Review of Learning Media Encountered

Activity 34 of Block 2 Part 2 study session 8:

(a) What did you most like and most dislike about the computer-based learning materials?

I think I most liked the freedom from having to carry around printed books, highlighters and pens in an already heavy laptop rucksack, and the table-top real estate gained from not having to have a book open upon it! However, I didn’t really like the intangible nature of the computer-based materials once the laptop was switched off; it felt beyond my possession and ‘lost’ until I switched the laptop on next time and logged in. 

(b) What did you most like and most dislike about the print-based learning materials?

I very much like the physical nature of the printed materials; being able to scribble in the margins, highlight phrases with a fluorescent marker, and also knowing that it was there and it was mine all of the time (or until I lose it!). The quite large and heavy collection of printed books from T175 and my previous module, M150, are already taking up a significant amount of storage space – this is something that I don’t like so much.

(c) What have you discovered about your own learning preferences as a result of using the different media in Block 2?

I have discovered that although printed material is flat, silent, and static, I like its tangible nature, and at the moment feel more comfortable learning from it than I do from computer-based material. This comes as a surprise to me, as I enjoy using computers for numerous purposes, and quite rarely read printed books!

(d) What strategies could you adopt to help you get the best out of the different learning media you are likely to meet in later parts of the course?

One strategy that I think I could adopt is to take the most useful parts of the methods I already use for note taking for different learning media, and use them for all types of media. For instance, I could type all of my activities in Word documents (rather than just scribbling some in the printed media), and I could make regular blog entries during work on all types of media, rather than just for computer-based media.