why multi-channel learning program is important to
use in teaching and learning.

Students learn differently and require different stimuli

As you likely have noticed, not all students process information in the same way. Most students
have a learning type- a way of receiving information that is optimal to their given personality and
cognition.

Some students are strong auditory listeners and can understand concepts by listening to an
explanation, while some others may need to draw out concepts with a pencil and paper. Some
students are excellent at tracking information with their eyes and prefer to watch a play, while
some other students learn best by physically acting out a play. Speaking to students and going
through examples with them as they follow along may be effective for some, but others may find
themselves lost.

Even the students who do respond well to the watch-and-listen technique may not be processing
information as well as they could be. Multisensory teaching techniques express information that
can be received by multiple senses. This way, each student, regardless of learning type, is
provided with a means of understanding information.

Faster Cognitive Development

Multisensory learning environments also enhance brain function. Each sensory system has
targets in the brain that stimulate cognitive function:

Somatic/tactile learning promotes fine motor skills

Vestibular/kinesthetic learning promotes body memory

Olfaction & gustatory systems provide strong sensations that remain strongly connected to the
information they are associated with

It is not surprising that when students hear information, and it is connected to another sense, they
can conceptualize and later apply that information better than students who just watch and listen.
Multisensory teaching techniques stimulate the brain in a variety of ways so that each sensory
system becomes more developed and higher functioning. This improves essential functions of
the brain such as listening skills, movement, vision, tactile recognition, and conceptualization

Students will be more involved in learning

It’s easy for a student to zone out. The school day is nearly 7 hours long and it is difficult for
students to pay attention to hours of information when it comes to them the same way class after
class and day after day.

Students are attentive when multisensory teaching techniques are practiced because of how much
the brain is being stimulated at once. If a student is doing something tactically or physically
while listening to instructions and seeing information then there is not much of an opportunity
for the student’s attention to stray.

Teaching in a way that causes many of the senses to work together not only allows students to
make stronger connections to the information, it demands more focus but in a more enjoyable
way for students.

Cognitive development happens faster.

Multisensory learning environments enhance brain function. Each sensory system has targets in
the brain that stimulate cognitive function:

Somatic/tactile learning promotes fine motor skills

Vestibular/kinesthetic learning promotes body memory

Olfaction/gustatory systems provide strong sensations that remain strongly connected to the
information they’re associated with

Because of this, when students hear information that’s connected to another sense, they can
conceptualize and later apply that information better than students who just watch and listen.

Multisensory teaching techniques stimulate the brain in a variety of ways so that each sensory
system becomes more developed and higher functioning. This improves essential functions of
the brain such as listening skills, movement, vision, tactile recognition and conceptualization.
The students are able to experience a lesson through multiple pathways that can best stimulate
their brains and engage them more deeply in the subject matter.

Media can be used in direct instruction, active learning teaching strategies and student projects.
Existing media resources can be used within lectures to stimulate interest in and develop
knowledge of the material being taught. This traditional approach is teacher-centric, and
information is pushed to the learner.

References

Tucker, C. R. (2012). Blended learning in grades 4-12: Leveraging the power of technology to
create student-centered classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Dale, Edgar. Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching, 3rd ed., Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New
York, 1969, p. 108