Multimedia in Training

No multimedia here!

Adult literacy and skills training programmes are no more drab text-based resources delivered transmission style by trainers to a passive audience. Thanks to advances in multimedia tools, web technologies and instructional design, learning a skill is a multisensory experience. Graphics, audio, animation, live video and hyperlinks can be integrated to create a kinetic and interactive experience, making learning highly effective, asserts instructional design expert Patti Shank (undated).

Graphics, for instance, help illustrate a concept, audio provides narration, animation help visualise how parts work to make a whole and video shows everyday reality, explains Shank. Multimedia in training appeals to learning theorists as diverse as Fleming (2006) and Greenfield (Henry, 2007). While Fleming, who developed the visual, audio, kinaesthetic or VAK learning model believes that a learner has a preferred style for processing information, Greenfield believes that humans build a picture of the world through the senses working in unison, reflecting the interconnectivity that exists in the brain.

Get your procedures right
According to Shank teaching creates two kinds of knowledge: declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. Copier technicians have declarative knowledge when they can describe and list the parts of a copy machine. Technicians who know how the parts work together and can use the knowledge to solve a technical problem, have acquired procedural knowledge, vital for real-world applications, contends Shank. Similarly, knowing how to build or assemble a bicycle or a computer network relies on procedural knowledge. As Brunye, Taylor and Rapp (2007) have indicated, learners who can successfully perform a particular task have learnt what the elements of a procedure are, and more importantly, understood the connections and relationships between those elements.

Multimedia to the rescue 
Procedural instruction is more effective with multimedia tools, assert Brunye, Taylor and Rapp (2007). Instructors can either repeat similar information across formats to leverage on the benefits of repetitive learning or use complementary multimedia by providing different information across formats. In the latter application, learners must actively integrate the information between formats such as text, images and hyperlinks, to build cohesive knowledge. In the process, learners will construct their own descriptions, deductions and explanations, adopting a constructivist approach to learning (Bloome & Goldman, 2002).

Ill-timed bells and whistles
Shank recommends abiding by a few principles when using multimedia in learning resources. The temporal contiguity rule, for instance, suggest presenting corresponding text and graphics simultaneously rather than consecutively. The redundancy rule, on the other hand cautions against using animation and narration with on-screen text. Multimedia must also match a learning objective. Text and narration are better for explanations, animations show changes over time and graphical analogies show hidden concepts such as how compound interest works.

Not everything that glitters is gold
Graphics can be made interesting to attract a learner, but that is where its use ends, argues Bloome & Goldman (2002). Instead of enhancing knowledge, it only seduces the user. Even when images, such as data charts and tables, are relevant for understanding, learners who cannot understand them will only give them a quick scan. In the same way, images and animations can overload a learner with too much information. As a result, learners may grasp ‘how’ a system works rather than understand ‘why’ it works.

Conclusion
Despite some weaknesses, multimedia will get more innovative -- and to a large extent, life changing. Apple’s IPAD is an example of how it has changed the way we read, entertain, learn and do business. Its multimedia platform reflects a flexible learning environment that gives users more control over their learning. To get the best that multimedia can offer, learners must develop the mindset of an active learner and acquire such skills as searching, the evaluation of documents and graphics, strategic reading and learn to integrate resources from various independent sources and online technologies (Bloome & Goldman, 2002).


References
Bloome, D. & Goldman, S. (2002). Literacy: Learning from multimedia sources. Retrieved from the website of Encyclopaedia.com. http://litd.psch.uic.edu/personal/jwiley/EncyEd03.pdf

Brunye, T., Taylor, H., & Rapp, D. (2007). Repetition and Dual Coding in Procedural
Multimedia Presentations. Retrieved from http://ase.tufts.edu/psychology/spacelab/pubs/brunye_taylor_rapp_acp_inpress.pdf

Fleming, N., and Baume, D. (2006). Learning Styles Again: VARKing up the right tree! Retrieved from http://www.vark-learn.com/documents/Educational%20Developments.pdf

Henry, J. (2007, 29 July). Professor pans 'learning style' teaching method. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1558822/Professor-pans-learning-style-teaching-method.html

Shank, P. (undated). The value of multimedia in learning. Retrieved on 30 August, 2011 from http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/thinktank/valuemedia/The_Value_of_Multimedia.pdf