Chapter 9 Reflections

Reflecting on What I Know:

1.  How can my students use multimedia for their  projects?
Students can use multimedia to create unique and attractive presentations that include text, images, hyperlinks, audio, video, and animations.  Multimedia presentations allow students to display and share their information in an interesting way while motivating them to remain focus and complete their best work.  Morrison and Lowther go beyond that to say that "The process of writing or elaborating on ideas can help students discover new ideas and relationships" (p. 244).  Multimedia applications have options for students to choose a theme or they can create their own theme by using blank templates.  There are many options within multimedia applications that students can use to spruce up their presentations and make them attractive and interesting.  However, students must be careful not to add too many "bells and whistles" to take away from the content or make it distracting.

2.  What applications are available for creating a multimedia presentation?
There are a variety of applications that help students create a multimedia presentation.  The most well-known application is PowerPoint, which allows students to incorporate many multimedia components in their presentations.  Other applications that can be used when creating a multimedia presentation are iMovie, Movie Maker, and Adobe Flash.







3.  Should I place limits on how my students use multimedia? 
Students should be taught proper use of multimedia applications and also shown how to create attractive presentations.  Many times, students get distracted by all the "bells and whistles" offered within multimedia applications that they lose focus of their project.  Also, they might get carried away with colors, graphics, and animations and make it difficult for the audience to follow the presentation.  These are things that should be modeled and reinforced by the teacher to ensure students use multimedia presentations to maximize learning.  Also, while students are creating their presentations, it would be helpful if the teacher is monitoring their work and providing assistance as needed. 

References

 Lowther, D. & Morrison, G. (2010). Integrating Computer Technology into the Classroom: Skills for the 21st Century. Pearson Education, Inc. Boston, MA. USA.