Radio, television, audio, and video, long embedded in everyday life, have been central to distance education and gained renewed prominence during COVID-19. Well-designed audiovisual resources enhance learning and retention, complement routine teaching, and make otherwise inaccessible phenomena visible and audible.
Crucially, broadcast media mitigated inequities when connectivity was scarce: radio and TV reached vulnerable learners at scale; podcasts added on-demand control (pause, rewind, repeat), strengthening autonomy and time management. Despite perceptions of obsolescence, evidence from UNICEF and the World Bank underscores their continuing educational value, especially in low-resource contexts.
Television and video extend this potential by integrating text, image, and sound to motivate, demonstrate procedures, and humanise expertise. The shift from analogue formats to networked platforms has multiplied access, from institutional repositories to MOOCs.
Design matters: shorter, personable videos that interleave instructor presence with visuals tend to sustain engagement; yet video should be embedded in coherent course design rather than treated as a standalone solution. Synchronous videoconferencing has, in turn, aggregated many advantages of earlier media, adding bi-/multidirectional interaction and social presence, while demanding deliberate pedagogical strategies and staff development.
In sum, distance education pioneered educational uses of radio/TV and continues to benefit from audio and video as affordable, scalable tools, indispensable where connectivity or power is limited, and powerful elsewhere when thoughtfully integrated.
The pandemic accelerated adoption and exposed both promise and gaps: institutions should pursue omnichannel strategies that align media to content and learner needs; exploit the vast open libraries now available; and invest in the time, craft, and training required to produce or curate high-quality materials. The pedagogical dividend lies not in the medium alone but in its purposeful orchestration across synchronous and asynchronous experiences.
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How to Cite: García-Aretio, L. (2022). Radio, Television, Audio and Video in Education. Functions and Possibilities, Enhanced by COVID-19. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 25(1), 09–28. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.25.1.31468
