Choosing Appropriate Media

One challenge in developing the educational component of your project is deciding which media to use to accomplish your goals. Often, any number of media could be used to deliver the same or similar content. So how do you decide what your strategy should be?

Review the goals, objectives, and target audience for your educational outreach effort. Think about what each medium does well and how your audience might use each medium.

Now consider your budget and the technologies available to your target audience. You need to decide what is the best media for reaching your audience and what is the most cost-effective way to have the widest reach. Sometimes these are the same; sometimes they aren't -- that's when you have to make compromises.

For example, using the Web as a print-distribution mechanism does not take advantage of its strengths. Yet if you can't afford to print and mail your materials, this may be your only distribution option. Similarly, streaming video on the Web can be a great way to accomplish a broad reach, but many people won't be able to access the streaming or will find it too slow. You may want to consider distributing on CD-ROM, DVD, or videocassette as well.

For more information on the different educational outreach formats, see the following Formats areas:

Print |  Web/Interactive |  Video |  Person-to-Person Activities

Because technology changes so quickly, any statement declaring the best use of any media would be out of date in months. The key is to learn as much as you can about your target audience. Find out what's really going on, not just what the statistics say. While most schools may be wired, computers may be located in the lab rather than in individual classrooms, and their network speeds may be limited. Many teachers still prefer getting printed materials over downloading guides from the Web, but this may change. And what works for teachers and schools may not work for after-school programs or libraries. You need to know your market and think critically about why you are choosing one media over another. Whatever decision you make is fine, as long as you can justify it to yourself and your funders!