ASCOT Library Zabali Campus

Chapter 1: the nature of educational communication. –
Defining educational communication. –
Elements in educational communication. –
Role of educational communication in development. –
Characteristics of educational communication. –
Historical perspectives. –
Directions for research and practice in educational communication. –
Chapter summary.
Chapter 2: the educational communication media. –
Defining media. –
Defining educational media. –
Three properties of media. –
Classifications of media. –
Functions of media in instruction. –
Selecting educational communication media. –
Potentials and limitations of specific media. –
Commonly used in development work. –
Using educational media effectively. –
Chapter summary. –
Chapter 3: Learning systems and their design. –
Nature of learning systems. –
Designing learning systems. –
The learning system plan. –
Chapter summary. –
Chapter 4: towards effective learning: theories, principles, concepts, and their application. –
Defining learning. –
Communication and learning. –
Learning theory: an overview. –
Stimulus-response theories. –
Cognitive/perception theories. –
Functional learning principles. –
Learning principles for effective communication: a run-through. –
Chapter summary. –
Chapter 5: Designing visual media. –
Planning the visual communication. –
Visual message design. –
Pictorial composition and visual design elements. –
Producing visual materials. –
Visual presentation. –
Evaluating visual media. –
Chapter summary.

"In the 1990s, discussions in international conferences in Southeast Asia that I had attended tended to sidestep development communication if not explicitly state that it was passé. But in this new century, meetings with a more global perspective have not only revisited development communication; fellow scholars are asserting its relevance even in the context of developed countries like the US and in Europe, albeit coining a new, loner label reflective of its people-oriented perspective, 'communication for social change' (CFSC). On one hand, other international colleagues use a more generic label 'communication for development' inclusive of its earlier diffusionist slant along with the participatory, socio-cultural, and other emerging perspectives.

Worldwide, development communication as a discipline and as a professional practice lives. Prolific exchanges in web forums; its discourses posted in different websites, and a wide body of literature in English, Spanish, and other languages the world over attest that devcom is here to stay. Among all these, the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) stands out as pioneer in devcom teaching and currently most productive in devcom education. In Los Baños, Development Communication has four specializations, Educational Communication being the most popular among undergraduates within the last decade.

In its earlier years in the late 70s and early 80s, the edcom specialization struggeld for recognition amonf devcom experts as a devcom major in its own right. Writing this textbook was spawned by the desire to clarify the major as a devcom domain. No longer questioned and finding actualization in the professional practice and scholarship of its numerous graduates, the need to clarify its domains among new devcom students and edcom major continues.

This textbook was written specifically for Devcom 40, the core course in educational communication under the Bachelor of Science in Development Communication (BSDC) curriculum at the UPLB College of Development Communication (CDC). It is an attempt to synthesize, translate, adapt and report in a single reference the basic concepts, principles, theories and knowhow in educational communication, based on BSDC students' frame of reference and in the light of the situations that they are likely to meet as devcom professionals.

From its first publication in 1991, educational technology has taken leaps and bounds and admittedly, this book's third printing lags for behind these changes. PowerPoint and Flash presentations have replaced photographic soundslide sets and pure video presentations, integrating motion and still visuals, graphics and animation. Students are ahead of their teachers in design and in blending information and communication technologies creatively. Newer approaches, theories and perspectives have likewise enriched learning science while innovations in educational practice bloom.

In this light, the UPLB CDC Department of Educational Communication has agreed to prepare an updated, revised edition of this textbook. But in the interim, students continue to need a third printing of this book in their introductory course to the educational communication major in Development Communication. The original intent of this book is to prepare them for productions skills courses if they are educational communication, only Devcom 40 provides them a structured exposure to the major field, which they try to practice in an internship course during the summer prior to their last year in their undergraduate program. Ultimately, this books is hoped to assist the BSDC students in preparing to work for development through communication and related activities, with the view that the essence of their work would focus on inducing and enhancing other people's learning.

The textbook attempts to cover the content of Devcom 40 in a comprehensive yet understandable manner, drawn from numerous references as listed at the end of every chapter. It is meant to provide a grounding in the edcom domain of devcom, accompanying perhaps more meaningful experiential activities to replace the usual lectures. With the textbook as a ready reference, some of the Devcom 40 lectures can then be shortcut if not totally replaced with other structured experiences.

While this textbook was primarily written for the Devcom 4o teachers and students at UPLB CDC, teachers and students in development communication in other schools throughout the country are also hoped to benefit from it. Likewise, specific chapters may be addressed for the professional development needs of teachers, trainers, training managers and staff, extentionists, media designers - all those working toward other people's learning, whether inside or outside the school.

Chapter 1 defines educational communication as a domain of development communication. It tries to distinguish edcom from its earlier version, audiovisual communication, and the more ubiquitous formal teaching profession. While it draws on the definition and historical perspectives of educational technology as a field in the West, it also discusses educational communication as a profession and practice in the context of development focused on nonformal education. Suggested research for the devcom senior id furthered described.

Chapter 2 dwells on the media and their application in an educational communication context. It is the most voluminous chapter, reviewing educational media classifications and a lengthy list of communication media and materials. It emphasizes media utilization, providing guidelines on how to decide which media to sue, and pointers on using them. In addition, it provides presentation tips, including those of Heinich, Molenda and Russell (1982).

Chapter 3 then discusses the systems view of educational communication providing the framework for designing its product, the learning system. A review of learning science follows in Chapter 4, reminding the edcom student to ground his media designs and decisions to making learning take place in better ways than usual. The major field's roots in audiovisual communication are then reaffirmed in Chapter 5's focus on visual media design principles and production tips.

I personally thank the UPLB College of Agriculture (CA) led by Dean Candida B. Adalla and its Publications Program for this book's second and third printing with only minor updating. This signifies the UPLB CA's commitment to showcase communication as a core process in agricultural and rural development. This books also emphasizes individual learning or behavior change as a key process in the more complex processes of development and social change, and attempts to show hot to best make people learn.
-Maria Celeste H. Cadiz, PhD
Associate Professor
College of Development Communication
University of the Philippines Los Baños