Text Media for Idiots

Printed Materials

• Textbooks

• Fiction and Non-Fiction Books

• Booklets

• Pamphlets

• Study Guides

• Manuals

• Worksheets

• Word-Processed Documents

 

Advantages

 

• Availability. Printed materials are readily available on a wide variety of topics and in many different formats.

• Flexibility. They are adaptable to many purposes and they may be used in any lighted environment.

• Portability. They are easily carried from place to place and do not require any equipment or electricity.

• User Friendly. Properly designed printed materials are easy to use, not requiring special effort to “navigate” through.

• Economical. Printed materials are relatively inexpensive to produce or purchase and can be reused.

​

 

Limitations

 

• Reading Level. The major limitation of printed materials is that they are written at a certain reading level. Some students are non-readers or poor readers lacking adequate literacy skills; some printed materials are above their reading level.

• Prior Knowledge. Even though textbooks are generally written to be more considerate of the reader, with clear language and simple sentence structures, readers who lack some prerequisite knowledge may struggle to comprehend the text.

• Memorization. Some teachers require students to memorize many facts and definitions. This practice diminishes printed materials to mere memorization aids.

• Vocabulary. Some texts introduce a large number of vocabulary terms and concepts in a short amount of space. This practice places a heavy cognitive burden on students which may be overwhelming for some.

• One-way Presentation. Since most printed materials are not interactive, they tend to be used in a passive way, often without comprehension.

• Curriculum Determination. Sometimes, textbooks dictate the curriculum rather than being used to support the curriculum. Textbooks are often written to accommodate the curriculum guidelines. Consequently, the preferences of authorities disproportionately influence textbook content or its treatment.

• Cursory Appraisal. Selection committees might not examine books carefully. Sometimes textbooks are chosen by a “five-minute thumb test” – whatever catches the reviewer’s eye as he or she thumbs through the textbook.

 

Applications of Printed Materials

• The most common application of printed materials is the presentation of content information.  Example:

  • Students are given reading assignments and are held accountable for the material during class discussions and on tests.

  • Teacher-made hand-outs can complement a teacher’s presentation or be used by students as they study independently.

• Students may use printed materials to augment either the information presented by the teacher or other forms of media.

Example:

• Students refer to supplementary printed materials (such as books and journals from the library0 to locate information on a specific topic not covered in their textbook.

Utilization Techniques

 

                One of the main roles of the teacher is to get the learners actively involved with the material.

• SQ3R Method. Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review.

• Survey requires the students to skim through the printed material and to read the overview/summary.

• Question. Students write a list of questions to answer while reading.

• Read. Students are encouraged to look for the organization of the material, put brackets around the main ideas, underline supporting details, and answer the questions written in the previous step.

• Recite requires the students to test themselves while reading and put the content into their own words.

• Review suggests that students look over the material immediately after reading it, the next day, a week later and so on.

• Another utilization technique for printed material is to direct student reading with objectives or questions and providing a worksheet if one is not included in the materials.

 

This material was taken directly from the book Instructional Media and Technologies for Learning, Fifth Edition 1996 by Robert Heinich, Michael Molenda and James Russel. Prentice-Hall, Inc.