Welcome to my journey through EDCI 337: Interactive and Multimedia Learning. In this first blog, I will post some of my initial thoughts about this class and interactive/multimedia learning as a whole. First off, one thing that I hope to get out of this class is being more comfortable using this website and blogging format, as well as creating audio/video representations. By becoming more comfortable using audio/video, I hope to relieve some anxiety that I have when it comes to speaking and creating an audio message or putting myself in front of the camera and presenting that way. As Rich explained in his video on interactive/multimedia learning, using web-based games can greatly influence a child’s education. (McCue, 2020) By having a child play games online then they can learn without even knowing that they are learning. For instance, in the pandemic game, his child is trying to help the world during the spread of a virus. By doing this the child is learning about plenty of topics such as world geography, the importance of vaccinations, how a pandemic may spread, etc. The child is learning through this game without even realizing it and with a tiny amount of instruction from a parent/guardian a child could learn a lot more, such as basic hygiene to prevent the spread of diseases, how something similar to a pandemic may affect different areas (how population density can affect the rate of spread), how vaccines work to prevent the spread and many more topics. A multimedia learning experience that has greatly benefited me is a YouTube channel called Khan Academy. This channel has allowed me to watch, listen to, and follow along with videos when I have been struggling with school content. By being able to replay these videos over and over again, it enables me to better understand the parts that I am struggling with, as well as be able to pause the video and work through the questions and ideas either on my own or with the instructor. A basic example of how a non-digital interactive learning experience has affected me would be using the strategy “think, pair, share”. This strategy has been used in many of my classes and has enabled me to have my ideas heard without having to say them out loud to the whole class if I did not want to, or it would save me the trouble of having to raise my hand for a long period of time to possibly not even be heard by anyone or get called upon by the teacher. Some final thoughts on today’s videos and readings are that using technology and multimedia to help students interact and understand is a crucial way to ensure that all students have a mode that they can learn in at any given time (through video, audio, partner work, etc.). This reminds me of the learner-centred approach discussed in the Introduction to Multimedia Learning PDF (Mayer, 2014). By using technology as an aid to student learning rather than using technology to overpower it, then students are more likely to comprehend what is being taught. Sometimes using the most cutting-edge technology is not going to help students at all and may confuse them more, but by using technology as an aid (videos, pictures, animations, etc.) then students are more likely to follow along with the topic rather than just be bored of only listening to someone speak or write the whole time, for example. Another thing that has greatly influenced my thinking is the idea of telling stories to help ensure that our students understand and remain engaged. (Juliani, 2016) I remember as a child anytime a teacher started telling a relevant and compelling story I was automatically drawn to that more than if they had just told me how something happened and not made it relevant to my life at the time. Overall, I look forward to learning how to use new types of media and how they can be incorporated into my teaching practice, as well as enhance my knowledge on some of the ones that I am already familiar with.
Attribution:
“Multimedia” by hugoespinozas under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
References:
Juliani, A.J. (2016, March 21). The Hidden Importance of Teaching With Stories. Retrieved from http://ajjuliani.com/hidden-importance-teaching-stories/
Mayer, R. E., 1947. (2014). The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (Second ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9781139547369
Rich McCue. [Rich McCue]. (2020, June 4). EDCI 337 Topic 1 – Introduction to Interactive & Multimedia Learning. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=V39sIKsRpUI&feature=emb_logo