Annotated Bibliography

The Power of Multimedia Learning

(history, benefits, why it should be incorporated, importance)

The way the generation adapts and learns skills has changed which led to a change in the teaching styles of educational institutions, integrating media and online platforms for learning. Therefore, these are the following considerations to enhance the power of multimedia learning:

  1. Choosing from Diverse Options: Students have the liberty to choose from various media channels to communicate their understanding of the information and present it through the use of technology, thus improving their critical thinking abilities, solving problems independently, and promoting creativity and innovation.
  2. Providing quality learning: Reducing the amount of text online and incorporating different multimedia tools to make online learning engaging and fun.
  3. Promote Student-Centered Learning: The online courses are designed in a way that empowers students to explore, navigate, and solve problems independently by integrating multimedia components, storytelling pieces, and interactive digital media.

Two professors at Harvard University, integrated media to engage students with the past. They changed their teaching styles and their adaptation to different media communication tools to enhance learning in their subject of interest i.e. History. They wanted to train students and interpret history through various graphics, data visualization, videos, and installations. The professors emphasize the statement that history doesn’t have to be told in print media. Rather, benefits through an approach of helping the students to articulate the print form of communication using multimedia. Connecting contemporary history with modern technology enables participation and understanding of the concepts. An example illustrated in the study: The teaching method is to create an environment of running an art studio. This implies that the students have the liberty to choose from various media channels to communicate their understanding of the information and present it with the use of technology. By selecting an appropriate media channel to communicate any form of information (argument or a storytelling piece as per the article), students gain critical thinking abilities to interpret the information and communicate it. It also benefits a collaborative work environment, an example, online group presentations. It emphasizes the idea that our understanding of the world is shaped by the ways we receive information and use different media to help shape our experiences of it. This approach will help students choose from various media communication tools to execute their understanding of the information and the concept taught, thereby enhancing their knowledge-based learning. The professors have recommended various media options, including graphics, data visualization, videos, and installations. These suggestions can be integrated into TRU Open learning online courses. 

The analysis of the research shows that the percentage of text on the internet is decreasing, a major decline seen after 2005. There was a significant shift from text to graphical representations coming into existence and changing the way of communication such as videos, animations, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. The literature review lays the importance of reducing the amount of text online. They highlight the importance of grasping and navigating a communicative environment that extends beyond traditional print. The study combines statistical analyses, web archives, and computer vision tools to assess changes in the use of text on the web over time. The study concludes with the results that the non-textual data was expanding all over the internet, ignoring the textual form of communication. The introduction to audio-visual communication such as YouTube was the reason for other video streams to reduce the power of text. In today’s time, educational institutions are taking advantage of online platforms and trying to relate the text from books with online media representation. The way the generation adapts and learns skills has changed which led to a change in the teaching styles of educational institutions, integrating media and online platforms for learning.