by Radhika Arora and Lara Higgins
Image Source: Canva
Spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has seen an abrupt shift towards digital adoption, with an abundance of Edtech startups racing to design the most impactful EdTech learning tool. The great media debate between Richard Clark and Robert Kozma is perhaps more relevant today than it was when it began in 1993, with Robert Clark stating that media “are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence students achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causing changes in nutrition” (Clark, 1983, p. 445). Kozma’s rebuttal was presented in his 1994 article “Will Media Influence Learning: Reframing the Debate,” where he argued that media in itself does not possess magical qualities and better learning in education. He proposed shifting the focus onto the design and implementation of these tools, integrating them into evidence-based models of design to improve education and training. Clark and Kozma’s valuable theoretical and practical perspectives are interesting lenses through which to view current-day innovations in EdTech.
In the article ” Exploring Opportunities and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Higher Education Institutions” by Valentin Kuleto, Milena Ilić, Mihail Dumangiu, Marko Ranković, Oliva M. D. Martins, Dan Păun, and Larisa Mihoreanu, the authors dive into how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are making a significant impact on colleges and universities. They examine the benefits and opportunities of practical applications of AI and ML within higher education institutions. This includes the deployment of AI-driven chatbots to provide real-time support to students, utilizing AI-based analytics to gain insights into student performance patterns, behaviours, and engagement, and implementing ML algorithms to personalize learning materials and enhance teaching and learning experiences.
They also investigate the challenges associated with implementing AI and ML, issues related to data privacy, algorithm bias, the need for faculty training, and potential job displacement. Kuleto et al. also consider the ethical issues with implementing AI and ML, such as the responsible use of student data, addressing algorithmic biases that might disadvantage certain groups of students, and ensuring transparency in decision-making processes. This study shows that AI can make a big positive change in how students learn in college. It says that colleges and tech companies should be open to trying new things to stay competitive and meet students’ changing needs. Kuleto et al. also recommend more research to find practical ways to use AI in education, especially in countries with fewer resources.
With how rapidly technology changes, Clark might have acknowledged that the emerging trends offer intriguing possibilities for personalized and adaptive learning experiences. There would still need to be more careful considerations to ensure that these tools are thoughtfully integrated into pedagogical practices rather than relying solely on their technological allure. There is a need for a balanced approach. While AI and machine learning hold great promise, they are not a magical solution to all educational challenges. The effectiveness of these technologies must depend on how they are designed, implemented, and integrated into pedagogical practices.
Kozma sought to reevaluate the discussion around the influence of media on learning. The focus should not only be on whether the media has influenced learning but rather on effectively integrating it into the education process. It is crucial to align technological advancements with pedagogical goals. Media and technology should be seen as tools that educators can leverage to enhance learning outcomes. For AI and machine learning, this means thoughtful integration into instructional design. The article by Kuleto et al. contributes to this ongoing conversation; we need to consider the need to harness the potential of AI and ML while focusing on effective instructional design and realistic access for all learners.
Another interesting evolution in EdTech is the emergence of fully online distance education in K-12, along with the use of virtual reality (VR) as a medium for content delivery. In his recent September 19, 2023 article and podcast episode for EdSurge, “Will Virtual Reality Lead More Families to Opt-Out of Traditional Public Schools,” Jeffrey R. Young introduces the Optima Academy Online, founded in 2022 in Florida by Erika Donalds. What’s unique and arguably radical about this charter school is that it’s touted as the world’s first fully online virtual school. Children in grades 3 to 8 spend 30 to 40-minute intervals experiencing VR lessons, with breaks in between for online peer connections, body movements or snacks. Morning lessons delivered through VR headsets are followed by independent coursework in the afternoons, with the option to connect virtually to teachers, tutors or peers. According to Erika Donalds, the school was established largely in response to COVID-19, and to the growing school-choice-movement. According to Donalds, the traditional in-person, bricks-and-mortar models can’t respond fast enough to a growing demand for education, choice in delivery model, or individual student learning needs. Surely, Clark and Kozma couldn’t have imagined that educational technology would develop at such an alarming rate and in such innovative ways. Clark would most likely have arguments to share around replaceability, accessibility and the separation of method and medium in research methodology, while Kozma would argue for a greater focus on learning design and research into the learning impacts of digital mediums while calling for a paradigm shift in research methodology that guides educational research.
