Multimedia in Education

INST 5135

Donna Martin

June 26, 2001

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

          Multimedia has become a part of every facet of our lives.  It has been incorporated into everything from children’s games to airline ticket kiosks.  Multimedia in education is still an emerging tool that has yet to be fully incorporated and used as it is in the business world.

            The introduction of the Internet revolutionized the way we communicate, find information, purchase goods, work etc.  As is the case with most advances in technology, education is the last to join the revolution.  Teachers have used multimedia for years, but the thought of incorporating technology into their curriculum will have many of them running out the door.  Teachers have used pictures, overheads, videos, and audio recordings to help get the content across to students, but try to get them to learn how to use a computer to accomplish this task and you will end up with a large majority who will refuse to do so.

            The congressional Web-based Education Commission recently printed a report on their findings dealing with how the internet is being used to enhance learning opportunities in public education and what the government can do to help the educational system overcome some of the barriers in using this great knowledge base.  Literally hundreds of people testified before this committee about how the internet offers education to people who could not otherwise access it, it connects people globally, it extends the learning day and the learning place, it adds graphics, sound, video, and interaction to give learners multiple modes for understanding the content.  The barriers facing the widespread use of the Internet in education include:  access to broadband connectivity, guidance in how to use the web for learning, understanding how people learn differently with the internet, quality content that uses the powerful capabilities of the web.  With all the possibilities the Internet offers, why are teachers not flocking to this new medium to enhance their curriculum?  

            There are many reasons teachers have not incorporated technology into their teaching.  Fear, lack of training, resource availability, tech support, time, and legal issues are but a few of the reasons most teachers do not take advantage of the possibilities that technology could provide them.

In the article The Technology/Content Dilemma researchers from the Institute for Research on Learning conducted field research to determine if technology in schools is transforming teaching and learning in classrooms.  “We know that a variety of factors predict whether and how teachers will use technology, including access, training, teaching philosophy, and collaboration with other teachers”.  In prior studies of technology integration a trend has developed in which, the learning of the technology takes over and only after the technology is mastered does the content of the lesson emerge in a strong way. In other words, when teachers first use technology to create a lesson they become engrossed in the technology and the content of the lesson suffers.  Only after repeated use of the technology does the content of the lesson become strong.  New users have a tendency to try all the bells and whistles of the technology to give their presentation a flashy appearance while not integrating the content of the lesson that they wish to teach their students.  Teachers respond in different ways when they feel they are not getting the content across to their students.  They may stop using the technology temporarily.  They may use only technology they are very familiar with to avoid complicating the subject.  They may plunge ahead hoping that they will learn along with their students without losing the content of the lesson.

            In The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project the authors of the article related the stories of two teachers involved in the Challenge Project.  The two teachers are both experienced technology users who have used multimedia in their classrooms and have been with the Challenge 2000 project for several years.  The idea was to improve content in students’ multimedia projects using a formative assessment to help the students focus on the content of their projects.  The results were mixed, with both teachers experiencing a time crunch where they felt they needed to wrap up the projects.  They faced resource shortages in scheduling enough computer lab time for their students.  The students lacked the research skills necessary to cover the content area thoroughly, and they fell into labor-intensive habits when putting information into the computer.  The teachers had to learn new technology concurrently with the students, and since there was little time for experimentation the projects were all constructed in the same manner.  With all of these distractions and downfalls both teachers said they could hardly wait until next year so they can use their experiences to create better projects.  These two stories of how ‘experienced technology users’ struggled with improving content, managing time and resources makes a case for novice teachers avoiding technology all together.

            There are some who want education to hold back on the use of technology until the effectiveness and shortcomings are better understood.  If we do this, we will fail the next generation of Americans who must live and work in a global community.  A disturbing fact already exists in that; the average U.S. Corporation spends approximately 3000-5000 dollars per worker in technology, where schools rarely exceed 200 dollars per student. The business world is willing to help and the educational system itself will create a market for products and services to meet the needs of teachers and students.

            The number of households who have computers and Internet access has increased dramatically.  In the last two years the number of households with Internet access has doubled from 26% to 42% with rural households showing a 75% increase in access to the Internet.  There are some gaps in certain areas and populations.  While one third of the U.S. uses the Internet only about 19% of Blacks and 16% of Hispanics have access.  This is another major reason that all students have access in their school setting.  We do not want to create a situation where only the wealthy have access to the educational opportunities and future job prospects.  School connectivity has increased dramatically as well, with approximately 95% of schools being connected.  A troubling statistics, however, is while a school may be connected each classroom may not.  Although approximately 63% of classrooms are now connected to the Internet wealthy schools and districts have a significantly lower ratio of students per computer than the poorer schools.

