Final Exam

Analyzing Instructional Multimedia for Classroom Use

Kyle McKay

Central Michigan University

Abstract

There is a plethora of instructional multimedia tools that are currently available for instructional purposes. The basis for implementing these technologies requires an adequate level of research to support the effectiveness of its use in the classroom. This paper is going to examine two of these multimedia tools, screencasting and podcasting, for classroom use, as well as the strengths and limitations that these technologies offer. Lastly, a chemistry project that focuses on capturing chemical reactions from our everyday lives will be explained in conjunction with how the completion of this assignment runs students through the various levels of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. This project will use another multimedia instructional tool called Glogster to create the final product.

Keywords: podcasting, screencasting, glogs, Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy

Analyzing Instructional Multimedia for Classroom Use

            Computer assisted instruction has rapidly increased in the last decade, and its implications for teaching and learning are becoming prevalent issues in our society. The core of this issue rests its principles on research and evaluation. In order to adequately demonstrate that teaching with technology improves learning, extensive research must be completed about the effectiveness or ineffectiveness that technology provides in regards to assistance with instruction. Unfortunately, the amount of empirical research that is currently available is quite limited. Nonetheless, it is a common goal amongst the individuals who see technology as a beneficial classroom tool to ultimately prove its worth to the rest of society by continuing to implement and assess various forms of instructional multimedia. This paper is going to look at the strengths and weaknesses associated with two popular forms of multimedia, screencasting and podcasting. In addition, the creation of a Glog will be analyzed to see how its use in the classroom can be tailored to fit the various levels of Bloom’s digital taxonomy.

Screencasting. Screencasting is a process that was termed by Udell (2005) as “a way to present digitally recorded playback of computer screen output which often contains audio narration and to visually demonstrate procedural information to students.” In a more simplistic sense, screencasting is the process of capturing what is happening on your computer screen as you complete a particular task. This video that is created can now be played back digitally for students so that they can follow the steps presented to complete the task at hand. One example where this type of technology can be used in the classroom comes from teaching Microsoft Excel. The power of Excel makes it an exceptional tool for producing all kinds of data sheets that can be manipulated to produce graphs and other forms of graphic organizers that make the data easier to understand. A teacher could use a screencast program like Camtasia to record their voice as they carry out the steps on screen for turning data into a pie graph. Once completed, this video can be posted online, and students then have the ability to pause, rewind and fast forward as needed to complete this process on their own.

            Strengths. The list of strengths that can be associated with screencasting in the classroom as an effective means of instruction is quite long. “The combination of sound and images within a screencast enhances online learners’ experiences compared to the more traditional text format and can be a powerful method of communicating content in an online setting” (Sugar, Brown & Luterbach, 2010).  This aligns itself with the principles set forth in Mayer’s Multimedia Principles, which state that corresponding animations and narration are effective paths for student understanding. The key principle to understand here is that screencasting hits both the auditory and visual learning channels in comparison to printed text that explains the same process. “Technological developments and increased accessibility to the Internet and mobile media devices coupled with increased software usability and institutional support have led to rapid developments in computer-assisted instruction” (Lloyd & Robertson, 2012). This may be the founding principle for why technologies like this are increasing in popularity.

            Limitations. Downfall associated with using screencasts as an instructional tool fall into a few different areas. The first problem that plagues the implementation of technology is funding. Lack of money to bring in new technologies is often the biggest obstacle in education today. The second area of weakness associated with screencasting comes from the lack of face-to-face learning. Some researchers feel that the opportunity for someone to learn on their own pace is insufficient compared to the learning that occurs from teacher-to-student interactions. While there is validity in this argument, we must remember that not all learning institutions have a one-to-one student to teacher ratio, and therefore screencasting helps to soothe the masses.

            Podcasting. The next stop on our multimedia analysis takes us to the use of podcasting in the classroom. In relatively simple terms, a podcast is a recorded audio file that can be uploaded to the internet and accessed with a variety of technological devices. The audio file usually is a recording of an expert on a particular issue or topic. A typical example of a podcast for classroom use could be a recorded lecture from a science class that can be posted for students who were absent.

