Content Specifications and Elements of Instructional Design for the Development of Educational Media Materials

Abstract

The process of learning in the 21^st century has escalated from teacher guided to self-regulate. In the wake of that, students prefer to be learning at their own pace as self-regulated learners. So, what they need in this process is not a sage on the stage, which was their teacher, but instead a guide by the side, which can come in the form of educational media materials. Many discoveries have been made regarding the nature, origins and development of the way students regulate their process of learning. (Hobbs, 2011). Even though these studies have shown that self-regulatory process is successful, not many teachers actually prepare their students to learn on their own. Anderson and Lorch (2008), proposed that media materials lead to a sensory bombardment that produces a series of orienting responses that interferes with cognition and reflection which will lead to contextual, authentic and meaningful learning. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to produce the content specifications and elements of instructional design for the development of educational media materials to make the learning process in schools more contextual, authentic and meaningful.

A case study comprising 85 students from a school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was conducted on site and on line via the Eduweb TV website (www.eduwebtv.com). For the purpose of this research, a questionnaire was developed in accordance to two main constructs:

• Content
• Instructional Design  

The results of this study will guide the developers of educational media materials to design, develop and produce educational materials that are suitable and relevant to the digital natives.