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One of the main ideas we explored this week was how to apply multimedia learning theory principles to different types of instruction. The term multimedia means combining more than one mode of communication together to convey information. In educative settings, combining different forms of content typically, but not always, means having words and images go together. This could be something as simple as an illustrated storybook, but in modern context, multimedia communication is often digital.

Digital learning techniques offer a couple of main advantages. First, they allow for the distribution of multimedia learning objects for asynchronous learners. This makes learning more accessible to a variety of learners. Second, digital multimedia can also be more adaptable or customizable to individual learning needs.  For example, with an instructional video, a learner is able to control the speed of delivery and replay any part of the video as many times as is necessary.

Finally, as Rich mentioned, not all multimedia are created equally. Multimedia can improve learning outcomes if implemented in a thoughtful way. This often means including the crucial component of storytelling. Stories put information into context, which gives it meaning and makes it easier to remember. In a Psychology Today article, Pamela Rutledge put it nicely when she said, our brains “look for the story to make sense out of the experience. No matter what the technology, the meaning starts in the brain.”

We learned two new tools this week which I think will be useful for creating multimedia content in the future. First, we learned how to create a screencast with audio narration using Screencastify. Second, we learned how to make that video interactive using H5P. Both of these technologies are new to me. Here’s what I was able to come up with on my early attempts:

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

This week in class we discussed the idea of digital footprint. This is a phrase that I have certainly heard before, but never really investigated to the point of understanding it.

When I graduated from high school in 2005, Facebook had only just been invented, but was not yet widely used. Not everyone had cellphones and for those who did have one, it wasn’t a smartphone because the first iPhone was still two years away from being released. All of this is to say that the digital landscape from my high school experience was very different from the one that exists today. As a result, I never had concepts such as digital footprint explained to me in an educative setting.

I appreciate that we talked about this in this week’s class for two reasons. First, to better understand my own digital footprint and, as Jesse Miller pointed out, see how that has the potential to be problematic in my professional future. However, unless ordering jigsaw puzzles online or posting camping photos every summer is suddenly considered scandalous, I think I’ll be okay.

The second, and more significant, reason I appreciate this topic being raised in our class is to encourage me to have informed discussions about this very relevant topic with my future students.

It is important that students understand the digital footprints which can be connected back to them when they engage in pretty much any online activity. This can include social media activity, uploaded pictures or video, browser history, online subscriptions or purchases, comments on articles, and much more. They need to understand what is included in that footprint to prevent it from making them vulnerable or coming back to haunt them later.

Some good tips to share (from the wealth of readily available literature on this topic):

• Be respectful. If you do leave footprints for others to find, make sure they’re good ones.
• Encourage the use of privacy settings, especially with social media.
• Keep a list of accounts and delete the ones that fall out of use.
• Don’t overshare – if you don’t want the world to know something, don’t put it online.
• Be careful about linking accounts, what/who are you giving access to?
• Know that sending is like publishing forever.

Also new to me this week: screen shots

This is a screen shot I took using the ‘Windows’ key and the ‘PrtScn’ key. Using this function saves the entire screen as an image file in my pictures folder:

Similarly, I learned how to use the snipping tool in Windows which allowed me to capture a portion of the screen and then use a little pen feature to add to the image:

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

This week we watched a film called ‘Most Likely to Succeed’. It is a documentary about the education system in the United States and the limitations of traditional teaching methods.

The basis of our ‘modern’ education system pre-dates the turn of the 20^th century. The environment in which it was created no longer exists, but methods remain largely the same. Due to recent and ongoing technological innovations, many traditionally valuable skills have become obsolete. That is why the filmmaker argues that equipping graduates with the ability to be creative and innovative would better prepare them to participate in the current economy.

So, the big question is: do we need to completely reimagine education to make it useful in today’s world?

Any significant change to pedagogy will encounter a few obstacles. First, I know for myself, I am most familiar with the teaching methods I was exposed to when I was in school, so my default setting as a teacher would be to replicate my own experiences. To do something different or in a new way takes time, energy, and dedication.

Second, we saw in the film that it is impractical to change only one part of the system at a time. For example, revolutionizing high school methods while postsecondary institutions maintain the same rigid structure, creates inconsistent expectations and prevents people from embracing what would otherwise be a more enriching experience.

I’m not convinced that the model I saw portrayed in the film is the best template for change, but I do agree that there needs to be a shift in priorities. As educators, we need to concentrate more on teaching students how to learn and solve problems instead of how to simply memorize facts and figures. Creating an education system which more closely reflects the skills required in the current job market would give a new purpose to learning. Problem solvers will never be obsolete.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Like most of the other tasks I’ve been presented with this week, setting up a blog was an entirely new experience for me. I have never created a webpage before and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was easier than I thought it would be. Thank goodness for templates!

Despite the very helpful and simplified step-by-step instructions Rich provided for us, I did struggle a little bit when I missed a step in the clone zone process. Luckily, this was one of those instances when I could just delete my mistake and try again. No harm, no foul. I’m looking forward to playing around with this page and making it my own.

Once I’m comfortable with this platform, I can imagine a couple of ways blogs may be useful in a high school classroom. First, I think blogs could be effective simply as a communication tool for teachers to let their students (and parents) know what will be covered in the upcoming week or to remind them of assignments and due dates. Second, blogs could be used by the students as an informal writing platform which would allow for comments and discussions among classmates. However, engaging in these types of activities would require the introduction of very clear guidelines around what acceptable and appropriate comments look like. Lots to learn.