            Strengths. The strengths associated with using a podcast for instruction have the ability to enhance the way information is presented. “It frees up time normally spent dispensing information and allows teachers to deal more with student questions or dig deeper into key concepts” (Reilly & Shumack, 2011).  Because technology allows students to learn what they want, when they want, podcasts are an excellent bridge for the gap between classroom learning and independent learning at home.

            Limitations. Looking for a weakness in the use of podcasts in the classroom brings us to something that was proposed by Scott Carlson. He stated “value lies in people’s being able to communicate one-to-one, and something very important: the ability to share time at the same time and at the same place” (Carlson, 2012). Understanding the viewpoint addressed here calls for us to look at the meaningful connections that are made between people who are sharing experiences person-to-person. Another downfall with podcasting is that it only appeals to one learning channel, auditory.

            Glogging with Bloom’s. Glogs are a relatively new technology that has evolved blogs into something very dynamic. Aside from the input of text as used in original blogs, a glog opens up every avenue of multimedia and rolls it into one presentation source. Glogs can be very useful for classroom projects, presentations, reports, and the list goes on and on. We are going to take a look at how a Glog can be used in a chemistry classroom, and how its creation utilizes various levels of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy.

            Chemistry is a difficult subject for most students to comprehend because of the abstract thinking involved with chemical reactions. As a means to further student understanding of the chemical interactions that are taking place around us all the time, students will be asked to produce a Glog that is centered on this principle. In order to capture these occurrences, students will be asked to use a digital camera to photograph it. For example, a photograph of a birthday candle illustrates the process of oxidation. As students research, plan, and begin to compile this project, they will be going through several levels of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy, and those will be explained as we move through the explanation of this assignment. “Between the explosion of Web connectivity and increasingly complex tools for handling information, the only valid tasks we can ask of our students are evaluation and creation of original work” (Harris, 2010).

            In order to achieve an acceptable final product for this assignment, students are going to have to begin researching the various types of chemical reactions that are present in real life examples. Because it may not be possible to photograph every chemical reaction that a student wishes to use in their Glog, they may need to find sources from another place. In this process, students will be immersed in the understanding level of Bloom’s digital taxonomy, specifically the advanced and Boolean searching subcategory. This process requires students to modify their searches to find images that are licensed for commercial modification and redistribution.

            Once a student has gathered all of the material that is needed to create their Glog, they move into the next phase of the project, editing. At this point in time, a student moves into the applying level of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy which includes the editing process. During this phase, students will need to utilize programs such as Photoshop to manipulate their photographs to meet assignment requirements. With the power that Photoshop puts into the students hands, they may be able to combine images that represent chemical processes that otherwise cannot be photographed directly. Another level of applying that is hit during this process is uploading and sharing. During the photo acquisition process, students will need to upload their photos to Flickr. As students use and share content freely from the internet, they are executing a higher order thinking skill through collaboration.

            Once the images are ready to be worked into the Glog, the student will move into the creating level of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. The two subcategories of the creation level that are being utilized in this step fall under directing and producing, and publishing. Students need to have a sense of vision about what their final product will look like before they begin creating anything. The main idea of this project is to get students to focus on making meaningful connections between “words they learned in chemistry” and their “daily lives.” The use of the Glog to create the final product needs to be more than just a fancy way of putting it together. “I want to be sure that the tool raises the bar and is not just a temporarily fun distraction worthy only of the attention of an elementary student” (Gates, 2010). When a student properly intertwines their creativity and vision, the result should be a coherent product that adequately demonstrates the connection between chemistry concept and real-life application.

            The last step in completing this chemical reaction Glog is publishing. As mentioned above, this is also in the creation level of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. With the power of online programs such as Glogster, anybody that is moderately tech-savvy and has computer access can publish their work online. This process requires the student to adequately check and re-check their final product to ensure the cohesiveness between their originally intended ideas and what they actually created.

            Conclusion. There is no doubt that the increase in use of technology in learning will continue to expand as we are exposed to the increasing technological advances that the twenty-first century has to offer. Using screencasts and podcasts are only two examples of effective multimedia tools that can be used to further enhance instruction. However, it is important to keep in mind that while enhancing student learning is the ultimate goal, it is our job to create tasks that call for higher order conceptual knowledge in comparison to traditional instructional techniques. Using the principles set forth by Mayer and the revised levels of Bloom’s digital taxonomy should be in every educator’s conscious thought process when they are designing or implementing instructional multimedia.

           

References

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