4.1 INTRODUCTION

The history of research on learning and media can be characterized as developing along two distinct paths, one that examines the role of media in out-of-school environments such as the home, and one that focuses on the role of media as teaching tools within the formal classroom setting (see, for review, Hornik, 1981; Krendl, 1989). Both of these research traditions trace their origins back to the same original models and theories that introduced the study of media and audiences. This chapter presents an overview of the evolution of theoretical models and research orientations that link these two traditions and that lay the foundation for future research on learning and media.

At the same time that research on learning and media has evolved and changed over time, so has the nature of the media systems examined. The media environment has changed significantly in recent years from the predominance of broadcast television as the delivery system of choice, characterized by its wide appeal to mass audiences,its one-way delivery, and its highly centralized distribution and production systems, to an environment characterized by an entirely different set of features.

First, this new environment offers an increasingly wide array of technologies and combinations of technologies (cable, videotape, DBS, computer, multimedia, etc.), rather than one dominant medium (see Chapter 12 and 24.6). Second, these technologies share characteristics that are in direct contrast to the earlier era of broadcast television. That is, these delivery systems are driven by their ability to serve small, specialized audiences--a narrow-cast orientation--as opposed to television's broadcast orientation. Third, they are designed to feature high levels of user control, flexibility, and interactivity, as well as decentralized production and distribution systems.

As the media environment has changed, the audience's relationship with media has changed. Audience members now expect systems that are responsive to their unique needs and interests. As consumer expectations have changed, inflexible, one-way systems featuring limited channel and content capabilities are increasingly threatened. Flexibility, user-friendliness, content diversity, and low cost appear to be characteristics that will drive the development of future media systems.

The dramatic changes in the dominant features that characterize emerging information and entertainment technologies and the blurring of the boundaries between what has traditionally been considered educational and what has traditionally been considered entertainment content suggest the need for reconsideration of the traditions, assumptions, and approaches used to study media and learning to date. Today, with the growth of "edutainment" products (products that combine elements of education and entertainment programing and are designed for use at home and at school), the traditional distinctions between research on learning in classrooms and on learning in out-of-school environments seem increasingly arbitrary and counterproductive. The following chapter is designed to provide a reconsideration of research on media and learning with an emphasis on the need for an integrated approach to the concepts, issues, and questions related to the field in future research.

In this chapter, we attempt to demonstrate the linkages between the two research traditions, beginning with early communication models. In the discussion of the research perspectives, we have focused on the definition of the approach, the basic components of the models, assumptions that have guided inquiry within the research orientations, and a discussion of representative research. Implicit in the models is an assumed structure to the communication process. The assumed structure has had profound implications for shaping research questions and influencing the direction and evolution of research within each particular research orientation.