Introduction
Technology plays a very significant part in the proliferation of mass media in modern Times. The mass media has revolutionized people's way of life. It has become so dominant that none of the human activity can be completed without accessing the help of mass media.
The realization of world as a global village is also a product of mass media which has taken several forms to cater to human needs. The main devices of mass media are the radio, the television, the newspaper and the computer. Due to these devices, people are less isolated than ever from another by distance. People worldwide are quickly informed of major events. Many happenings like the floods and earth quakes in far-off places have been brought to the world's attention through the modern devices and people have responded by offering money and aid in caring for the affected people.
Our modern life to a great extent is shaped by mass media. Books and printed materials are extremely important forms of communication technology. It is through technology that knowledge has spread throughout the world.
New Developments
In our everyday lives we owe mass media and technology communication
for our modern way of life. we use a cellular telephone to call a friend,
watch a DVD on a plasma television, listen to a compact disk, listen to the radio,
or use the internet on the computer or world wide web technology, we enjoy the benefits of mass communications technology.
Influence of mass media in education
One way or another, technology affects almost everything we do
today and it also influences most of our plans for the future. Consequently, at the
present time many educational institutions are revising their curriculums to
provide students with a better understanding of what technology is, where it
comes from, where it is going, and how it affects our lives. In short, as an
essential part or general basic education, technology has at least come of age.
The most common medium encountered in school learning is still the book. As a learning medium, the book can be characterized by the primary feature of its technology , by its symbol systems (printed text, pictures), and by the way it influences specific processes (reading).
Television—or any video medium—differs from books in several ways that may affect cognitive structures and processes. First, the technology of these media makes both their verbal and visual symbol systems transient rather than stable. visual attention increases from very low levels during infancy to a maximum in the late elementary school years
Computers can be distinguished from the two previous formats by what they can do with information—that is, by their ability to process symbols and symbol systems. The transformation capabilities of the computer thus make immediate and direct the connection between the graphic symbols and the world they represent. Seeing this connection aids in the development of students' ability to read graphs—that is, to transform a graph into a description of what it means in the "real world."
Learning with multimedia environments is primarily, because the field is still evolving and most efforts within it are focused on development. Computer technology plays a central role in multimedia environments
Conclusion
Understanding how learners interact with and use the unique capabilities of each medium's format is essential to understanding the effect of mass media on learning. The growth of mass media and technology advance the development of our field and contribute to the improvement of teaching and learning. 更多
