I was initially unsure what to expect from this class and what we would be learning about, but after watching and reading the course materials posted, I feel that I have a better understanding of the topic and what to expect. As mentioned in Mayer’s article, “multimedia learning is learning from words and pictures” (p. 1, 2014). As for interactive learning, I felt that the article provided in our readings by The Share Team gave clear explanations as to what interactive teaching looks like. The Share Team (2017) explains that without giving learning a practical application, people often fail to understand the depths of the material being taught. I hope that in this class I will learn how to promote meaningful learning in my future classroom through interactive and multimedia learning. I have already discovered some of the benefits of using technology in a classroom through EDCI 336 and found that very beneficial, so if I could combine my knowledge from that class and apply some of it to this new content that would be great.  As Rich also mentioned, not all multimedia resources are created equivalent and, with that in mind, I hope to learn about resources that are reliable and user friendly to ensure smooth and effective operation when used in the classroom.

When reflecting on my own interactive or multimedia learning experiences, I don’t have many that come to mind in my elementary or high school years that I found extremely beneficial or that I could relate with to the readings provided for this topic. I find that unfortunate because as I was reading these articles, I know that a lot of these different approaches would have benefited my learning style. For example, the article written by the Share Team (2017) provides many examples of how to incorporate different interactive teaching styles. Some that stood out to me and that I find to be more relevant to educators now than when I was in school are the following:

  • Encourage student participation;
  • Discussion and hands on learning experiences;
  • Group work environments; and
  • Think, pair and shares.

Although my education prior to university did not seem to be very focused on interactive or multimedia learning, I did find that as soon as I did start my post-secondary education these methods were incorporated, and it really helped in discovering how I learn best. With the article “The Hidden Importance of Teaching with Stories” written by Juliani (2016) in mind, I also believe storytelling to be an extremely helpful way for people to learn and understand something on a deeper level. This  link provides an example of how a BC teacher uses digital literacy in her classroom through a First Peoples’ lens and aims to make learning accessible for all students. The stories are created by students through Clicker Docs.

References:

Mayer, R. (2014). Introduction to Multimedia Learning. Retrieved from https://www-cambridge-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/core/books/cambridge-handbook-of-multimedia-learning/introduction-to-multimedia-learning/DCB47795DE7396B0CDF134B54F03F6A5/core-reader

Juliani, A.  (2016). The Hidden Importance of Teaching With Stories. Retrieved from http://ajjuliani.com/hidden-importance-teaching-stories/

The Share Team (2018). 5 Examples of Interactive Teaching Styles: Resilient Educator. Retrieved from https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/5-interactive-teaching-styles-2/