Chpt 7 Reading:

Chapter 7 reined my interest nearly immediately when it got right to the point by saying that hooking up the technology is child’s play in comparison to setting up the supporting materials.

I see this everyday in what I do. People want “stuff” because it’s “cool”, not for what it can do. We often look for technologies we can plunk our kids down in front of to both entertain them and teach them at the same time. Rarely do we compute the amount of time required to look at the various applications of the technology or their effectiveness in comparison to other methods.

I also like the comments that good multimedia provides tirelessly to needy students, and provides as much repetition as in necessary. It also should make life easier for the teacher. Let’s face it, who would want to make even more work for themselves then they already have? Teaching should be about kids and it is a lot of work, but if we are going to add more to our already burdened course load, it should provide some benefits in the long run.

I like that multimedia lends itself to being current, easily updated, dynamic and authentic. Today’s multimedia is not what was in place when we were kids. It allows students to think for themselves and to create/construct their own learning. It moves beyond the simple memorization we witnessed in our Commadore-Tech-Classes!

The context, nature and modalities of multimedia design expanded upon the ideas of learners “learning by doing” from all sorts of different perspectives. There is also a large section about the collaborative efforts by teachers. This is a key factor that needs to be more widely communicated today. We need not reinvent the wheel. Sharing leads to less work, but also an increase in consistency as well as an increase in quality of the resource, as together our chances of finding the best resources as a team far outweigh the efforts of the individual.

Other points I found significant are the fact that quality is paramount, but there is more responsibility on the part of the company to inform the consumer of the purpose of the product and its intended use.

Finally, I enjoyed the following statement:
“It is not necessary for students to achieve a final product. The act of designing a Website or an animation can provide enough motivation to engage the student.” Thank God, because I certainly have left some unfinished work in my wake!.

This posting is re:
Chapter 7 by Cesar A. A. Nunes and Edmond Gaible. "Development of Multimedia Materials".