1. Manuela Pietraß Universität der Bundeswehr München
Internet’s Impact on Teaching NEW MILLENNIUM LEARNERS Scuole, tecnologie, apprendimento
Manuela Pietraß
Universität der Bundeswehr München
Media lead to a change in cultural practices and social values when the qualities of media and media usage differ from former media practice. In the following I want to look at the specifities of the Internet and which effect they have on the future of teaching.

2. Medium User Media Communication
In Media communication two sides can be analysed: the media and the user. In this meeting one of the most important media, which might bring a change, is the Internet, and the User is the NML.
What I am looking at is the relation between both sides, which I call interaction. This interaction might be explained as follows:

3. Internet NML Media Communication Interaction
What I am looking at is the relation between both sides, which I call interaction. Interaction cannot be explained by quantitative data. I will give an ecample:

4. Quantitative versus qualitative aspects of Internet Usage
Internet usage (12-19 years ) in Germany
(JIM 2006; N=1000)
This table is out of a German study. It shows that the difference between the forms of Internet use (navigating, playingand learning/working) in the three school types in Germany are not large. But when you look at what kinds of Internet content exists it shows that the differences might be a lot larger than these quantitative data show.

5. Media Communication: Socio-cultural influences
Presentation styles
Medium
User
Gratifications sought
The interaction is constitutd by the medium, in fact, the communicator. The communicator who anticipates the expectancies and the ways of understanding by using certain presentation styles.
The user knows these styles by media socialization. Recognizing styles helps him by searching preferred gratifications and media experiences.
The common knowledge, which both sides share and which is a prerogative for communication are in a socio-cultural point of view aesthetical patterns

6. Media Communication: Socio-cultural influences
Presentation styles
Medium
User
Gratifications sought
Medium and user are connected by aesthetical patterns. On the side of the user these patterns are transferred by
environmental conditioning and have an effect on media practice. On the side of the medium they are developed as media genres and presentational styles.
Aesthetical patterns are shared by the members of a milieu.
There is still research needed, but we knnow that young age and minor education are related with the wish for action oriented presentation patterns, hedonism in media practice and less differentiated media usage in regard to all forms of communication.
The games the pupils play, the information they search for learning are not the same. Only the forms of use are the same, but not the content. Content varies in regard to styles. I will give some examples.
Aesthetical Patterns

7. Effects on cultural patterns and values prevalent at school
Example: Authentic games as learning environments
America’s Army aims to interest young people in recruitung for the US army, since the Army has difficulties in gaining enough young persons to serve. The computer game is offered in recruiting offices, but it is mainly distributed via Internet. The player has successfully to conclude various training steps like first aid or shooting, before the game, an ego-shooter starts. The first part of the game seems very realistic for persons not acquainted with the army.
America‘s Army 2003

8. Effects on cultural patterns and values prevalent at school
Here we see screeshot of the first part of the game:
Class room, lecture on first aid has to completed with a test. The user partakes out of an ego-perspective, he sees his classmates, playing with a pencil or concentrating on the teacher. When the player cheats and looks during the test on the paper of a classmate, he will beexcluded from the test.

9. Effects on cultural patterns and values prevalent at school
Here we see on the second level : the soldiers are dead, but not wounded

10. Effects on cultural patterns and values prevalent at school by hybridical genres
Hybridical Internet realities mix between formal and informal learning contexts
Teachers are challenged to stress the difference between modes of learning
School has to deal with media knowledge of uncertain quality
Hybridical Internet realities are used out of school. They provide very attractive learning environments, which contain playful elements and do not demand as much of the tediousness of learning. Hybridical Internet learning environments mix between formal and informal learning contexts
Teachers are challenged to compete with playful learning and relaxed, non-committal ways of working
They have to stress the difference between modes of learning, because even the most playful and fun kind of learning school can offer, demands working,
Pupils take their media knowledge into school. School has to deal with media knowledge of uncertain quality. This can only be met by analysing the knowledge on various topics, where does it come from, is the source of knoledge reliable, comparing this source with other sources.

