Our use of the electronic media to conduct serious discourse raises the question of whether "we are amusing ourselves to death," as Neil Postman argued. The approach known as "media ecology," the study of media as environments, which emphasizes the need to understand context and find balance, provides a basis for the analysis…

In instruction there is always something that needs to be displayed. Little wonder that in some form or other media utilization is a given. But questions arise. "Is development meant to fit within media capabilities?" "Or are media to be selected because of their capabilities to meet development needs?" When in the…

Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) is most remembered for his statement "The medium is the message," an aphorism that embraces the theme of this issue of "Educational Technology." McLuhan showed as never before the hidden biases within all technologies. Today, 100 years after his birth, his laws of media and perceptive aphorisms…

Digital storytelling involves the creation of short, personal narratives combining images, sounds, and text in a multimedia computer-based platform. In education, digital storytelling has been used to foster learning in formal and informal spaces worldwide. The authors offer a critical discussion of claims about digital storytelling's usefulness…

The use of mobile technology can help extend children's learning spaces and enrich the learning experiences in their everyday lives where they move from one context to another, switching locations, social groups, technologies, and topics. When students have ubiquitous access to mobile devices with full connectivity, the in-situ use of the mobile…

Describes the development process and the content of an effective instructor's manual. (RAO)

A discussion of the experiment at Dallas Baptist College, which attempted to incorporate a systems approach to media-supported instruction into the design of a total curriculum. Reasons for the failure of the program and lessons to be learned from the failure are presented. (HB)

A look at some features of radio and an analysis of the value of the medium to the present American classroom. (HB)

The authors discuss three kinds of learning involved in the career development process and look at some of the media techniques that can be used to attain career development objectives. (AA)

A discussion how removing chalkboards might force teachers to use other innovations in instruction. (HB)

A discussion of goal-free evaluation, an evaluation performed by an objective outsider uncontaminated by the goals of the project. (HB)