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Asia-Pacific Forum
on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 10, Issue 1, Article 13
(June, 2009) |
Most of us think that we need to invest much money, time and a high degree of technical knowledge to create multimedia. But this small study provides us with a snapshot view of how teachers are employing their own creative multimedia in pedagogically effective ways to enhance their classroom instruction. The benefits derived from the inclusion of self-made multimedia vary from teacher to teacher; the inclusions of instructional multimedia-based activities allow teachers to target specific learning styles and to infuse their teaching style with a more diverse range of learning activities. Additionally, creating one’s own multimedia illustrates teachers creativity when developing instructional tools. However, even simple tools still require educators to engage in complex inferencing about the consequences of their authoring decisions.
Teachers constantly try to explain difficult terms by writing texts, drawing graphics and answering the questions on the blackboard. In fact, all teachers create their own live textbook in each class. This same logic can also argue that teachers can create their own multimedia by using authoring tools that support the teaching and learning process in the same way.
Lastly, the use of multimedia to create teaching materials for instruction can offer teachers the opportunity to network and to collaborate with their colleagues. The teachers that create their own multimedia can work together to share ideas and tools that they have used successfully, and serve as peer mentors to assist their colleagues in becoming more comfortable with the use of multimedia applications in their own teaching.