At the core of Clark’s argument is the concept of replaceability. He states that if the results of a learning outcome can be replicated using a single or combination of other mediums, regardless of the digital or analogue tools used to support the learning, then the cause can not be attributed back to one single learning tool. It is the instructional content and method that is embedded in the medium that influences the learning, rather than the medium itself (Clark, 1984, p. 1). As a result, it could be that Clark’s response to the emergence of a distance learning school leveraging virtual reality as the main medium for curriculum delivery is more about the flexible delivery or novelty of the new medium than scientific proof that the design model produces better learning outcomes for the learners than traditional or other digital mediums (Clark, 1984, p.4). Further to this point, he would argue that in an environment of competing complex social, economic and environmental problems and limited resources to solve them, it is our responsibility to choose methods that are most cost-effective (Clark, 1994, p. 5).
A new fully online school that leverages VR for the delivery of elementary school curriculum along with the traction that the school-choice-movement is gaining, supports Kozma’s call for new models of learning design and greater research and focus on media theory. With the proliferation of digital tools and environments in education along with the increased need to develop digital literacy, there is indeed an urgency to generate scientific data to inform choices moving forward (Kozma, 1994, p.7). Contrary to Kozma’s position that EdTech is a design science and not a natural science, there is a need to understand the effect that digital technologies have on the health and wellness of children and adult learners. This is supported by Stanford VR researcher Jeremy Bailenson’s concerns around the still unknown cognitive effects of long-term VR use with children in K to 12 over weeks, months and years (Bailenson, as cited in Young, 2023, para. 14). His VR lab has implemented a 30-minute maximum for VR sessions with adults, finding that use can result in some users suffering from headaches, nausea and even reality blurring, which is the difficulty differentiating between reality and VR simulation (Bailenson, as cited in Young, 2023, para. 15). This need to gain a better understanding of the impact that technology has on our well-being could lend support to Clark’s notion of separating method and medium in research, as opposed to Kozma’s stance on their integration.
Regardless of what side of the Clark versus Kozma debate you fall on, hopefully, we can all agree on the need for technology-enhanced pedagogies and andragogies that contribute to the development of digital literacy skills to support learner success in the digital age. In addition, the debate emphasizes the need for technology to enhance, not replace effective teaching and learning. Kozma’s concluding statement seems to ring true as we find ourselves in post-pandemic enlightenment, “In what ways can we use the capabilities of media to influence learning for particular students, tasks, and situations?” (Kozma, 1994, p. 19). As education continues to evolve, this topic reminds us that it is a broader conversation on understanding that technologies such as AI, ML and VR serve as digital tools and environments to amplify educational outcomes and help to address the issue of equality.
References
Clark, R. E. (1983). Reconsidering Research on Learning from Media. Review of Educational Research, 53(4), 445–459. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543053004445
Clark, R. E. (1994). Media will never influence learning. Educational Technology Research and Development VO, 42(2), 21. doi.org/10.1007/BF02299088
Kozma, R. B. (1994).Will media influence learning: Reframing the debate. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 7-19.
Kuleto, Valentin, et al. “Exploring Opportunities and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Higher Education Institutions.” Sustainability, vol. 13, no. 18, 18 Sept. 2021, p. 10424, https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810424.
Young, Jeff.R. “Will Virtual Reality Lead More Families to Opt out of Traditional Public Schools? – EdSurge News.” EdSurge, 19 Sept. 2023, www.edsurge.com/news/2023-09-19-will-virtual-reality-lead-more-families-to-opt-out-of-traditional-public-schools.