Reflecting on What I Know - Chapter 9

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How can my students use multimedia for their projects?
Multimedia projects are especially useful for students during the final stages of an integrated computer lesson. The last step in that lesson is to create a group or an individual presentation. Multimedia presentations are a way for students to use computers to synthesize their ideas into a final presentation. It also allows students to create their own meaning for lesson concepts. Students can also use multimedia in an NTeQ lesson plan during their research phase, by using digital video or audio to record their own information. Besides their ease of use in an integrated lesson plan, multimedia presentations fulfill three of the six ITSE NETS. First, multimedia presentations allow students to display their creativity and innovation, as multimedia projects require innovation and integration of information from various platforms. Multimedia presentations also give students the opportunity to research and create fluent information. Finally, multimedia projects fulfill the NETS of technology operations and concepts since presentation technology is used.

What applications are available for creating a multimedia presentation?
There are many applications that can be used to build and present a multimedia presentation. Two multimedia applications that are similar in use are iMovie and Windows Movie Maker. These are software, used on the Apple and Windows operating systems, respectively. Movies are a great form of multimedia presentations because they have a sequence and can be used to tell a story. PowerPoint ins another software that is available to create a multimedia presentation. PowerPoint can be used for almost any type of presentation and easily integrates text, images, video, sound, and hyperlinks.

Should I place limits on how my students use multimedia?
It is important that limitations are placed when students are using multimedia to keep students on task and make efficient use of their computer time. Students should be given knowledge of what they should be doing during their computer time BEFORE they start using the computers. The teacher should given students some sort of parameters to work within during their time on the computer. The teacher must also ensure that students have completed all of the necessary work that is needed to be done before computer use. This includes things like what exactly they are going to research, an outline of information if they are in the step where they are creating the presentation, and so on.