REPLY TO ERIC -Reply MUST be at least 250 words. Carefully edit your posts and remember that this is a course that addresses composition; thus, your Discussion Board Forum posts will be graded on the following: content, organization, writing style, and grammar. Use APA formatting.
In the second presentation on a balanced use of educational media, the speaker makes the case that education is best done through reading, which requires an "...active, cognitive interaction." Yet the method in which this idea is being communicated is through a video presentation. It seems as though there is a lack of differentiation between media as entertainment, and media as a learning modality. What is being proposed is that "television" requires a passive mind, and that it does all of the thinking for you. I do not find this to be accurate.
It is true that reading as entertainment requires a level of imagination to create a mental image of the scenery and characters of a story, but this does not simply make watching a story a completely passive process. The mind is still active, figuring out what is happening next, feeling the emotions, and interpreting a potential meaning from the plot. In fact, learning by visual content may benefit a learner because it takes away the mental work of imagination. Since an image can be created for the viewer, learning may be aided. We see allegory being used in writing and oral presentations to help the reader or listener to understand the idea that the is being presented. Jesus himself used parables to convey his message to his audience. Visual aids through the television is no different.
So whether you are learning or being entertained, television does not make your cognitive interaction disappear. The question should not be whether television or reading is better for an individual, but how the activity affects the productivity of an individual.