Say Hi to the All New Learning Environment!

With technology, we are "spoiled" with the privilege of experiencing a new dimension of education, whereby typical classroom tools such as whiteboards have been replaced with new tools of learning, such as online study mode. With that, education are no longer bounded within classroom walls. An example of an education provider that utilizes such mode of education is University of South Australia.

 

(Image source: University of South Australia 2011) 

Such changes of learning environment are also seen in the learning environment of children. On 17th May 2011, Pbs.org (2011) published an article, 'Children's Magazines Cater to True Early Adopters with Mobile Apps', which discussed about the prevalent changes in children's learning environment, whereby even their learning materials are being digitized nowadays!

In the article, it was stated that interactive elements, such as texts, videos, and graphics are being incorporated in children's learning materials and such materials are now being made accessible through iPad, as well as other technological devices. 

Moreover, by collaborating technological devices such as iPad and iPhone into delivering interactive educational materials to children, the article also highlighted that such learning environment acts as catalyst that supports children's growing and learning stage because it provides them with the opportunities to explore, learn and play by themselves (Deiner 2010).

Clearly, children's learning environment has undergo a drastic change, which what professionals and researches label such developments as genre change. According to the Genre Theory, the collaboration and synergy between genres and media is one of the main factors that support such changes in genres (Chandler 2000).

Hence, it explains why children's learning materials are now filled with multimodalities, whereby different modes of delivery are being synchronized simultaneously in delivering messages (Walsh 2006). An example of such digitized children's magazine is Zamoof!. Targeted towards children from 7 to 13 years old, Zamoof! is filled with 76 colored puzzles, quizzes, and other interactive elements which promises fun learning to its readers (Magazine Group n.d.).

(Image source: Magazine Group n.d.)

Additionally, children are also able to have access to such learning materials at their own conveniences. Hence, it also further enhances the usability of the learning materials. As explained by Jakob Nielsen's Theory of Usability, document designs which support users' usability will help in engaging its users' interest because it simplifies things for the users (Ilner 2004).

With that, it explains why such new learning materials are so popular among children nowadays. Well, it's time for us to say "Hi" to the all new learning environment! 

References

Chandler, D 2000, An Introduction to Genre Theory, viewed 11^th June 2011, <http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre1.html>.

Deiner, PL 2010, Inclusive Early Childhood Education: Development, Resources, and Practice, 5^th edn., viewed 11^th June 2011, <http://books.google.com.my/books?id=nr9wQx_bv2kC&pg=PA265&lpg=PA265&dq=does+digitized+children+magazines+encourages+learning&source=bl&ots=P_3tHGyKGA&sig=bYkuSCImTJnw70IBwEeSdp68GZ0&hl=en&ei=6PfyTbzPG8TTrQe-zNDzBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false>.

Ilner, S 2004, Can usability theory by Jakon Nielsen be applied to online entertainment design or do better alternatives exist?, viewed 11^th June 2011, <http://www.refracted.co.uk/StephThesis.pdf>.

Magazine Group n.d., Zamoof! Kid’s education and entertainment magazine, viewed 11^th June 2011, <http://magazinegroupdigital.zinio.com/browse/publications/index.jsp;jsessionid=430529AE111FA4172B7F48CDDAF19420.ns101-e02?prnt=cat1960018&productId=500246744&categoryId=cat1960076>.

Pbs.org 2011, Children’s Magazines Cater to True Early Adopters with Mobile Apps, viewed 11^th June 2011, <http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/05/childrens-magazines-cater-to-true-early-adopters-with-mobile-apps137.html>.

Walsh, M 2006, 'The 'textual shift': Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts', Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.

Today's Forms of Media Publishing

Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) pointed out that communication modes have shifted from the "old literacy" to the "new literacy". Hence, our current learning environment are filled with multimodal texts, which incorporates a collective of modes, such as usages of images and sounds in delivering messages (Walsh 2006). 

Such changes of communication modes also exist in the field of media publishing. The existence of Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, as well as online news portals have altered the roles of the traditional media by creating a new trend for media publishing. As explained by Naughton (2006), such new media ecosystem exists due to digital convergence, personal computing and global networking.

For a better understanding, consider Twitter as an example. With the existence of Twitter, it changes the environment of news reporting as most newspaper outlets, such as The Star  and Berita Harian are using Twitter to inform the public about the latest local news headlines and updates.

(Image source : Twitter 2011)

Moreover, in a larger scale, Cashmore (2009) mentioned that Twitter is also proven to be very efficient in disseminating globally-significant news, such as the Japan's tsunami and earthquake crisis. Besides than The Star, CNN also uses its Twitter account to provide constant updates on the Japan's crisis to the public. According to CNN (2011), the Japan's crisis has contributed to a total of 314 tweets in their two Twitter accounts. Furthermore, it was also mentioned that posts concerning the coverage on the Japan's crisis were also being re-tweeted at 198% more than the total of the re-tweeted tweets for the Egyptian's crisis coverage.

At such, it clearly proves that the existence of Twitter has altered the communication pathway in the media ecosystem, specifically in news reporting, whereby news can be disseminated even faster and more efficient as compared to the traditional media.

References

Cashmore, P 2009, Michael Jackson Dies: Twitter Tributes Now 30% of Tweets, viewed 28^th April 2011, <http://mashable.com/2009/06/25/michael-jackson-twitter/>.

CNN 2011, CNN.com sets global records for Japan coverage, viewed 4th May 2011, <http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/04/cnn-com-sets-global-records-for-japan-coverage/>.

Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 2006, Reading images: the grammar of visual design, 2nd edn., Routledge, London.

Naughton, J 2006, Blogging and the emerging media ecosystem, viewed 28^th April 2011, <http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/discussion/blogging.pdf>.

Walsh, M 2006, 'The 'textual shift': Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts', Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.