Television in education (by Narinder kaur)

ROLE OF TELEVISION IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION

Television has been given considerable importance in many countries as a source and a tool of teaching.  The success stories of using television for education in many countries has negated the concept that television is basically on entertainment oriented medium and it is hostile to thoughts.  Television is adaptable and can follow different approaches when used in the different educational situations.  The medium is used for formal, non-formal and informal education.  To support formal education, television usually function as supportive and reinforcement tool.  Television can be attached with school curriculum and time tables.  When systematically organized it takes the form of school broadcast.  In non-formal education, television has a more specific role to play. When used as a part of multi-media communication tool, television can directly or indirectly teach the subject matter.

Importance of television to communicate information, idea, skills and attitudes has been affirmed by researches.  You should attempt to study various reports published on educational television in different countries in different situations. In the words of Director BBC “next to home and school I believer television to have a more profound influence on human race then any other medium of communication.”

If media is to work as an effective teaching tool then certainly it is helping hand towards, achieving the aim and objectives of education.  Media is an agent of boost cultural economic and social development activity.  Television, as an important mass medium disseminates education through formal and information methods.

Television also continues to benefit the masses by making them conscious of the environment, rights, duties and privilege.  It is a source of teaching etiquette, language skills, hobbies, social relations and religious believes.

Role of television is neither fixed nor easily tangible and measurable. The role is directly related to the question of how the planners are serious and determined to use television.  The role could either be enormous or, on the contrary very meager depending upon the specific tasks and available resources.  Generally television can help to achieve the following objectives:

a)        Social quality in education

b)        Enhance quality in education

c)         Reduce dependency on verbal teaching and teachers

d)        Provide flexibility of time and space in learning.

e)        Stimulates learning

f)         Provide mass education opportunities.

As far the impact of education television it should rather be studied in more narrow and specific areas.  In the world of scram; TV is more effective in teaching mathematics, science and social studies.  Where as history, humanities, and literature has not benefited from this medium the same degree.

The impact of television on macro level should be studied in three areas namely;

i)          Teacher’s Competencies

ii)         Student’s Competencies

iii)        Effects on general viewers

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES OF AIOU

AIOU is a distance learning institution.  Students in this system are not supposed to come at campus for class study.  However, the “open learning system” of AIOU is not absolutely parallel to that of independent studies by the private and external students who are registered with the boards or universities and appear only for the final examination.  They get degree on successful completion of terms.  AIOU learning system is more systematic and disciplined.

For the purpose of educational programmer of AIOU, electronic media is used for a variety of purposes depending on the requirement of the courses and teaching methodologies.  Follow is the summary of various uses of television;

i)          To show practical application of principle already written in the textbooks and to show the laboratory work and demonstrations.

 ii)        To humanize distance education and to improve language skills and teaching skills by showing model teaching techniques.

iii)        To show real life situation and microscope things on magnified scale

iv)       Animations, dramatic presentations, slow motions and case studies.

AIOU has so far produced more than four hundred television programmed and many non-broadcast audio-visual cassettes.  Slide tapes and flip charts are also used as visual media.  Television is used in sciences, technical and vocational subjects. The demonstration through television helps to substitute the laboratory experiments.  In social science and language, television is used to show real life situation. Television also helps to understand information, which is too complex for the written or spoken explanation.