TELEVISION AND DIGITAL MEDIA

Modern technology has transformed the way people learn and interact with their
environment. The influence of television and digital media on the psychosocial development of
an individual especially the young ones is considered to be profound. Thus, it is important to
provide guidance to age-appropriate use of all media, including television, radio, music, video
games and internet.
Television can be a wonderful story-teller. The benefits that flow to children from good
storytelling are many and televisions learning outcomes need to be considered as part of the
curriculum. Children have always been drawn to drama over factual childrens programming.
Stories are the glue that binds the community together. They give children a shared
purpose, a roadmap for their lives and teach them about their feelings, their tribe, their culture
and their place in the world. A cohesive national culture and identity that requires development
through education from an early age would not be possible without shared cultural experiences
which film and television programs enable.
When done well, television programs can stimulate a child's imagination and open up the
infinite opportunities that life presents. Like good books, good television programs can extend
childrens understanding of their world. Stories are particularly effective in helping children
develop emotionally.
Television has the potential to generate both positive and negative effects and many
studies have looked at the impact of television on society particularly on children and
adolescents. The childs development level is a critical factor in determining whether the medium
will have positive or negative effects. Researches revealed that watching television exposes
children to violence, inappropriate sexuality and offensive language. Evidence also suggests that
televisions influence on children and adolescent is related to how much time they spend
watching television. As a result, with prolonged viewing, the world shown in television becomes
the real world.
Digital media are any media that are encoded in a machine-readable format. Digital
media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified and preserved on digital electronics devices.
Computer programs and software; digital imagery, digital video; video games; web pages and
websites, including social media; data and databases; digital audio, such as mp3s; and e-books
are examples of digital media. The ubiquity of digital media and its effects on society suggest
that we are at the start of a new era in industrial history, called the Information Age, perhaps
leading to a paperless society in which all media are produced and consumed on computers.
Digital media has a significant, wide-ranging and complex impact on society and culture.
The blending of digital media with other media, and with cultural and social factors, is
sometimes known as new media or "the new media." Similarly, digital media seems to demand a
new set of communications skills, called transliteracy, media literacy, or digital literacy. These
skills include not only the ability to read and writetraditional literacybut the ability to
navigate the Internet, evaluate sources , and create digital content.
Accessing freely available media digital content and tools can be an effective way to
improve educational provision and maximize resources in difficult times. The sharing of good
practice and direct experience, in addition to free content and open source tools, may be the
only way to ensure we receive the benefits of digital media while avoiding the pitfalls. The use of
digital media really can enhance teaching, but also poses the risk of only passively engaging the
learner. No single individual or even institution in isolation could possibly 'keep up'. Only by
pooling knowledge and sharing stories of what works and what doesn't can we use successfully
integrate digital media into our teaching and learning.
The students learn better and faster when they are actively engaged and participating in
activities that create learning opportunities along the way. Integrating digital media with
classroom technology is a great vehicle for student engagement.

Prepared by:
Miss Robelene Z. Fabula
MILE-FILIPINO