How can you select the right media to enhance learning?

Media relevance and Content Alignment is critical in this sense. That means choosing media that directly supports the learning objectives and content. Also ensuring that the media helps clarify or reinforce key concepts.

The media use will determine the effectiveness of achieving your learning objectives. Videos or simulation remains a better bet for us since we are more interested in applying concepts. Followed by use of games when we focus on products creation.

This is true, though in addition to the learning outcomes, it is crucial to consider the media the learners will most likely engage with in the situation. If the target learner group tends to interact with learning on mobile devices on the go, simulations or detailed images may not be as effective as text or a mobile game. Conversely, if learners are given the equipment and opportunity to work at a desktop or laptop computer, immersive media may be more appropriate.

Media such as news links, some social media sites are the manner in which many students find their information about current events and trends. It is our duty as teachers, parents and guardians to help guide our students in use all media in a positive and productive manner. Media connects provides a multi-sensory approach to learning.

Media has to match the skills you are trying to teach: if you are trying to teach anatomy and physiology you need to do dissection, practice labs and more. Visual experience also helps if memorizing muscle groups and body systems.

From my experience, it's also important to consider along with the budget, the diversity of your audience, specifically as it relates to their needs. This could include individuals who have different abilities, so your media choice, though the objective is to be strategic, you must consider inclusiveness and the opportunity to engage your full audience.

It is essential to only use media when you have explicit permission to do so. The copyright for each image or video must be checked so that you know what permissions the owner has granted for their use of their work. It is good practice to provide an on-screen acknowledgement of the copyright owner and the terms of the licence under which you have used their work.

Media chatacteristics can also be based on engagement and Interactivity. This means opting for media that captures attention and maintain interest. Interactive elements like quizzes, simulations, and discussions can enhance engagement and active learning.

In my experience, it is important to have an awareness of all the principles; however, this is not for the purpose of boxing you in, instead they should be applied with the sole intent of enhancing the experience and outcome of the individuals engaged in the learning process.

Applying media principles is critical to learning and development. These principles include using multimedia to support learning objectives, presenting information in a clear and organized manner, using engaging visuals and interactive elements, considering the cognitive load of the content, and catering to different learning styles. The goal is to create engaging and effective learning experiences that facilitate understanding, retention, and application of knowledge.

The best approach is to keep it simple. For example, you could spend time choosing a single image to communicate each one of your key concepts. Don't over complicate or you will confuse people. Your objective is to deliver effective training not to dazzle people with impressive visual effects.

From my experience, this is one of the most critical steps in the process, the feedback provided can inform whether you achieved your overall objective and, in those instances, where you may have missed the mark, then you're able to pivot. More importantly, evaluating the effectiveness of your approach, allows you to achieve increased confidence in your ability to select the right media.

This is an important step. I've seen designers add in pictures or videos that are funny but not relevant. It should be clear why the media is being used to support the content. If it's just for fun, it's probably shouldn't be there.

Determining media effectiveness in learning typically is a valuable approach that can yield important insight that can guide future learning and engagement. This may involve analyzing factors like engagement, retention, and comprehension. Tools often used are surveys, assessments, and tracking tools to measure the impact of different media on learners' outcomes.

Consider your audience. I wouldn’t have my trade employees taking the same training as my administrative employees (with the exception of some local and state mandated trainings). The media I use must be relevant to the group, grabs their attention and keep them engaged. Also use the feedback from employees to know what works and what doesn’t. You may design the best training but if employees get nothing out of it then it’s useless.

In 2023 we Are more than invited to consider learning styles. While we have an intention and objective for the learning we desire to accomplish for ourselves or at an organizational level, we do need to be inclusive and smart about identifying an individual’s best way to retain knowledge in a contextual manner. Learning design and the design of an individualized experience is key. Possibly a preliminary identifier in form of a short test to be cognitive of the individuals preferred and most suitable learning style, serves not only the learning goal and knowledge acquisition strategy of the company, but most importantly respects and accommodates individuals in powerful and meaningful ways.

Selecting the "right media" depends on how mentees learn best (i.e., auditory, visual, or kinesthetic). By designing seminars centered on mentees' preferred learning styles, mentors must ensure their training modules embed aspects of MGA (i.e., modeling, guidance, and application) coaching strategies. By "Modeling," mentees receive explicit instruction, demonstrating the necessary approaches or steps to reach a desired objective. Providing "Guidance" enhances mentor-mentee relationships as mentors can customize their support to address mentee-specific needs. Through "Application," mentees demonstrate their acquisition of learning while receiving ongoing mentor and/or peer feedback to refine their newly acquired skill(s).

Learning is as much about how we prepare our learners for the activity, how we stretch the learner to grow, and how much of the learning is able to be embedded into the workplace months-and-years into the future. We need to consider our use of media that understands this journey, and is used in a consistent and fit-for-purpose way, all the way through any learning intervention.