Multimedia Technology to facilitate Teachers' Technology Training! - 6 views
started by Joseph Vermeille on 08 Sep 14
started by Joseph Vermeille on 08 Sep 14
started by Joseph Vermeille on 08 Sep 14
started by Joseph Vermeille on 08 Sep 14
Mayer (2009, p. 1, 4) posits: "People learn better from words and pictures than from words alone". The author further endorsed "the sensory modality which uses auditory and visual senses as the ideal of multimedia messages (p. 9), the Learner-Centered approach which seeks to "adapt multimedia to enhance learning" (p. 13), the Knowledge Construction metaphor which "offers a more useful conception of learning when the goal is to help people to understand and to be able to use what they have learned (p. 19). Furthermore, distinguishing between behavioral activity and cognitive activity as two kinds of active learning (p. 22), the author championed meaningful outcomes as effective routes promoting understanding and retention (p. 19). In an effort to alleviate the plight of teachers in coping with the fast pace of technology and their needs for up-to-date training, (Plair, 2008) suggested the use of knowledge brokers. The same can be done even more effectively with Multimedia Technology, which is the purpose of this paper. In this regard, I will identify three distinct websites on teacher s technology training featuring multimedia artifacts for active learning along with their nature as being either learner-centered or technology-centered.
Website #1: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
This web site is an excellent resource for teachers. Written by Richard Byrne, its value proposition is free technology for teachers. In many ways, it can be referred to as a mini-encyclopedia of resources, tutorials, tools, and educational options such as Alternatives to YouTube, Ipad for Schools, and guidelines to designing websites and wikis. The multimedia articrafts include text, pictures, videos, and slide shows which keep the user cognitively focused and biologically engaged while following instructions and using the mouse to interact with the site. Based on Mayer (2009, p.13 ) the site is learner-centered in that it is built using the underlying premise consistent with the ways the human mind works (p. 13).
Website #2: http://teachinghistory.org
This is a site dedicated to the teaching of history from a "historical thinking perspective". The introductory narrator defines "historical thinking as the reading, writing, and analysis" of the past. Offering such options as Teaching Materials, History Content, and Best Practices, the site also includes quick links to Elementary School, Middle School, High School, and spotlights to such world events and the September 11, 2011 tragedy. The multimedia articrafts used include texts, narratives, videos, movies, and presentations on specific moments of history. The focus on critical thinking as a mean to capture the essence of history in a fashion where cognitive faculties overwhelm the actual perception of the presence of the technology translate the nature of the site as being learner-centered.
Website #3: www.lynda.com
I have used this site to learn some technologies with frustration since the system basically requires total focus on the technology to keep up with the narrator. It is basically a series of video programs with no actual multimedia articrafts to expand the human mind besides the limitations of the video (Mayer, 2009, p. 13). Learners can follow the material being read on the screen with minimal opportunity to learn. It is a typical technology-centered environment which Mayer (2009) defined as technology where "humans were forced to adapt to the demands of cutting-age technologies" instead of meeting the needs of human learners.
References
Mayer, R. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Plair, S.. (2008). Revamping Professional Development for Technology Integration and
Fluency. The Clearing House,