Reflection on the Impact of Multimedia on Student Learning and the DDD-E Model

Chapter one of Multimedia Projects in Education by Karen S. Ivers and Ann E. Barron focuses on the impact of multimedia on student learning. Ivers and Barron bring up excellent points of why to use multimedia and how it can influence higher learning for the students. Some points that I exceptionally liked that chapter one brought up about why using multimedia in the classroom are that using multimedia helps students apply real-world skills, it is active learning, it promotes creativity, and using multimedia in the classroom prepares them for the future. I think that being able to use multimedia to present real-world skills is extremely important. I think that when a student learns new knowledge that they can apply to their lives, then the knowledge sticks with them. So by using multimedia to show students how the information is important to them not just in the classroom but in their own lives is very important. I also think that active learning and creativity is very important. Active learning makes learning more fun, which in turn will have the students more motivated to learn. Also, being able to use creativity through multimedia will help with the students learning because they will be excited to share their ideas with their peers and teacher and show off their creativity. Lastly, multimedia is important to use in the classroom because it does prepare students for the future. Technology is a big part of life today and if students are unable to use that technology at a young age then they will be behind and confused in the future. Let’s say a class uses excel and the internet to do research in a classroom project, the students will then know how to use those tools which are used often in the workplace. The students will have a better advantage in the future if they are already familiar with these tools.

Chapter one also focuses a lot on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. I have learned about this theory in a lot of my education classes and I believe that it is a particularly important theory to be familiar with. Teachers should know the different learning styles of their students so they can present information in different ways to get through to their students. It is stated in the chapter that “well-designed multimedia applications present content in several media formats and allow students to use their own individual learning styles”. This is important to remember when designing a multimedia project. Since every student learns differently, the teacher could designate different jobs to each student in a group that goes along with their style of learning. Such as one student who is good with text could be the one who looks up information while another student who is a spatial learner could be the one looking for pictures and animations to go along with their project. Each child should be able to take full advantage of their learning strengths, and the teacher should make sure this happens.

Another important idea in chapter one that I enjoyed reading about was cooperative learning. I am a full advocate of cooperative learning because I think being able to learn from peers and not just the teacher is important. I also believe it is important for students to be able to work together to accomplish a goal. One cooperative learning technique that the chapter discusses that I really liked was the jigsaw technique. This technique has the students get into groups and every student gets assigned a topic which is a part of the whole lesson. Then “expert groups” are made of the students that all have the same topics and they get together and gather information. Then each expert goes back to their home group and explains what they have learned to the others. I like this idea because I think students enjoy learning from each other and it makes them feel important when they are the one explaining their expert knowledge to their group. Each child is equally important, which is extremely vital.

Chapter two of Multimedia Projects in Education was just as interesting as chapter one. This chapter focused on the DDD-E model, which stands for decide, design, develop, and evaluate. The chapter explains that good instruction involves careful planning and the DDD-E model helps out with the planning. It is not just important for a teacher to know about the DDD-E model, students should know about it to. I think that in the first month of school the teacher should explain this model to their students so that when they make their own multimedia project, or really any project, they use the same careful planning as the teacher does. When Deciding on what the project is going to be, it is very important to make sure that it is relevant to what is being taught (or learned in the students case). With the Design of the project outlines and flowcharts should be made to promote the careful planning. When Developing the project it is extremely important to collect and create all the media elements and to make sure all the technology needed is available. Because problems sometimes come up with developing and presenting a multimedia project, it is imperative to have a back up plan. I have been in classes where the teacher relied way too much on using technology and when the computer or other multimedia tools weren’t working, we would just sit around for the class period doing absolutely nothing. Therefore, I think it is crucial to also have a back up plan. Back up plans are also good just in case a group of student finishes quickly then you can have something else for them to do. Lastly, when Evaluating the multimedia project it is important to reflect on your project. A teacher can reflect to see if the project was relevant and helpful and if they would use it again and the students can reflect on how they felt they did in presenting their project.

I think that the DDD-E model is extremely helpful and I will definitely use it when planning lesson and when preparing for presentations and projects for classes. I think it really helps in organizing ideas and getting the best information into the projects. Both chapters had important and interesting information and ideas about multimedia in the classroom that will be tremendously useful in the classroom.

When I was searching the web for some more sources on multimedia and student learning I came across this report that I found really interesting. It’s called the Jason Multimedia Science Curriculum’s Impact on Student Learning. I didn’t read all of it because it is pretty long but I skimmed through it and read the section that talked about multimedia. It discussed different aspects of multimedia used which I thought was interesting. One statement that I really liked from the report was, “According to both teachers and students, computer use served a variety of functions. For example, for students in isolated environments like those in the community served by Pine Mountain School, the JASON Project was a way to expose students to the world outside, and the Internet was an integral part of that strategy” (Jason 29). I really recommend looking over this report, it has a lot of interesting ideas in it. The website is
http://www.jason.org/public/Content/Year_3_FinalReport.pdf