Convergence and Media for Teaching and Learning

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Abstract
The distinctions between ‘conventional’ and ‘distance’ education are being eroded at the tertiary level as institutions diversify and adapt to cope with student numbers that are rising much more rapidly than resources. Increasingly, media technologies are being used to support teaching and learning. At the same time, convergence in media technologies is being brought about by digitization, which makes possible the production, storage and dissemination of text, graphics, speech, sounds, still and moving pictures in basically the same format. This paper examines a selection of media technologies, their availability to learners and their use for teaching and learning. It is argued that more often than not, decisions about the use of various media are driven by technological and economic factors, rather than by any educational analysis of the teaching/learning problems or needs. This situation needs to be vigorously reassessed if the potential educational benefits of the new media technologies are to be realized.

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