Instructional media are tools used by teachers to effectively convey information to students. They include traditional methods like chalkboards and textbooks as well as newer electronic technologies like computers and multimedia systems. Instructional media aim to stimulate students' senses and interests to help achieve learning goals. They have advantages like allowing easy reproduction of content, providing visual access to processes, and gaining and holding students' attention. Proper selection and use of instructional media can help teachers present new content, support learning through examples, and assess student performance.

1. Instructional Media
The word media comes from the Latin “medius” which means “middle”. In general, all forms of media are
the intermediary for the spread, carry or convey something to the recipient of messages and ideas.
Media are generally defined as the means by which information is conveyed from one place to another. In
the past century, various forms of media have been used to convey instruction and to support learning.
Examples of instructional media include traditional means of delivering instruction (chalkboards, textbooks,
overhead projectors, and teachers), mass media used for education (newspapers, movies, radio, and
television), and the newer "electronic" instructional media (computers, interactive video, and multimedia
systems). All instruction requires the selection and use of at least one medium to deliver instruction. Many
alternative media and mixtures of media may be chosen for any given learning goal and group of students.
According to Azikiwe (2007), instructional media cover whatever the teacher uses to involve all the five
senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste while presenting his/her lessons.
According to Vein Adegun (1997), instructional media are things which are intended to help the teacher to
teach more effectively and enable the students to learn more readily. Instructional media are information
carriers designed specifically to fulfil objectives in a teaching-learning situation.
According to Martin and Briggs (1986), the instructional media includes all resources necessary to
communicate with the learner. This can include hardware and software used on the hardware.
According to H. Malik (1994), instructional media is anything that can be used to transmit messages (study
materials), so that it can stimulate interests, thoughts and feelings in the learning and learning activities to
achieve certain learning goals.
Instructional media have important advantages because they:
Allow easy and repeated reproduction of an event or procedure;
Provide visual access to a process or technique;
Provide a common framework of experience to a large number of learners;
Promote an illusion of reality;
Gain and hold the attention of the learner;
Focus attention or highlight key points;
Save time by avoiding wordy explanations;
Create impact;
Facilitate the understanding of abstract concepts.

2. Need of Instructional Media
• Gain attention. A picture on the screen, a question on the board, or music playing as students enter the
room all serve to get the student’s attention.
• Recall prerequisites. Use media to help students recall what they learned in the last class, so that new
material can be attached to and built upon it.
• Present objectives to the learners. Hand out or project the day’s learning objectives.
• Present new content. Not only can media help make new content more memorable, media can also help
deliver new content (a text, movie, or video).
• Support learning through examples and visual elaboration. One of the biggest advantages of media is
to bring the world into the classroom when it is not possible to take the student into the world.
• Elicit student response. Present information to students and poses questions to them, getting them involved
in answering the questions.
• Provide feedback. Media can be used to provide feedback relating to a test or class exercise.
• Enhance retention and transfer. Pictures enhance retention. Instructional media help students visualize a
lesson and transfer abstract concepts into concrete, easier to remember objects.
• Assess performance. Media is an excellent way to pose assessment questions for the class to answer, or
students can submit mediated presentations as classroom projects.
In line with Rudy Brets, there will be seven classification of media, namely:
1. Motion audio-visual media, like: silent film, a movie on tv, tv and animation.
2. Silent audio-visual media, like: slide.
3. Audio semi motion, like: writing moving voice.
4. Moving visual media, like: a silent movie.
5. Silent visual media, like: mute slide, print pages, photos.
6. Audio media, like: radio, telephone, audio tape.
7. Print media, like: books, modules.
Anderson (1976) classify media into 10 categories as follows:
Media Categories Examples in Learning
1. Audio Audio tapes, radio, CD, telephone

3. 2. Print Textbooks, modules, brochures, leaflets, pictures
3. Audio-print Audio tapes that include written materials
4. Proyeksi visual silent Overhead transparency (OHT), Film frames (slides)
5. Audio visual projection silent Film frames (slides) voiced
6. Visual Motion silent film
7. Audio Visual motion, silent motion film, video / VCD, TV
8. Physical Objects Real objects, models, specimens
9. Humans and the environment Teacher, librarian, laboratory
10. Computer CAI (Computer Assisted Instructional = computer-assisted learning), CMI (Computer
Managed Instructional)
It may be concluded that the medium consists of:
1. Visual media: the media will simply be seen, an example would be: photos, pictures, posters, cartoons,
graphs etc.
2. Audio media: media which will simply be heard alone, an example would be audio tapes, mp3, radio.
3. Audio visual media: media which will be heard in addition as seen, an example would be : silent films,
videos, tv, sound slides.
4. Multimedia: the media will present a whole media parts, an example would be : animation. multimedia
is usually synonymous with computers, internet and computer-based learning.
5. Media reality: the real media that exist within the whole natural environment, whether or not applied to
a state of living or preserved, an example would be : animals, specimens, herbarium etc.