Multimedia VS Technology
As a student in the University of Victoria Teacher Education Program, I have spent the past two years of university immersing myself, and buying into, the importance of place-based learning and UDL. Professors have consistently preached the need for teachers to expand their variety of multiple media lessons to better meet the needs of all their students. The mistake teachers make when hearing this term is they immediately think technology. I understand the frustration many teachers have as computers can be frustrating for those who do not fully understand it. Fortunately, I have already learned through this course “multimedia” does not simply mean “technology” it means relating pictures to words to create a deeper understanding for the learner. Furthermore, through EDCI-337 I hope to become more familiar with technological multimedia platforms which are school appropriate, and non-technological multimedia options that are engaging for all students.
Photo by Hannah Rodrigo on Unsplash
As a high school student, I dreaded school. I perceived every day as long, unnecessary, and unrelated to my future, or so I thought at the time. Reflecting on my past, the two teachers whose classes I thoroughly enjoyed were those who had experience applying what they were teaching. Before today I believed I enjoyed those teachers’ classes more because they loved their occupation; however, Rutledge’s acknowledgment of the importance of story in learning has made me realize, I learned more effectively from those teachers because they shared their stories and made the information stimulating for my brain.
Guide on the side NOT Sage on the stage
Teachers lecturing from the front of the class has become a thing of the past. Instead, teachers are promoting hands-on learning for their students. This method of teaching in conjunction with written or oral descriptions of what they are doing creates multimedia learning. The students are not only hearing the words but seeing and exemplifying what they are learning about. For example, students often understand mathematical principles more thoroughly after using manipulatives to represent the content they are learning.
Video on Multimedia Learning by Osmosis
In grade seven, I began learning about positive and negative integers. I recall confusion around the topic for days. My whole class seemingly understood the concept by my teacher speaking and drawing positive and negative signs next to numbers. It wasn’t until the teacher provided us all with number lines and two different colored markers for visually representing the addition of positive numbers to negative numbers that I finally could comprehend what was happening. I have always needed multiple different explanations of the same topic to fully understand what I was learning. Because of this, I am excited and eager to learn more throughout this course about the different possibilities with multimedia learning.
References
Juliani, A. (2016, March 21). The Hidden Importance of Teaching With Stories. Retrieved June 06, 2020, from http://ajjuliani.com/hidden-importance-teaching-stories/
Mayor, R. E. (2014). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1017/CBO9781139547369
Osmosis (2017, August 8). Multimedia Learning [Video]. YouTube. URL https://youtu.be/w-_0E-OiEqc
Team, S. (2018, April 06). 5 Examples of Interactive Teaching Styles: Resilient Educator. Retrieved June 06, 2020, from https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/5-interactive-teaching-styles-2/