Chapter 8: Enhancing Learning with Multimedia
INSTRUCTOR NOTES
This chapter addresses ISTE Standards for Teachers 2 and 5.
Chapter Goal
Utilize a variety of multimedia materials to enhance PK – 12 student learning.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the chapter, your students should be able to do the following:
2. Explain how to use audio recordings enhances learning for students.
4. Describe strategies to increase student comprehension of text resources.
5. Explain how use of each of the six types of visuals will ehance student learning.
Chapter Overview
The chapter begins with an explanation of the different types of multimedia literacies, followed
by a discussion on enhancing learning using each medium. Each media section includes
advantages, limitations, and integration techniques for proper inclusion of that type of media to
enhance learning. While your learners will be familiar with the types of media described in the
chapter, it is beneficial for them to review the media now from a teacher perspective.
Using This Chapter
Your students will appreciate the depth of learning that can be achieved through video
production when they view the Chapter 8 ASSURE Case Study. The clip features fifth-grade
students using digital video, iMovie, and “green screens” to create student-scripted news
The “When to Use…” feature gives your students instructional examples in each section about
when to use audio, video, text, and visual organized by guidelines specific guidelines.
Additionally, there is a selection rubric available for each media type. Learners should have the
opportunity to practice with the selection rubrics as it provides opportunity for discussion and
evaluation of multimedia. The sections titled Copyright Concerns share insightful pieces of
information as they relate back to the Copyright Act regarding the type of multimedia being
discussed. We highly recommend that you spend some time discussing these concerns with your
students. We have found that most students are not aware of copyright guidelines. One way to
do this is to present hypothetical situations and discuss what the teacher should do.
Professional Vocabulary
AUDIO LITERACY– Understanding the role of hearing and listening in learning.
DECODE – To comprehend information that is presented.
ENCODE – To visually express an idea to others.
ICONIC – A visual that has a resemblance to a concrete thing it represents.
INFORMATIONAL TEXT– Nonfictional text materials including textbooks.
RELATIONAL VISUAL – Communicates quantitative relationships, typically through a chart or
graph.
REPRESENTATIONAL VISUAL – Shows the actual object under study.
STORYBOARDING– A series of visuals that outlines a sequence of video scenes or presentation
slides.
messages.
INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
Suggested Materials
Incorporating Multimedia Literacies into Teaching
Suggested Activity. Assign small groups one of the multimedia literacies described in this
section. Have them research the literacy and share their findings with the class through the
creation of a digital poster. The poster could be required to include all four type of media
discussed (video, audio, text, and visuals).
Enhancing Learning with Audio
Suggested Activities.
1. Prior to class, prepare audio clips of familiar sounds and events from your learners’
lifetimes. Examples may include news coverage of 9/11, an influential speech, World
2. Audio media are among the most versatile and widely used forms of media for
instructional purposes. There are a number of other audio formats, which you can
include in your lectures and demonstrations depending upon what examples you have
available and how widely they are used in your area. You could develop a class lesson on
using learning centers, with audio as one of the components of the learning stations you
Enhancing Learning with Video
Suggested Activities.
1. Video Review. You may provide your students with some video segments to review.
Before having them watch the video, you may wish to discuss some of the issues they
should consider within their reviews. After they have completed their reviews, have the
students share them with the class.
Based upon the Selection Rubric: Video you may want to emphasize some of the rating
scales, such as:
• Pacing Appropriate for Audience—the rate at which content is presented and
explained should allow students to comprehend it. Presenting information too rapidly
or too slowly gets in the way of learning. Different levels of students need different
rates of presentation.
• Use of Cognitive Learning Aids—elements within the video that provide learning
guides
o Overviews—introductory material that gives the student a framework for the
content to follow; advance organizers shape the perceptual set of the student.
2. Locate and share examples of time removal and compression through video with your
students. If your school media center or library does not have this type of video resource
you may consider streaming a time-lapse video from YouTube. The manipulation of
time is an attribute of video most people enjoy and there are many educational examples
of time removal and compression in science related videos. Your students will want to
discuss the educational benefits of sharing a similar video with their future learners.
Enhancing Learning with Text
Suggested Activity. Review K12 resources. Ask learners to locate a potential textbook or
information passage to be utilized with their future students. Use the Selection Rubric for text
resources on pages 191-192 to evaluate the text set. Then, have student form content area groups
to share their findings.
Enhancing Learning with Visuals
Suggested Activities.
1. Practice Decoding. Choose a photograph from the text, Internet, or other media and ask
your learners to study it closely. Have your students describe everything they see in the
visual. The following questions may help start the conversation:
o PEOPLE– What are they wearing, doing, saying, etc.? What do the facial expressions
tell you about the people in the photo?
o THINGS– What kinds of objects are visible, what do they look like, feel like, etc.?
o PLACE OR ENVIRONMENT– Where is the visual occurring? What is the time of day,
season, etc.? What can you see in the background?
o Placement- What objects seem closest to the foreground? Are these objects more or
less important to the visual?
o COLORS– What is the overall temperature of the visual? What effect does the color(s)
or lack of color have on the overall feeling projected from the visual?
o TEXT– If there is text, what does the font say about the message? What does the size
of the text tell you?
o OVERALL IMPRESSION– What message is the visual communicating? Is there a visual
story? Is the image narrative, persuasive, or informational?
2. Ask learners to complete the REVEL Interactive Shared Writing prompt for this chapter.
3. Use the visual design guidelines to create an instructional poster, bulletin board, or
PowerPoint presentation.
4. Practice photography tips. You may wish to group your students and assign each group
one or all of the six photography tips found in Chapter 9. Using their mobile devices or
Questions for Thought
1. What role does the teacher play in the use of video in the classroom? What role
does the teacher play in the use of audio in the classroom? For each, what does
2. What value does having students prepare their own video serve in learning? Why
3. What are some of the factors that influence students when they view visuals?