            Now that we have a picture of what is not happening with technology in schools, what can we do to ensure a brighter more technological future in our schools.  Why are teachers not using technology and what can be done to encourage them to join the revolution?  Some of the same issues that keep teachers away from technology were recognized in the congressional report as necessary factors in ensuring the successful implementation of technology into education.

1.         Training

The training of teachers is paramount to the success of using technology in education.  Almost two-thirds of all teachers feel they are not prepared to use technology in their teaching.  65% of teachers had never used a computer before they received one in their classroom.  Basic technology training is not enough.  Even if a teacher is able to use the computer to surf the Web or use basic programs that does not mean they can use them in classroom instruction. Professional development is necessary both for pre-service teachers and in-service teachers.  In 1995 the Office of Technology Assessment reported that the recommended 30% of the technology budget be spent on teacher training and support.  The reality was that of the 4.2 billion spent on technology in 1996, only 6% of it was spent on training.  Today the National Education Association recommends 40% of the technology budget be spent on teacher training.  If teachers are not trained in technology they will never be comfortable enough to share it with students.  In this day and age most students know more than their teachers and that makes teachers very uncomfortable. 

2.            Research:

            Research tells us that students learn best when the learning environment centers on knowledge, learners, social interaction, and assessment.  The focus of most classrooms is on recalling facts and teacher directed textbook instruction, with little time for social interaction or collaboration. The current approach of testing students on basic skills to determine if they are prepared for future learning is outdated.  If we want to know what a person truly knows the test must adjust itself to the learner in such a way as to determine what the student knows, not just what they don’t know.  In computer adaptive testing if a question is answered correctly you move to a more difficult question and if answered incorrectly an easier question is asked.  In this way we can more fully understand what people know and what they need to learn in order to master the content.  Only with research can we determine the best ways to implement and use technology to its’ fullest potential.

 

3.                  Money:

At the backbone of any new program or shift in paradigm is the question;  How much is this going to cost?  Education is notorious for not spending what is needed in the beginning to make a program successful.  Many programs are implemented with little or no training and without the proper monetary support these programs are doomed to fail.  Incorporating technology is expensive, not only purchasing equipment and having it installed, but the further expense of maintaining and upgrading it.  The majority of school district technology money is spent on hardware.  Schools are under investing in the personnel and support necessary to make the technology investment useful.  U.S. schools spend approximately $4 billion dollars on textbooks and instructional technology content.  In short, with out the monetary support schools are going to have very expensive word processors.

4.         Legal Issues:

            The legal issues surrounding the use of technology and expressly the Internet are overwhelming.  The issues surrounding getting permission for children to access the Internet at school and the concern over using copyrighted material are detrimental to teachers using the Internet as a tool.  The fear that a child may accidentally access a web site that is inappropriate and the concern over being sued by a parent about a lesson conducted using the Internet are very real fear issues with teachers.   Teachers feel a great deal of pressure when preparing to incorporate technology into their teaching without the added burden of possibly breaking the law.

            Technology is here to stay and the educational system must embrace it as a part of the future of education. The educational system has thus far been minimally successful in integrating technology and using it to its potential.  There are many things that must take place in order for technology to take its place in education.  First we must train our teachers and make them comfortable enough with technology to want to use it in everything they do.  We must create networks of teachers around the world so teachers can access each other’s ideas and not reinvent the wheel with each new lesson.  We must provide technical support so the equipment will not sit idle while students wait for it to be fixed and a teacher becomes frustrated and quits using the technology.  Second, we must do research to determine the best ways to use technology in education.  Third, we must spend money. As stated earlier, technology is expensive, but not as expensive as computer illiteracy will be to cure in the future.  Last, we need to take the mystery and worry out of using the Internet as a teaching tool. The laws need to be clarified and sites for schools to use need to provide safe surfing experiences for children. 

            It will take a concerted effort of the educational system as a whole to identify and overcome many of these obstacles, but we have no choice if we do not want to be left out of the growing global community.

 

 

 

 

 

           

References

Goldman, Shelly Cole, Karen and Syer, Christina (1999) The Technology/Content Dilemma

            Institute for Research on Learning.  Retrieved June 26, 2001, from the World Wide Web:

            http://www.ed.gov/Technology/TechConf/1999/whitepapers/paper4.html

The Power of the Internet for Learning:  Moving from Promise to Practice. Report of the Web-based Education Commission to the President and Congress of the United States.  Retrieved June 26, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://interact.hpcnet.org/webcommission/index.htm