Increasingly, educators and trainers are challenged within their respective organizations to provide for the efficient distribution of instructional content using instructional media. The appropriate selection of instructional media to support distance learning is not intuitive and does not occur as a matter of personal preference. On the contrary, instructional media selection is a systematic sequence of qualitative processes based on sound instructional design principles. Although media selection is often mentioned when studying the discipline of instructional technology or Instructional Systems Design (ISD), it is sometimes overlooked when applying the selection process in a distance-learning environment. It is our intent, therefore, for this guide to highlight the essentials of good media selection. We hope to present an instructionally sound and systematic approach to selecting the most appropriate media for the delivery of content at a distance.

Media selection is an integral part of the Instructional Systems Design process. In that role, media selection ensures that a specific distributed instructional medium can support the attainment of the desired learning objectives.