Why Multimedia is Important in Education

1. Why Multimedia is Important in Education • Multimedia is important in Education for two main reasons: • Student Engagement • More effectively providing ways to meet learning goals

2. Prensky (2006) aptly named students in today’s schools as “digital natives” (p. 9). This name was given to contrast the experiences of the students from many of their teachers who are identified as “digital immigrants” (p. 9). Digital natives refers to the idea that students today have grown up with technology as part of their daily life, whereas digital immigrants have learned to use technology and maintain an “accent from the pre-digital world” (p. 9).

3. Engagement Because today’s classrooms are comprised of digital natives, it has become increasingly important to better engage these students in the learning process. A key tool in doing this is through the utilization of multimedia. Multimedia can take the form of PowerPoint presentations, streaming videos from the Internet, the use of websites, blogs and other digital presentations.

4. More effectively providing ways to meet learning goals In addition to student engagement, Zhu and Kaplan (2011) explain that an important way for teachers to utilize multimedia is by “Addressing specific learning goals more effectively” by creating “multimedia case studies that contain video clips, images, text information, along with questions asking students to identify problems, discuss possible solutions, and develop recommendations” (p. 236).

5. Multimedia use in education has even expanded to what Prensky (2006) refers to as “gameplay” (p. 11). It is explained as incorporating “into our classrooms the same combination of desirable goals, interesting choices, immediate and useful feedback, and opportunities to ‘level up’ … that engage kids in their favorite complex computer games” (p. 11). Gameplay is useful in both student engagement and in more effectively meeting learning goals.

6. Software for Teacher & Student Created Multimedia The Adobe Digital School Collection is a software suite that allows teachers and students to create various multimedia presentations and applications. Klapperstuck and Lackie (2009) explain this suite as “software for photo, audio, and video editing, as well as web-publishing” (p. 14). Teachers can utilize this software in putting together dynamic class presentations/lectures, website activities, creating audio sound tracks and video libraries. Students can also utilize the software in similar ways for classroom presentations, creative projects, websites and videos.

7. Adobe Digital School Collection (ADSC) in Action. A teacher can take the following images and create a digital collage, that can be shown from a LCD projector in the classroom and even embedded on a classroom web-site. A U D IO + + + + Into ADSC = Picture1 Picture 2 Picture 3 Picture 4 Click here to play audio file Images and Audio files retrieved from: Teacher Digital Resource Center at http://www.adobe.com/education/instruction/adsc/#pioneers

8. References Klapperstuck, K.J. & Lackie, R.J. (2009). Cool tools. MultiMedia & Internet @ Schools, 16, 13-15. Prensky, M. (2006). Listen to the natives. Educational Leadership, 63, 8-13. Zhu, E. & Kaplan, M. (2011). Technology and teaching. In M. Svinicki & W. McKeachie, McKeachie’s teaching tips (p. 235-266). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.