TCA Lectures Explain the nature and essential characteristics of broadcast media with reference to distance and non-formal education. BEd

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The term ‘broadcast media’ covers a wide spectrum of different communication methods such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines and any other materials supplied by the media and press. What types of information are available in the broadcasting media?

The broadcasting media provides valuable information, for example speeches, documentaries, interviews, advertisements, daily news, financial markets and much more. The latest (newest/most up-to-date) information can be found here.

Where can I find it?
Transcripts (hard copies) of interviews, speeches, programmes, etc., are often available from the supplier of the information, e.g. SABC, M-Net, the specific radio station, etc.

Nowadays many of these transcripts etc., are made available on the Internet. The following are just a few links, there are many more.

Broadcast media is radio and television. Even amidst the pop culture dominance of the internet, broadcast media still commands the largest share of the advertising pie nationwide. Put the audio and visual media to work for you as your company earns larger market share, stronger branding, and increased sales. If you are looking for cost-efficient lead generation, you need to be looking at radio and television advertising.

Not only are radio and television the main media for advertising today, they are continually developing new ways to reach their audience. The SyFy cable network launched a show (“Defiance”) that combines interactions on a video game with the plot of a series show. Radio stations are supplementing on-air campaigns with digital media to provide on-air and on-screen promotions to those who stream the station through their computer.

Multiple studies have shown that combining radio and television can help advertisers reach audiences not achievable with only one medium or the other.

Distance education was started to revolutionaries the concept of higher education throughout the world and was considered as an attractive mode to democratize higher education. Distance education has emerged to be a popular non-formal channel to provide answer to equity, access, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. The first clear statement on distance education was made in the Report of the Education Commission (1964-66) where it is mentioned, “There must also be a method of taking education to the mill ions who depend upon their own effort to study whenever they have time to do so. We consider that correspondence or home-study courses provide the right answer for these situations.”

The Education Commission further stated, “It is obvious that these universities should not be the only agencies which should organize correspondence courses. Provision of correspondence courses should also be one important function of the extension service of developmental departments of government such as agriculture, industries and health. This should prove to be a valuable method of conveying to the educated and the neo-l iterate al like such knowledge and improved techniques as the departments concerned will to put across.“

The recommendation of the Education Commission was incorporated in the National Policy of Education ( 1986) that “……Part time educational and correspondence courses should be developed on a large scale at the university stage. Such facilities should also be developed for secondary school students, for teachers and for agricultural individual and other workers. Education through part time and correspondence courses should be given same status as full time education. Such facilities will bring smooth transition from school to work, promote the cause of education and provide opportunities to a large number of people who have the desires to educate themselves further but cannot do so on a full time basis.”

Moore ( 1972) gives more clear definition of distance education “The family of instructional methods in which the teaching behaviors are executed apart from the learning behaviors … so that communication between the learner and the teacher must be facilitated by print, electronic, popular and mechanical, or other devices.” Thus, the term flexible and open, distance education seems to be more appropriate because it is “arrangement to enable people to learn at the time, place and space which satisfies their circumstances and requirements.”

The concept of ‘Distance Education‘ is not new, and can be traced as far back as the first century. The Apostle Paul wrote to the early Christian Churches, teaching them from a distance even from his prison cell. But, organizational use of distance learning methods was first introduced in the 19th century. One of the first universities to deliver distance learning in an organized manner was Pennsylvania State University which established its first distance learning network in 1886.

Today, distance education calls upon an impressive, range of technologies to enable teachers and students who are separated by distance, to communicate with each other either in real time (synchronous) or delayed time (asynchronous). Due to modern communication and technologies, today the educational transactions through distance mode is being utilized by students and teachers engaged in both formal and open system of education. Rai (2000) has defined three types of distance education systems, viz., Institute-centered, Person-centered and Society-based.

(i). Institute – Centered Distance Education System: In this system there is a predominance of systematic models of education. The institutional mission focuses on the cost-effectiveness and cost-efficiency of the system. Academics become consultants to the institution for material design and development. All other functionaries in the institution are assigned key functions with accountability and individual responsibility.

(ii). Person – Centered Distance Education system: Under this system of distance education, the programmers are more individualized and negotiable as the aim is to serve the individual learner. Individualized learning is personally negotiated and is followed up by tutors/counselors.

(iii). Society Based Distance Education System: In the society based distance education system learning, materials are developed in accordance with the needs of the community. These are used in community situations where the teacher strives to involve the entire community in the study of the learning materials. The teacher functions as a facilitator to identify learning goals, to evaluate learning materials, etc.

Before discussing the various media and technologies of distance education, appropriate to deliberate upon its objectives in brif the distance education attempts:

• to provide an opportunity of education to those who had discontinued their formal education due to one reason or other at any age and class. The working persons, economically and otherwise disabled persons or persons residing in remote areas may improve and advance their academic career through distance education; 
• to provide quality education and training to large number of students at lower costs than conventional education system;
• to make access to higher education;
• to promote education as a lifelong activity by providing necessary access to the masses, particularly to the disadvantageous groups like those living in rural areas, the employed, women, weaker sections of the society and many others wishing to acquire and upgrade knowledge and skills, at their door steps;
• to provide a flexible and diversified innovative education system which is open in the methods of learning, pace, place, eligibility criterion as well as in every operation of the program;
• to promote courses leading to gainful employment, tailored to specific vocational/professional needs, as also being relevant to local needs;

In order to achieve the objectives of distance education and to make the education, meaningful, exciting, interesting level accessible to all, the new technologies need to be linked with the process of learning. The new technologies are not only capable of overcoming the barriers of distance but also able to change the very nature of the instructional process.

Media and Technologies in Distance Education

Media in distance education is a kind of delivery system, which includes all kinds of mechanical devices directed to educational use. These devices are used to communicate knowledge or ideas to a large number of people who are located in far off rural and remote areas. Distance education program can be enriched and made more attractive, effective and satisfying for learning by using a variety of media i n accordance with the content. The facilities that can be provided for these programmes should attempt an exploitation of the potential of the variety of powerful media rendered by modem technology.

Taylor (1997) offers the following classification of the model of distance education and the associated delivery technologies –

First Generation – The Correspondence Model

• Print material

Second Generation – The Multimedia Model

• Printed material
• Audiotape
• Videotape
• Computer-based learning (CAI, CM!, CBT, CAL, etc.)
• Interactive Videodisc and tapes

Third Generation – The Tele Learning Model

• Audio tele-conferencing
• Video conferencing
• Audio graphic communication
• Broadcast TV/Radio and Audio Tele-conferencing

Fourth Generation-The Flexible Learning Model

• Interactive Multimedia (IMM)
• Internet based access to WWW resources

Computer mediated communication

A variety of media are used in distance education by the open universities as well as by the institutes of distance learning. They can be basically classified into two groups:

1. print media and
2. non-print media