Media and Information Literacy

1. MEDIA AND INFORMATION
LITERACY
CHAPTER 16: MANIPULATIVE INFORMATION AND MEDIA

2. MANIPULATIVES ARE TOOLS USED
FOR INTERACTIVE, HANDS-ON
LEARNING. THESE CAN BE THREE
DIMENSIONAL OBJECTS LIKE
PUZZLES, BLOCKS, AND SHAPES, OR
COMPUTER APPLICATIONS OR
SIMULATIONS THAT HELP IN THE
GRASPING OF IDEAS AND
ACQUIRING SKILLS.

3. HISTORY OF
MANIPULATIVES

4. SALAMIS TABLET
IN ANCIENT TIMES, MANIPULATIVES HAVE BEEN USED MOSTLY FOR
MATHEMATICAL PURPOSE. RECORDS SHOW THAT THE OLDEST SURVIVING
COUNTING BOARD IS THE SALAMIS TABLET, USED BY THE BABYLONIANS AROUND
300BC.

5. ABACUS
DURING GREEK AND ROMAN TIMES, THE ROMAN
HAND-ABACUS WAS CREATED OUT OF STONE
AND METAL. THE ABACUS THAT WE KNOW
TODAY FIRST APPEARED IN 1200 AD IN CHINA.
THEY CALL IT THE SUAN-PAN. THERE WERE
ALSO VARIATIONS MADE BY THE JAPANESE AND
THE RUSSIANS.

6. PESTALOZZI METHOD
JOHANN HEINRICH PESTALOZZI DEVELOPED THE
“PESTALOZZI METHOD” OF LEARNING WHICH IS
BASICALLY HANDS-ON LEARNING IN THE 1800S. IN
HIS BOOK, HOW GERTRUDE TEACHER HER CHILDREN,
PESTALOZZI SAYS THAT WE SHOULD BEGIN WITH
CONCRETE OBJECTS BEFORE TEACHING ABSTRACT
CONCEPTS.

7. FROEBELGIFTS
• IN 1840, FRIEDRICH WILHELM AUGUST FROEBEL
DEVELOPED THE CONCEPT OF
“KINDERGARTEN,” WHERE CHILDREN LEARN BY
PLAYING. HE INTRODUCED THE “FROEBEL
GIFTS” SUCH AS BALLS, WOODEN BLOCKS,
TILES, STICKS AND RINS THAT USED FOR
LEARNING.

8. MONTESSORI METHOD OF LEARNING
•MARIA MONTESSORI EXTENDED
FROBEL’S IDEA AND CREATED THE
“MONTESSORI METHOD OF
LEARNING.” THIS FOCUSES ON
MATERIALS FORNOLDER
CHILDREN.

9. DIGITAL MANIPULATIVES
• IN THE 1990S, COMPUTATIONAL CAPABILITIES
ARE EMBEDDED INTO BLOCKS, BEADS AND
OTHER TOYS. THIS KIND OF RESEARCH HOPED
FOR CHILDREN TO LEARN NEW CONCEPTS
USING THE KINDERGARTEN APPROACH,
ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT THEY PERCEIVE AS
“TOO ADVANCED.”

10. VIRTUAL MANIPULATIVES
• WITH THE ADVENT OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND
VIRTUAL LEARNING, RESEARCHES ALSO DEVELOPED
MANIPULATIVES FURTHER BY CREATING PROGRAMS
AND ANIMATED IMAGES THAT CAN BE
MANIPULATED BY THE USER. BECAUSE OF THIS,
MANIPULATIVES ARE NOW BEING USED BY A LOT OF
DIFFERENT FIELDS OF STUDY, AND HAVE BEEN
REALLY HELPFUL ESPECIALLY IN THE FIELD OF
SCIENCE.

11. TYPES OF MANIPULATIVES
• TRADITIONAL
• VIRTUAL/DIGITAL
• TRADITIONAL MANIPULATIVES ADVANTAGES
*LEARNING WHILE PLAYING
*MULTI-SENSORY OUTPUT
*PHYSICAL INTERACTION
*STUDENT COLLABORATION
*CONCRETE OBJECTS USED FOR ABSTRACT REASONING

12. TRADITIONAL MANIPULATIVES
DISADVANATGES
•TENDENCY TO BE FOCUSED ON NOTHING
ELSE
•SUPERVISION NEEDED ESPECIALLY FOR
EARLY GRADES
•PROGRESS IS HARD TO MONITOR, AND
CANNOT BE EASILY DOCUMENTED.

13. VIRTUAL MANIPULATIVES ADVANTAGES
•ATTENTION-CATCHING, FUN, AND
MOTIVATIONAL
•A LOT OF POTENTIAL FOR THE PROGRAM
IMPROVEMENT
•AVAILABILITY AT THE COMFORT OF HOME
•LEARNING BY DISCOVERY

14. VIRTUAL/DIGITAL MANIPULATIVES
DISADVANTAGES
• LIMITED TO COMPUTER/INTERNET USERS
• TENDENCY TO FOCUS ON NOTHING ELSE
• A LOT OF DISTRACTIONS IN THE WORLD WIDE
WEB
• SOME PROGRAMS/GAMES CAN BE ADDICTIVE
• DIGITAL DEVICE