Cognitive efficiency: Toward a revised theory of media

Within and beyond the field of educational technology, Richard Clark's writings are widely believed to have shown that any number of media are equally capable of delivering any instruction, so that media choices are about cost and efficiency but not about cognition and learning (Clark, 1983; 1994b). However, if it is accepted that one type of efficiency is cognitive efficiency, then it follows that media choices are often about cognition and learning and can profit from an understanding of cognitive processes. Media and learning can then be reconnected in limited ways that do not compromise any of Clark's main points, and doing this will bring media work into line with current research into the role of surface information codes.