Jan 08 2009
How Do We Best Utilize Multimedia In Education?
When I was in my Post Secondary program I had a short discussion with my friend Brent at a seminar class. He told me about the awesome multimedia video clip that he made for his class he was helping to teach. The class was a freshman communication class. He proceeded to tell me how proud he was of his video, and the time that he put into the creation of this WORK OF ART.
He said that when he played it for the class, they watched it, and shrugged their shoulders. Not terribly exciting to them it seemed. Just like watching a cartoon on the Television. Brent said that he wasn’t drummed out of the classroom with a chorus of boos or throwing of vegetables, but they weren’t nearly as excited about it as he was.
As he told me this story I was mortified, because I was planning to do a similar project.
After thinking and discussing it a bit more. Brent said that he seems to get better interaction and response from the students when he teaches Face to Face in a classroom environment. (i.e. he actually stands in front of the class and teaches).
This is an interesting observation. I belive that in as Online Course Brent’s video clip would probably have been better received by students, but in the f2f (face to face) classroom environment students seem to prefer real people.
I am saving this story for future use (If Brent allows me to tell it, and of course embellish a bit). It can be filed under technology is an aid to teaching, and not THE Teaching. As an educational professional I need to know that MY PHYSICAL PRESENCE in the classroom is the best teaching tool. Don’t rely on the technology as a crutch in face to face classes.
I think that the students come there to see the professor, not video clips.
What do you think about how to best utilize multimedia in a f2f (traditional) classroom?
How about in an online (virtual) classroom?
-Loren
http://theteachingbox.today.com
http://www.theteachingbox.com
This is really an interesting discussion about when and where to use multimedia. It’s a constant question all instructors face. How do we make things more exciting and interesting? And yet, how do we know that something didn’t work because it’s ineffective or because it was simply not timed well?
Sometimes, in online education (I teach online) we tend to go overboard with the technology — chat, Twitter, webcams, etc. The students can get overwhelmed because they don’t know which to click first or how to navigate through a sea of information.
It seems there are pros and cons to many educational tools. Technology is great, but there is a bit of a trial-and-error approach to things — as always. Thanks for your exploration of these ideas.
–Kim
Onlineprofessor.today.com
Thanks for the comment Prof Kim. I agree that as educators we need to find the balance of technology in our classes whether online or traditional.
I value and enjoy reading your perspective.
-Loren
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