Using Multimedia in the Classroom Prerequisites
None
Format: Primarily discussion Length: 2 hours Materials: None required 
Course Objectives: What you will learn
- Introduction to the term, "Multimedia"
- Discover various applications of Multimedia
- How other professors are using multimedia in the classroom
- Multimedia resources available at UVa
Course Content
- About the New Media Center
- What is Multimedia?
- Presentation & Discussion Methods
- Examples of Multimedia in the Classroom
- Getting Started: Multimedia Resources at UVa
What is Multimedia?
Multimedia has many definitions depending upon whom you ask. A standard definition follows: Multimedia is any combination of text, graphic art, sound, animation, and video delivered to you by computer or other electronic means. (Multimedia: Making it Work, Tay Vaughan, Osborne, McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, CA 1994)
Multimedia can help to gain and hold attention, make points clearer, stimulate discussion, and in general, enhance the learning process, if it also includes the appropriate human elements. Multimedia is not meant to replace instructors, nor can it replace them. Instead, multimedia is meant to help faculty teach in ways they may have never imagined. Today's students have grown up with multimedia, and expect to learn using many methods besides traditional lecture ("chalk & talk").
Despite all the hype about the "new multimedia revolution", multimedia is not new. It has been used in the classroom for the last several decades in the form of overhead projectors, slide shows, filmstrips, and colored chalk. With the advent of the computer and other electronic devices, multimedia is now being used a number of ways in the classroom including PowerPoint lectures, digital slides, digital videos, case studies, newsgroups, mailing lists, MOOS, MUDS and more. Learning materials can be designed for interactive use by individual students, groups of students,and even students in different geographic locations.
In addition, multimedia allows students to experience a subject from many angles, giving them a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Using various forms of multimedia in the classroom also helps to keep interest levels high. This goes back to the fact that students have grown up in, and are accustomed to a multi-sensory environment
The key is to use multimedia effectively, not just for entertainment. It is important to note that sometimes traditional teaching methods work best. At other times, multimedia can aid in the teaching process.
Presentation & Discussion Methods
PowerPoint Presentations
PowerPoint is an electronic slide slow that you can use in conjunction with your class lecture. PowerPoint comes with several templates ready for you to add text, graphics, and even digital videos for display.
Janet Horne provides us with an excellent example of a PowerPoint presentation from a class that is also used on the Internet. (Click on the above link, then on the first link on the following page to begin the presentation.)
This example is from a class in one of her courses in French Culture. You may ask why we include an example written in a foreign language, but it allows us to focus on structure of the pages and they are used, rather than getting wrapt in the content. Some, however, will still need to fight the urge to get caught up in the content.
The very nice thing about using PowerPoint for presentations is that once the presentation is prepared for class, it can be presented from a computer, printed for use as transparencies or handouts. Then it can be saved to HTML (web format) with only a few clicks of the mouse. PowerPoint takes care of creating all the pages and navigation buttons. You can provide students with your lecture for review at anytime. You can even present the presentation from a classroom with a networked computer and projector in a web browser.
Electronic Discussions
Many professors currently take advantage of newsgroups and mailing lists in their courses. Newsgroups and mailing lists allow electronic discussions to take place among students and professors, or by anyone else with access to the list or group. You and your students can use these resources to ask and answer questions, post useful resources, continue discussions outside of class, etc. The course Web page has links to more information about creating newsgroups and mailing lists. They are also available using the Toolkit.
MOOS and MUDS facilitate real time electronic discussion. MUD stands for Multiple User Dimension and was originally used for playing interactive games such as Dungeons and Dragons.
MOO stands for MUD Object Oriented. MOOs feature various chat rooms with virtual objects that can be manipulated. Users can move from room to room, talk to the entire group of users currently logged onto the MOO, or 'whisper' to a select person. Groups of students can be assigned to a particular room where they can hold discussions within their group. Students can also interact with logged on users from other classes and institutions. An example of a MOO here at UVa is in Matt Kirschenbaum's ENLT 248 course. As with all multimedia instruction tools, using MUDS and MOOs in class requires advance preparation. You and your students will need to know basic commands for accessing and getting around in the MOO. However, MOOs can serve as a meaningful resource for both you and your students.
Examples of Multimedia in the Classroom
Course-Related Websites at UVa
History of Landscape Architecture Created with the assistance of the Digital Image Center, this site features a collection of images of gardens of Japan, France, England, Italy and ancient medieval landscape traditions. The site is designed to allow you to move through a garden by viewing its plan and selecting a "hot spot" which links to a detailed image of that particular portion of the garden. English Literature 248:
literary narrative in an information ageThis site provides an excellent example of how various forms of multimedia can be used to promote learning. The course is described as "[a]n introductory literature seminar in contemporary fiction and its relationship to other media forms." The author's other explorations into On-line Teaching have been just as successful: Once Upon a Time in the Eighties: A Collaborative Hypertext was a"Top 5% Web Site" and featured on Yahoo's Cool Links. The Valley of the Shadow Created with the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, The Valley of the Shadow is the gateway into the story of the Civil War as seen by the people of two communities in the Great Valley of the United States: Franklin County, Pennsylvania and Augusta County, Virginia. This project weaves together the histories of these two places, separated by a few hundred miles and the Mason-Dixon Line UVa Medical School Homepage Provides great examples of images, case studies, practice questions, downloadable software and access to newsgroups and mailing lists. Sociology 257:
New Religious MovementsThis site seeks to provide a foundation for understanding how religious groups emerge, grow, stagnate, reinvigorate themselves, and sometimes die. It also seeks to promote understanding of religion more broadly without preference for or against any particular religious group. It's genesis was in the MRC. Spanish 202 Class Page The Instructor has provided a syllabus, grammatical exercises, and links to various sites that augment the students' classroom experience. Fluent Tibetan An interactive language tutorial, this site is an excellent example of how multimedia can be used in foreign language studies. Students can see the word as it is written and simutaneously hear the word properly pronounced.
Instructional Technology Projects at UVa
Course-Related Websites at Other Institutions
James Madison University Giuliana Fazzion's Italian Course Home Page Dr. Kausal Chari's Teaching Page New York University Multilingual Web at the ACF Imperial College Chemical Examples of VRML (Virtual Reality Markup Language) In addition to sites developed by universities, or that you yourself develop, the World Wide Web holds many wonderful resources you can take advantage of in your classes, such as:
Cells Alive! Examples of animation and digital video to display cells mutating, spread of disease, etc. The JASON Project The JASON Project provides access to actual scientific explorations and experiments via the Web. Primarily for children, the program is still a good source. Field Museum of Chicago On-line, interactive materials related to the museum's natural history exhibits.
Getting Started: Multimedia Resources at UVa
Digital Media Lab
The Faculty Instructional Toolkit
ITC Public Labs
Instructional Technology Resources