Audio Visual Education: The Need of the 21st Century

Rarely does our perception rely fully upon a single sense. It is usually a combination of the information coming from two or more sensory modalities that gives us a complete picture of what is occurring in the world when engaging in our day-to-day activities. The popularity of television proved that we are mostly attracted towards the audio-visual medium and it has the most rapid affect on us. The power of the audio-visual media to present complex concepts is coupled with the capabilities of a computer to analyze a learner's response to questions and then to direct the flow of information. It is observed that when children are exposed to audio-visual mood of learning, they rapidly grasp the critical concepts and also show an interest in class.

It is true that some children are able to remember the best materials they've seen; some remember things that they've heard, while others remember things they've experienced. All these latest educational techniques in schools are based on audio-visual technology to teach the children. The great thing is that not only can this equipment be used to present information to children the fact that they are interacting with audio-visual technology on a daily basis also makes them proficient in using technology. It’s been a decade or more that the schools are using audio-visual technology in schools, but only in the form of a TV or video player.

Earlier, TV and video players were used to show the kids short films containing educational values. With the advancement in technology, TV and video players were being replaced by the computers. Now the students can not only watch movies on the computers, but also can use it as a tool to stay connected with the world around them. The schools also assign the homework through PCs. Modern day schools have special provision for personal mail IDs for the parents and students. The homework directly reaches the inbox of the students and they can access these from their home only. This enables them to tailor the next lesson to go over aspects where their homework indicates was not fully understood by their class. When kids get audio visual learning materials, their senses get involved in the process of education. This helps them in getting more deeply involved into the study.

Audio Visual aids or Devices help the teacher to clarify, establish, co-relate and co-ordinate accurate concepts, interpretations, and appreciation. The audio visual mood of education helps the teacher to communicate with the students more effectively. Most of the schools now have provision for showing kids the 3D images of different things. This specially helps in understanding complex geometrical shapes and concepts. Audio visual aids make the process of learning more clear and precise to the students. Attention is the true factor in any process of learning and teaching. Audio-visual learning process helps the teacher in providing children with the proper environment for capturing and sustaining the attention and interest of students in the class room. The advent of multimedia computer programs made learning even more individualized, as students gained the ability to participate in the creation of their own materials and learning programs.