Multimedia & Me

Looking at Multimedia Learning and Myself

An Introduction to Multimedia

I remember being a high school student 20+ years ago, sitting in just about any class and the teacher would place a transparency sheet full of written information on the projector for us to copy. The experience of using this multimedia/technology was one I recall vividly while dreading it during my history courses because it meant taking copious amounts of notes. Technology has come quite a distance in the past couple of decades and improvements in multimedia learning materials has developed through advancements in information and communication technology.

Nowadays I am searching for ways to provide information to students in my classroom. My first years teaching were a struggle using multimedia for learning as I tended to have large amounts of information laid out in bullet points along with images for context, but I could see the same look on their faces that I once had when I was in their shoes. That is when I knew it was time to make a change, and now that I am covering multimedia learning theories while obtaining my M.Ed., I can take a critical look at my created multimedia and remodel my resources to improve student learning and engagement.

Theory

Before we get into the uses of multimedia and how it can be used, let's discuss Richard Mayer’s Multimedia Learning Theory a bit. According to Mayer (1997), “multimedia learning theory consists of three aspects that help students learn more effectively. The first one is that there are two channels, namely audio and visual, for information processing; this is also known as the multimedia principle. This principle states that students may learn better from images and words than just from words. The second aspect is that each channel has a limited capacity to process information. In other words, human beings can only process information in limited amounts, and they try to understand the information by creating mental representations from the information sources. The last aspect is that learning is an active process of filtering, selecting, organizing, and integrating information based on existing knowledge”.

Involving Pedagogy & Andragogy

Understanding this theory is important in education today for both educators and learners, whether the learner is a child or an adult. For children, a pedagogical classroom involves much more teacher directed learning where the educator presents information designed by setting goals for more structure so that learners can build a foundation of knowledge. Adult learning through an andragogical setting is learner focused where the needs of the learner are to be met through a more collaborative setting that supports the learners goals. “They have specific reasons for participation which may be short or long-term in nature. They have goals to attain and problems to solve and want to learn in order to attain their goals or solve their problems,” (Schmidt, Dickerson, Kisling, 2010).

A Deeper Form of Learning?

Multimedia is important in creating a deeper form of learning. Through the combination of visual and auditory learning information can be transferred from short term memory to a learners working memory, which then is processed to the long term memory after prior knowledge or experience relates with the working memory. Multimedia learning happens when learners are able to take representations of information whether that is through words, images, videos, or auditory and integrate it with their experiences or prior knowledge. “The use of instructional multimedia can take many formats, such as students watching and listening to a narrated animation, reading a science textbook, playing an educational video game, attending a PowerPoint presentation, or watching and listening to educational video,” (Ibrahim, 2011).

Moving Forward for Me

Through understanding Mayer’s Multimedia Principles I have gained more confidence in the material I provide my students, and will now be taking a more critical look at the material I provide my students, especially when I recycle materials previously used in prior years. When creating presentations for my students, or using previous materials, I expect to ask myself why I am using certain media, as well as taking a more in depth look at how the material will reach my students.

Works Cited

Mayer, R. E. (1997). Multimedia learning: Are we asking the right questions? Educational Psychologist, 32(1), 1-19.

Schmidt, Steven & Dickerson, Jeremy & Kisling, Eric. (2010). From Pedagogy to Andragogy: Transitioning Teaching and Learning in the Information Technology Classroom. Integrating Adult Learning and Technologies for Effective Education: Strategic Approaches. 63-81. 10.4018/978-1-61520-694-0.ch004.

Ibrahim, M. (2011, November 30). ERIC - EJ1047003 - Implications of Designing Instructional Video Using Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, Critical Questions in Education, 2012. Https://Eric.Ed.Gov/? Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1047003