By Woody Batts
 Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology

Everybody is talking, hearing and reading about "multimedia". What can we do with such a thing? "Multimedia" exists to the extent at which it is being talked about, that is as a subject of communication. And these are the visions, concepts, plans and ideas for applications. For the majority of educators, multimedia is a mere subject for discussion but not really tangible, experience in the world has skewed our perspectives of the incorporation of multimedia. Here are a few misconceptions of multimedia.

Myth One: Multimedia is too “Flashy.”

True multimedia can be used to add aesthetic content to your course however the ability to add tangible and resourceful content still outweighs the aesthetical value.

Myth Two: Nobody has Flash.

As of November 13, 2003 98.9% of internet users had the Flash 5 plugin (source w3c.org)

Myth Three: Flash takes a long time to download.

Flash is a vector based program, which basically means that it utilizes your computers processor to depict images, these cuts down dramatically on download time. However the more content you add to a flash file to more size it will take up, so it is best to use big files sparingly.

So after stating this why use multimedia? Dr. Suzanne Cherry is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Francis Marion University gives us these 12 reasons for using multimedia in a classroom environment.
  1. Multimedia projects motivate students to participate.
  2. Multimedia projects integrate all the language arts -- reading, writing, listening and speaking across curricular areas.
  3. Multimedia projects build collaboration skills for students.
  4. Multimedia projects create real reasons for reading, writing, and revising communication.
  5. Multimedia projects give students a larger audience than the teacher and the classroom.
  6. Multimedia projects require students to analyze sources and think about evidence in new ways.
  7. Multimedia projects lead teachers to think about their students, classes, and lessons in new ways. Reflection and revision of teaching strategies naturally evolve with the projects.
  8. Multimedia projects require higher order thinking and problem-solving skills. These projects promote non-linear thinking and give divergent learners a chance to shine in the classroom.
  9. Multimedia projects move teachers from the role of lecturer and classroom authority and into the role of learning coach or facilitator. They create student-centered classrooms.
  10. Multimedia projects increase students' literacy and prepares them for the technology-based communication skills required in the workplace today and tomorrow.
  11. Multimedia projects let teachers address multiple intelligences and learning styles in the classroom.
  12. Multimedia projects naturally employ the range of resources and approaches by which most students learn best.

Multimedia is a great source of adding rich, dynamic content to your course while preserving the integrity of fundamental learning. By merging multimedia into course development you can offer a new invigorating way for students to learn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"As of November 13, 2003 98.9% of internet users had the Flash 5 plugin."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Multimedia projects let teachers address multiple intelligences and learning styles in the classroom."