11. Learning modes and Internet content
Internet usage (12-19 years ) in Germany
(JIM 2006; N=1000)
My next point deals with learning modes and Internet content. The Internet is by all users primarily needed for information seeking. We see here that navigating, which leads to information and learning and working are very important for all pupils.
But what offers do they get? Though the Internet is an information medium, it offers different information genres, more entertaining and more high brow content.

12. Learning modes and Internet content
A comparison between a high qualitiy online journal and a boulevard online-journal showed that there is a more entertaining and a more serious presentation style in the Internet. The entertainment style uses more pictures, colours, human touch topics and practical advice, less text and bigger letters, whereas the information style is more textually oriented, with less colours, pictures (still and vivid) and more background information. This means that users may continue their preferred ways of information seeking, of learning and entertainment while using the Internet. ;

13. Learning modes and Internet content
Internet offers to precede preferred media practices and ways of learning
Schools have to support pupils with training media competence and learning skills, not only with Internet access
Internet offers to precede preferred media practices and ways of learning
The parents condition the way their children use media. reading socialization and preferred media practices are transferred from the parents to their offspring, so we can talk of cultivation media habits and preferred content. These data refer to the traditional media. But styles in the Internet show, that it gives the possibility to continue already existing media practices. This reinforces already existing divides beweent educated and less educated OECD population. Internet access cannot solve this problem: it can only be solved by extra training and support of pupils with learning difficulties.
This means for schoools: not only money for technic, but also for teachers

14. Multimedia teaching: The nature of pictures
Frame
Content
A picture has three levels of meaning:
The content (this is the even or the interaction showed)
The context, in which a picture is used.
The context is very important, because picture are multisemic, there meaning is ambiguous. A rose can mean a flower or a symbol for love. The context shows, how the rose has to be interpreted: as a flower in a garden or as the flower, a lover receives.

15. Multimedia teaching: The nature of pictures
Frame
Content
The presentation style of a picture helps to understand pictures: the style is build by colour, perspective, iconicit. Presentation style and context are very often interwoven, so we now, what a picture means, even without knowing the context, e. g. when channel hopping during TV sessions.
When the content does not demand more to be understood than general knowledge, it is easier to understand a picture. This means: Style and popular content help to understand a picture
Presentation Style

16. Multimedia teaching: Understanding pictures
Understanding pictures demands
Knowledge about content
Knowledge about presentation styles
Knowledge about the situation (frame) wherein a picture is used
Understanding pictures demands
Knowledge about content
Knowledge about presentation styles
Knowledge about the situation (frame) wherein a picture is used
Especially the knowledge about the context gives a more critical, an abstract way of interpreting a picture. When the user knows that an information source is not very reliable, he will be more critical .
But since content and presentation style help to understand pictures, even if the context is missing, pictures are a very good way to overwhelm communicative barriers and to support understanding.

17. Multimedia teaching: Development of new didactical styles
Multimedia allows new pedagogical presentation styles enriched with
Iconicity and authenticity
Graphs and diagrams
School has to complete concretness of pictures by
Knowledge
Analytical competence
Media competence
global communication of the Net, it is crosscultural and has a high accessability, multimedia is very important:
Multimedia will lead to new presentation styles, which support quick understanding and crosscultural communication.
Multimedia will lead to new pedagogical presentation styles based on
Iconicity and Authenticity
Graphs and tables
Multimedia is an excellent and important wa to support understanding and to integrate the knowledge poor. Schools task it will be, to integrate the pupils with less privileged social background, to develop their competence of abstract thinking and analytical problemsolving and media competence.

18. Conclusion
ICT offer new modes of playful learning and attractive multimedia presentation modes
School should use these new modes for teaching
The deepening of existing educational gaps by the Internet demands analytical competence and media competence
ICT offers new modes of playful learning and of attractive styles for communication and presenting infromation
Teachers should be creative in developing new teaching styles by using ICT to compete with informal learning contexts
School needs time and teachers to avoid that ICT deepens existing educational gaps and learning deficiencies