Multimedia




By using multimedia in your lessons, you can increase children's learning by engaging them, capturing their attention and explaining difficult topics....and doing all of this in a fun way!

Here are 10 reasons why you SHOULD use multimedia in your lessons- 

1. Facilitate and develop a community of positive learners using online programmes

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2. Help students visualize difficult concepts through use of multimedia  


3. Using online games/programmes to scaffold prior learning in a fun way


4. Make students work come alive through the use of videos! 


5. Encourages children to be more confident, and explore different ways to present work


6. Is an inclusive way to work as there is 'something for everyone' 


7. Helps with cross-curricular tasks, ie. creating a map in geography works on not only geographical skills but also computing skills. 


8. Quick and easy to assess/children can get instant feedback where necessary 


9. Pupils can utilise information and data from all over the world with just a few clicks!


10. Enables children to be creative and explore different skillsets. 



So, I hear you ask, what exactly is multimedia?


Multimedia is using more than one medium of expression or communication, and there are lots of programmes and software that fall into the 'multimedia' category. 

Ultimately what makes a resource 'multimedia' is the use of-
  • Text
  • Audio
  • Pictures
  • Video
  • Animation
  • Interactivity

Here is a short YouTube video about why it is so important to use multimedia in education





One of the most well known multimedia resources is PowerPoint. For those of you who are not aware, PowerPoint is 'a software package designed to create electronic presentations consisting of a series of separate pages or slides.' (Oxford Dictionary, 2018). PowerPoint presentations are often used in lessons and when used correctly can be extremely beneficial for aiding learning. 

Advantages of using PowerPoint- 
  • Quick and easy
  • Pre-made templates to ease creation
  • Allows creator to be imaginative 
  • Has numerous features to aid learning 
  • Easy links with other Microsoft Software 
  • Can engage with larger audiences/classes
  • Can use links to videos, sounds, pictures, programmes...etc

Disadvantages of using PowerPoint- 
  • 'Death by PowerPoint'- where you bombard your viewers with too much information on each slide
  • Cannot edit your presentation once it has begun


Another useful multimedia resource is '2Create a Story- 2Simple'.  2Create a Story is an online resource that 'allows pupils to make multimedia as soon as they are ready to use a mouse, keyboard and have a story to tell.' (Max Wainewright, 2005)



http://support.2simpleweb.com/public/docs/userguides/2Create%20A%20Story.pdf

To help avoid any confusion I have attached a simple 'getting started' video and a link to a users guide all about 2Create a Story, both created by the '2Simple Software' company. 


Above are some advantages and disadvantages of multimedia as a whole. Personally, I think it's brilliant- when used effectively!






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Reference Page 


 Burton, J, Potter, J and Turvey, K (2016) Primary Computing and Digital Technologies: Knowledge, Understanding and Practice. Croydon: SAGE Publications.

DfE (2013) The National Curriculum in England: Key Stages 1 and 2. London: Scholastic. 


Oxford Dictionary (2018), The Definition of PowerPoint, available at https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/

eLearningExpert (2013), Why do we use multimedia?, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk3kqCJSlkw

Soffar, H (2017), The advantages and disadvantages of PowerPoint Skills, available at https://www.online-sciences.com/computer/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-powerpoint-skills/

Wainewright, M (2005), 2Create a Story: User Guide, available at http://support.2simpleweb.com/public/docs/userguides/2Create%20A%20Story.pdf


2Simple Software (2010), Story Writing with 2Create a Story - part 1 getting started, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPk37aERb3g


Multimedia Revolution Central (2018), Advantages and Disadvantages of multimedia, available at https://multimediasources.weebly.com/advantages-and-disadvantages.html

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