Radio in Education

The presentation provides ample information on the use radio in Educative process, the pros and cons and the present relevance of the topic.

1. Radio in Education EDU 03:Educational Technology and Communication in Education

2. Categories of Mass Media Print Media : The oldest form of media. It include any type of printed material such as book, newspapers, magazines, journals and newsletters. Electronic media : Information made entertaining possible through television, radio, movies and more. Digital Media : Fast and efficient form of mass media. It encompasses all type of social media such as blogs, forums, web portals etc.

3. Importance of Radio in Educative Process Radio has been playing a vital role in the field of communication since its origin. 1930s marked the use of radio in educative process. After the growth of the print, as an instrument for the dissemination of idea, message, information and knowledge , the spoken word appeared with fresh tonal values as the vehicle of communication. Radio amalgamates sound and it has got immense potentiality. It has the power to stimulate values, to stir imagination and to increase knowledge and understanding .

4. Role of Radio in Education Radio extends the area of acquaintance : The child gains knowledge only when he/she interacts with the surroundings. Radio widens the area of acquaintance. Radio brings world into the classroom through the means of description, narration, dramatization and so on with the help of original voice and natural sounds. “Radio has the ability to transport listeners around the world, backward or forward in time’’- Forsythe. It brings the people of rare contribution : It helps the learners to get familiar with the eminent personalities who has given immense contribution to the society. Normally, it is not possible from part of the students to hear the voice of such people. It may be a great experience to the students.

5. It places events of current nature : National and international events are portrayed to the pupil. This help the pupil to update their information regarding national and international events. Radio carries fresh information earlier than the same is found in the newspapers or magazines. It helps in inculcating values : Radio works with only voice and sound, it helps the students to improve their creativity and imagination. It helps the slow learners and the pupils having poor sight : The pupil listen to the teachers in classroom and they supplement the learning, by going through books. Radio broadcasting is a boon for the learners who have defective eye sight and those who are slow in learning.

6. It refreshes the knowledge of teachers : A broadcast programmes carries more content than what is found in the text books. Various subject areas come into the fold of content. This helps the teacher to refresh his/her content knowledge in any subject/particular subject. Well suited for subjects such as language and music : Radio is suited for teaching music and arts. For Shukla ‘ radio specifically can provide opportunities for developing listening comprehension as well as improvement of vocabulary, pronunciation and formalities of speech’.

7. What makes radio popular. Wide Coverage : Radio covers wide geographical area. Even schools in remote places can access the broadcast. It can extend education to a greater student population at one time. Cheap medium and low maintenance : In comparison with other technologies, radio is regarded as the cheapest medium now a days. Even the schools with rural setting or minimal setting can have a radio with difficulty. Another plus point in favour of radio is that it can be repaired easily and the spare parts do not cost much more . Maintenance of radio is easily available within an institutional radius. In absence of power supply, radio can be operated in battery. Infrastructure and experience: Radio has got the well developed infrastructure for production of programmes as well as transmission of it. Authorised personnel and their experience is sought in this regard.

8. Utilisation of Educational Radio Programmes Radio concerns with one sense organ i.e. ear. Educational broadcast help the students to develop their mental ability. The canvas of imagination is so vast that the listener can paint it with variety, life and colour. For the effective use of radio programmes, some of the criteria are needed to be fulfilled ; such as physical condition for broadcast, organisation of the class, preparing students for the broadcast, listening activity, post listening activity and follow up activity .

9. Stages 1)Physical Condition for Broadcast Physical Conditions. Good lighting. Advantages of ventilation. Free from outside noise. Seating arrangement. 2)Organisation of the class. The teacher is required to test the functionality of the radio set and other speakers before it is utilised in the class. Should be audible to all.

10. 3)Listening Activity Teacher is a co learner. Pin drop silence should be maintained. Teacher should supplement the broadcast topic. Reaction from the part of students is given more importance. A review is submitted by the teacher, to the concerned programme maker. 4)Post listening Activity Megaphoning the doubts. Teacher should ask questions from the broadcast topic. Teacher should lead the students into a discussion, where they question each other and the teacher itself. If there is any deficiency in broadcast programme, the teacher should supplement it.

11. 5) Follow Up Activity. Last stage of broadcast. Teacher may motivate the students for further data collection in this regard. Follow up activities are given to the students such as assignments, writing poems and dialogue etc. A log book is maintained by the teacher, which helps him/her in giving feedback regularly.

12. Does Radio serves its purpose?? Pros Wide Reception Economical. Reasonably Cheap. Convenient. Easily Transportable. Can be used as complete teaching course, can be integrated into face to face teaching. Used in conjunction with distance education. Cons Impersonal and monotonous. No spontaneous feedback. Provide no visual help which in turn generates limitation on the variety of subjects taught. Initial reluctance from the part of the tutor. Outside interruption.

13. Indian Beginning June 1923 marked the first radio broadcast in India. It was done on a experimental basis by tying up with a private company named Indian Broadcasting Company limited. In 1947, AIR was established. Today AIR network has 198 broadcasting centres, including 74 local radio stations. 2000 programme hours everyday in 24 language and 146 dialects. AIR covers 98 percentage of the population.

14. Major Educational Radio Projects in India 1)School Broadcast Project 1937 Focused upon school students. Delhi, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. There was no strict curriculum in the beginning. AIR tried to make its radio broadcasts more curriculum oriented, but it failed due to the lack of common curriculum. 2)Adult education& Community Development Programme 1956, 144 villages in Poona were its beneficiaries. UNESCO funded this programme and renamed it as Radio Forums Project. Topics focusing on rural and agricultural programmes were aired.

15. 3)Language Learning Programme 1979-80 Initiated jointly by AIR and Education Government of Rajasthan. Established with an aim to teach Hindi in Jaipur and Ajmer districts. 500 primary schools were inculcated in this programme. It became a huge success, and the project was reinitiated in Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh. 4)University Broadcast Project 1965 Established with an aim to expand higher education among different strata of society. General- Included the topics of public interest. Enrichment- Programmes supported correspondence education. Broadcasted through AIR. School of Correspondence studies, University of Delhi, Central institute of English and Foreign languages are known for it.

16. 5)IGNOU- AIR Broadcast. In collaboration with IGNOU, AIR stations of Mumbai, Hyderabad and Shillong, broadcast were started in 1992. Target groups a re open and conventional university students. Shillong started this but discontinued later on. Presently broadcasted from AIR Mumbai and Hyderabad. 6) Gyan Vani 2001 Focused on open and conventional universities. It is based on a decentralised concept of extending mass media for education and empowerment. Programmes are contributed by IGNOU, NCERT, UGC, IIT etc. Women Empowerment, Consumer rights, Human rights, Science education are dealt through this.

17. Conclusion The popularity, availability and low cost of radio made it convenient and practical medium for use in programmes in learning at a distance and is mostly used in combination with other media, such as print medium followed by face to face teaching. Educational programmes or educational broadcast programmes indicate that radio can be an effective medium in reaching out, quality education and training to the needy ones.

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