Multimedia is the integration of multiple forms of media. This includes text, graphics, audio, video, etc. For example, a presentation involving audio and video clips would be considered a “multimedia presentation.” Educational software that involves animations, sound, and text is called “multimedia software.” CDs and DVDs are often considered to be “multimedia formats” since they can store a lot of data and most forms of multimedia require a lot of disk space.
The word comes multimedia comes from the Latin word “multus” which means “numerous” & media which means “middle” and “centre”. Multimedia is general sense therefore means “multiple intermediaries” between sources and sink of information or multiple means by which information is stored, transmitted, presented and perceived. Multimedia is communication that uses any combination of different media, it may or may not involve computers. Multimedia can include a range of formats from a simple PowerPoint slide show to a complex interactive simulation (Learning Circuits) and in most cases is believed to enhance user experience and result in easier and faster understanding of the information presented. The concept of presenting information in various formats is not a new phenomenon, however when reviewing this concept in terms of multimedia it generally implies presenting information in various „digital‟ formats (Wikipedia, 2006)
Early childhood is a stage of fast development. Due to fast physical development, child becomes more active. In this stage child learn new behavior patterns. Early childhood often seems endless as they wait impatiently for the magic time to come when society will regard them as “grown ups” and no longer as children. Early childhood is the age when dependency is practically a thing of the past and is being replaced by growing independence and ends at about the time the child enters first grade in school.
Early childhood education is a term that refers to educational programs and strategies geared toward children from birth to the age of eight. This time period is widely considered the most vulnerable and crucial stage of a person’s life. Early childhood education often focuses on guiding children to learn through play. The term often refers to preschool or infant/child care programs. Early childhood education consists of activities and/or experiences that are intended to effect developmental changes in children prior to their entry into elementary school. Early childhood education is a term that is used to commonly describe the formal teaching and care of young children by individuals or professionals other than their family or in settings outside the child‟s home.
Multimedia has the potential to create high quality learning environments. With the capability of creating a more realistic learning context through its different media and allowing a learner to take control, interactive multimedia can provide an effective learning environment to different kinds of learners. Multimedia learning materials may be richer, provide more opportunities for elaboration, and have more cognitive connections available for the learner to link the new knowledge with prior knowledge. Multimedia instruction should be more effective than classroom lecture. Multimedia may be effective because it improves students’ attitudes toward the learning material. Instruction using multimedia information presentation appears to be a potential learning advantage compared to traditional classroom instruction. Multimedia can also cause learners to attend to the wrong information, thereby decreasing learning. Multimedia may improve learning by allowing the instructional designer to use the most effective medium to present specific information. For multimedia instruction to have a significant, positive impact on education, we need to make multimedia instructional design decisions. (Lawrence, 1995). Primary level is an important stage in the child‟s educational life. If a teacher succeeds in framing a sound base and making the entire concept clear to a child then in future the student will be able to grasp difficult thing easily (Suleman, 2008). It depends upon effective teaching learning process. Educational technology plays an important and crucial role in making teaching learning process more effective and successful. Educational Technologies are those materials, procedures, organizations, ideas, devices, instruments or machines which make the teaching learning process more effective, successful, and unforgettable. The primary role of multimedia is learning by doing. Students firstly see the objects and then learn. Multimedia may have unique capabilities to facilitate learning because of the parallels between multimedia and natural way children learn, that is through visual information and imagery. Visual text was presented with graphics; students may be more motivated to success and achievement in vocabulary learning. Vocabulary learning instruction and curriculum should reconsider their use of multimedia within their presentations. (Kim& Gilman, 2008). Using interactive multimedia in the teaching process is a growing phenomenon. Multimedia plays a very important role in assisting students in learning processes. Therefore, it can be concluded that the multimedia enhance and enable students to learn in a more effective way. Use of multimedia tools to engage children. Multimedia tools provide a wealth of new ways to encourage children, explore issues, records views and communication from others. There are two major approaches to using multimedia in early childhood education, first students can learn “from” multimedia. Second they can learn “with” multimedia.With respect to education multimedia are the symbols systems that teachers and students use to represent knowledge representations with others. The foundation for the use of multimedia in early childhood education is “educational communication‟. Most teachers and students feel comfortable enough to being using multimedia. Teachers to check out videodisc players for practice at home as means of encouraging them use the equipment in their classrooms. Multimedia are necessary for an education in various ways, developing cross skills and competencies, efficient communication, Solving problems, Critical thinking, Collaboration, Using technologies. Developing attitudes, intellectual curiosity, Responsibility. Student satisfaction and motivation is higher in courses that use multimedia materials. To raise interest level, students appreciate (and often expect) a variety of media. To enhance understanding, rich media materials boost student comprehension of complex topics, especially dynamic processes that unfold over time. To increase memorability, rich media materials lead to better encoding and easier retrieval. Multimedia‟s capacity to deliver real time simulations through the use of video was a feature that many believed elevated it beyond traditional based learning. Multimedia could be viewed as a means of supplementing replacing or preparing student for practical experiences. Multimedia could provide a solution were where laboratory was too expensive to purchase or maintain, where storage of equipment prevented hands-on use for each student when reduced teaching budgets prohibited the provision of the extra academic and technical staff required to supervise practice sessions. Multimedia teaching tool could provide a solution to concerns such as the pressure to increase student enrolments in course monotonous lectures, lack of interest or motivation in learning a subjects and poor student performances. Multimedia provided and students with greater options and a degree of control over the learning process. This control included display control, pace and sequence control.
REFERENCES:
Damodharan VS, Rengarajan V (2007).Innovative methods of teaching. Paper presented at Learning Teachnologies and Mathematics Middle East Conference, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
http://math. Arizona.edu/-atp-mena/conference/proceedings/Damodharan_Innovative_Methods.pdf
www.wikepedia.com (2006)
D. Kim, & A.D. Gilman, Effects of text, audio, graphic aids in multimedia instruction for vocabulary learning , IFETS, II, (2008) 114-126
By: Emmanda C. Cruz | Teacher II | Carbon Elementary School | Limay, Bataan
