From traditional teaching units to collaborative websites. The evolution of media appropriation in the higher educational context

Abstract

Looking back at the different phases of media development in distance teaching we can observe that during this development some permanent landscapes accompanied us all the way long such as the existence of print material. However the way we perceive and read text changed especially when reading hyperlinked text from screen. Audiovisual media changed as well in significant aspects. Already relatively early icons were used to relate and connect different media like audio and video with printed modules. Those icons later on have been converted into buttons and menu items on websites. However the didactic functionality remained often the same. The CD ROM brought the integration of the before separated media on a sole data carrier. Though the web rapidly substituted the content stored on a CD ROM. Later the videoconference added simultaneous interaction but needed at the time of introduction expensive equipment, specialized personnel and high line costs. Today it is a relatively simple tool integrated to learning platforms as a so called “virtual classroom”.  With internet podcasting and vodcasting production and distribution of audiovisual content became much easier. Nevertheless the language of filming did not change although the standards of acceptable quality changed with the web 2.0. So we can resume that the history of the past 50 years shows a continuous evolution of the media accompanied by respective changes of learning and communication theories. However each step relied on what had been developed and proved viable in earlier development phases. This conclusion differs somehow from statements raised by educationalists claiming for each new application a change of paradigms.