Visual and Audible Instruction

     Video instruction is the most efficient way to teach people a particular goal and set of objectives. Having said that, teaching and learning with audio and images, combined, would be very close to having the same benefits of maximizing learning as would video. Compared to teaching and learning with only text, only visuals, only audio, or even audio/text, teaching and learning with visual and audio instruction is superior.

     The benefits of teaching and learning with audio and visuals would be that as a double modality, an instructor would be reaching and engaging a far greater audience that any of the modalities by themselves. The instructor has more flexibility and wiggle room as far as instruction is concerned, because learners can learn from depicted visuals, and those things that are hard to explain with visual only, the instructor can supplement with audio. For example, the instructor could audibly say or explain a sequential process of events from a depicted image. The opposite is also true. Those things that are hard to explain audibly, can be easily depicted with a visual. For example, if instruction require specific nomenclature that may be otherwise unknowns to the lay learner, a visual depiction of the process would come in as an excellent supplement.

     Because the instructor can utilize audio and visuals, the instructor is afforded a greater medium to reach more students. Especially with handicapped students that may be blind, or deaf. Audio/ visual instruction allows the teacher to reach handicapped students in more than one mode—ensuring the transmission and reception of important instructional objectives.

     The only limitation that I can think of, with respect to teaching and learning with audio/visual instruction is that it’s not video instruction. Therefore, things that have a sequence to them may be a bit more challenging to describe and display versus video instruction. The use of audio may remedy this limitation, however it will not be as dynamic as if video were used. In the end, Audio/ visual instruction is a far superior method than text, visual, audio by themselves, but it falls a bit short when compared to teaching and learning with video.