|
|
|
|
What is it? The Oxford English Dictionary defines communication as "the imparting, conveying, or exchange of ideas, knowledge, information, etc." Communications theory then becomes the study and statement of the principles and methods by which information is conveyed. Among key communications theorists were Wilbur Schramm, David Berlo, and Marshall McLuhan. Wilbur Schramm emphasized the importance of the study of communication as a discipline of study. He founded the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois in 1947. With fellow theorist C. E. Osgood, he created a circular model of communications that focused not only on the components of communication, but also on the behaviors of senders and receivers. David K. Berlo developed the source-message-channel receiver (SMCR) theory in the 1960s. His theories emphasized the many factors that could affect how senders and receivers created, interpreted, and reacted to a message. Marshall McLuhan is the communications theorist most widely known to the general public. His statement "The medium is the message" became a catch phrase in the 1960s. His controversial theory of "hot" media (those media that cause the receiver to be passive) and "cool" media (those that require the receiver to participate) as a critical component of communication stimulated much thought in the field of communication theory. These theorists and others forged new ways of thinking about communications. These theories and the field of study they generated eventually converged with the field of education technology by the 1980s. Activity Search the sites below or others of your own choosing to further explore communications theory. After reviewing the sites, summarize how you think communications theory relates to teaching. Explain its merit and importance to you. Be prepared to share your views with your class. Want to know more? Check out these sites: http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc/comm_theory.html http://www.stevedenning.com/communications_Bohm.html http://www.uiowa.edu/~journal/publications/iccs.html http://people.csp.edu/winegarden/courses/CTA_Per/communic.htm http://www.fuller.edu/swm/faculty/freeman/ML525/supplemental/bethesda/tsld015.htm Sources Berlo, D. K., & Reiser, R. A. 1987. Instructional technology: A history. In R. M. Gagné (Ed.). Instructional technology: Foundations (p. 16). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. McLuhan, M. 1998. Understanding media: The extensions of man. Cambridge, MA: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. Perkins, B. D. 2000, September 1. Wilbur Schramm overview. University of North Carolina. Retrieved March 25, 2001, from http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/introductory/schro1.html.
|