Edgar Dale was an educational theorist born in 1900 who made significant contributions to the use of audiovisual materials in teaching. He is considered the "Father of Modern Media in Education". Dale wrote three influential books on audiovisual instruction and developed the Cone of Experience model to show how learners comprehend information through more concrete to more abstract experiences. The Cone of Experience is still used today in instructional design. Dale was also active in educational organizations and worked to promote the use of emerging audiovisual technologies to enhance teaching and learning.

1. Edgar Dale

2. To complete this presentation on Edgar Dale I performed research by exploring a variety of sources. Sources such as books, journals, databases, electronic books, book reviews, and online encyclopedias were utilized.

3. Why Edgar Dale? Edgar Dale’s contribution to the field of instructional technology is vast yet underrated. Therefore, my goal is to showcase his involvement in the emergence and continuous use of audiovisual methods in teaching. I choose to write about Edgar Dale because of his contributions to the audio and visual instruction movement during the 1940’s. Edgar Dale actively contributed to the movement by creating and developing meaningful information that is used to this day.

4. “Father of Modern Media in Education”Edgar Dale April 27, 1900 – March 8, 1985

5. “The modern approach to learning places the teacher in a new role - that of manager, organizer, motivator, and evaluator of experiences. The teacher makes choices from a rich variety of media and takes a larger role in the development of instructional materials” (Dale , 1969, p. 8)

6. Edgar DaleEdgar Dale was born in a small rural town in North Dakota on April 27, 1900. He received a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of North Dakota through correspondence courses. In 1920, he graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Dale has always worked in some facet of education. He has worked as a public school teacher and as a superintendent of schools in Webster, North Dakota. As an educationalist, Dale developed the cone of experience and made many contributions to audio and visual instruction. Consequently, writing three books dealing with Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching.(Wagner, 1970, pp. 89-95)

7. Edgar DaleDale was an active and participating member of many organizations. He had a strong professional presence with the Division of Audiovisual Instruction of the National Education Association, the Educational Film Library Association, and the National Society for the Study of Education and a number of others. He has also received many awards for his work and accomplishments. Edgar Dale was a leader in the areas of reading, journalism, and the field of instructional technology. When Dale passed he was a professor of education at Ohio State University where he worked in communication.(Wagner, 1970, pp. 89-95)

8. “Our experiences vary according to the degree in which they involve us physically or in thought” (Dale , 1969, p. 108)

9. Edgar Dale Significant accomplishments Audiovisual Methods of Teaching Edgar Dale wrote three books dedicated to understanding and using audio-visual methods in teaching. Dale’s contribution to the improvement of teaching and learning was adamantly apparent in all three books. He not only bluntly advocated for the use of AV materials but showed others how to use the materials to successful educate children. In each book, Dale promoted and talked about his “Cone of Experience.” The cone of experience is a visual summary of Dale’s classification system for the types of mediated learning experiences.

10. Edgar Dale Significant accomplishments Cone of Experience Edgar dale developed his own concrete – abstract continuum called the Cone of experience Dale’s Cone of Experience is a model that incorporates several theories related to instructional design and learning processes. He began with the learner as a participant in the direct experience and then showed how the learner moved to increasingly abstract levels of experience. Dale asserted that learner could make valuable use of more abstract instructional activities drawing on reservoirs of their more concrete experiences. In Summary, The Cone of Experience was created in the 1950’s as a way of implementing a series of various educational experiences listed in hierarchy in order to enhance the ability of a learner to retain the subject matter. To this day, the Cone of Experience has been utilized within training environments with variances on the cone’s categories as technology advances. (Saettler,1990, p. 143)

11. Cone of Experience There have been many variations of Dale’s Cone of Experience. The figure to the right is one of the many modern variations.

12. They (audio-visual materials) are not for entertainment or amusement. They are to educate, to help students develop workable, useful generalizations in important fields of subject matter. If they can't help educate, they should not be used.(Dale, 1970, p. 101)

13. AUDIO AND Visual InstructionIf Edgar Dale was still alive he would be smiling with glee about the advances of audio/visual materials. Audio/Visual materials in schools are increasing and becoming more and more popular among students and teachers. Below is a list of materials that are popular instructional tools. Interactive WhiteboardsDocument CamerasLCD Projectors Mp3’s Electronic Books / E- Book ReadersWeb 2.0 ToolsPodcastsAdaptive and Assistive Tools

15. “Audiovisual materials and devices should not be classified as ‘eye’ and ‘ear’ experiences. They are modern technological means of providing rich, concrete experiences for students.” (Saettler, 1990, p.167)

17. REFERENCESDale, E. (1969). Audiovisual methods in teaching. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Dale, E. (April 1970). A Truncated Section of the Cone of Experience Theory into Practice 9(2), 96-100. Dale, E. (April 1970). Edgar Dale on Audio-Visual. Theory into Practice, 9(2), 101-105. Saettler, P. (1968). A history of instructional technology. New York: Mcgraw –Hill Book Company. Saettler, P. (1990). The evolution of American educational technology. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. Wagner, R.W. (April 1970). Edgar Dale: Professional. Theory into Practice 9(2), 89-95.

18. Picture REFERENCESFilm Roll picture courtesy of Microsoft Clip Art Edgar Dale Title Page Portrait Picture courtesy of: http://ehe.osu.edu/edtl/about/tradition.phpAll other pictures courtesy of:Edgar Dale. (April 1970). Theory into Practice, 9(2), 89-144.

19. The End