Effects of Medium-Switching on Secondary School Students' Learning

Television constitutes an important medium widely used to disseminate information to its viewers. It has the unique feature of combining audio and visual technology, and is thus considered to be more effective than audio media. It serves multiple purposes of entertainment, information and education. In terms of the latter, it helps in providing discovery learning and stimulates cognitive development of its viewers. The findings indicate that although televised lessons were very rich, a lack of audio-visual media skills among students, and a lack of entry level support and integration were obstacles to the effective use of the televised medium for instructional purposes. Students did not receive adequate audio-visual preparation, both prior to and at the entry into general secondary education. Furthermore, teachers did not receive focused training to develop skills as facilitators.