Project-based Learning and Multimedia: What It Is?
A project based learning method
is a comprehensive approach to instruction. Your students participate in projects
and practice an interdisciplinary array of skills from math, language arts,
fine arts, geography, science, and technology.
"The collaborative nature of
the investigation enhances all of these valuable experiences ... as well as
promotes a greater appreciation for social responsibility (Scott, 1994)."
Defining Project-Based Multimedia Learning
It's best to start with some
definitions. By project-based learning, we mean a teaching method in which
students acquire new knowledge and skills in the course of designing, planning,
and producing some product or performance. By multimedia, we mean the
integration of media objects such as text, graphics, video, animation, and
sound to represent and convey information. Thus, our definition is:
Project-based multimedia learning
is a method of teaching in which students acquire new knowledge and skills in
the course of designing, planning, and producing a multimedia product.
Your students' multimedia
products will be technology-based presentations, such as a computerized slide
show, a Web site, or a video. These presentations will include evidence that
your students have mastered key concepts and processes you need to teach and
will be a source of great pride for them and for you.
Many present day activities focus
on developing linguistic competence for example, the ability to use lexics,
grammar and phonetics of the language. They also develop the pragmatic
abilities of the learners to use the language for real-life communication. The
activity of project-based multimedia learning stimulates through process in
learners by forcing them to think and make decision.
The purpose of our report is to
show the content of the method of project-based multimedia learning, the usage
and the implementation it in teaching English process through distance
education.
Project-based learning is an old
and respected education method. The use of multimedia is a dynamic new form of
communication. The merging of project-based learning English and multimedia
represents a powerful teaching strategy that is called “project-based
multimedia learning”.
Project-based multimedia learning
is a method of teaching in which students acquire new knowledge and skills in
the course of designing planning and producing a multimedia product.
Project-based multimedia learning
has seven key dimensions such as core curriculum, real-world connection,
extended time frame, students decision making, collaboration, assessment,
multimedia.
Here is a brief explanation of
each.
Core curriculum. At the foundation of any unit of this type is
a clear set of learning goals drawn from whatever curriculum or set of
standards is in use. We use the term core to emphasize that project-based
multimedia learning should address the basic knowledge and skills all students
are expected to acquire.
Real-world connection. Project-based multimedia learning
strives to be real. It seeks to connect students’ work with the wider world in
which students live.
“Real life!” Now, that is the
key! I spent years waiting for “real life” to begin, not realizing that my
childhood was real life. Children, even young ones, can make a meaningful
contribution to the world while they are learning.
—Technology learning coordinator
Extended time frame. A good project is not a one-shot lesson;
it extends over a significant period of time. The actual length of a project
may vary with the age of the students and the nature of the project.
Students decision making. In project-based multimedia
learning, students have a say. Teachers look carefully at what decisions have
to be made and divide them into “teacher’s” and “students” based on a clear
rationale.
Collaboration. We define collaboration as working together jointly
to accomplish a common intellectual purpose in a manner superior. Students may
work in pairs or in teams of as many as five or six. Whole-class collaborations
are also possible. The goal is for each students involved to make a separate
contribution to the final work.
Assessment. Regardless of the teaching method used, data must
be gathered on what students nave learned. When using project-based multimedia
learning, teachers face additional assessment challenges because multimedia
products by themselves do not represent a full picture of student learning.
Students are gaining content information, becoming better team members, solving
problems and making choices about what new information to show in their
presentations. We consider assessment to have three different roles in the
project-based multimedia context:
- Activities for developing expectations;
- Activities for improving the media products;
- Activities for compiling and disseminating
of learning.
Multimedia. In multimedia projects, students do not learn
simply by “using’ multimedia produced by others. As students design and
research their projects, instead of gathering only written notes, they also
gather and create pictures, video clips, recording and other media objects that
will serve as the raw material for their final product.
I did a project a couple of years
ago where students drew on index cards that were later filmed. Although the
students were still excited to be creating animation, those who were not as
good at art started losing interest toward the end. With the use of computers,
even an animated stick figure looks pretty good, and students are given the
opportunity of cutting and pasting. The use of computers lowers many of the
barriers that limited some students' ability to creatively express
themselves... Boys, girls, high achievers, and low achievers seemed equally
motivated to create a quality product.
—Middle school teacher
What value does the teacher add
when she implements project-based multimedia learning? The answer of this question
lies in the concept of “value added”. Richard Murnane and Frank Levy (1996)
describe three skills sets students need
to be competitive for today’s job. These
are hard skills (math, reading, problem-solving skills , mastered at a much
higher level than previously expected of high school graduates); soft skills
(the ability to work in a group and to make effective oral and writing
presentations); and the ability to use personal computer to carry out routine
tasks (for example, word processing, data management and creating the
multimedia presentations).
If means that high school
graduates need to master a combination of foundation skills and competencies.
These are exactly the soft skills
students learn when engaged in project-based multimedia learning.
Adding Project-Based Multimedia Learning to Your Teaching Repertoire
Being a teacher is a bit like
being a personal trainer. In general, a trainer knows that all clients need a
balanced workout. They need to develop muscular strength, flexibility, and aerobic
fitness. They also need to adhere to a sound, balanced diet. At the same time,
each client will have specific needs or conditions that require accommodation.
The workout you design for your client with asthma will be different from the
one you create for your client with arthritis.
Likewise, effective teachers
employ various teaching methods to achieve a balanced instructional program
that is also personalized and reflects the needs and interests of individual
students. You know that your students need a balanced diet of academic content
and process skills—and workouts that include learning, practicing, analyzing,
reflecting, and assessing. You also know that students vary in their comfort
with these activities and the amount of support they need.
The amazing transformation I
witnessed in my students came with the publishing of the first student work on
the Web. The transformation had to do with the concept of audience. Realizing
that their work was posted for the world to see, the students suddenly became
more careful about their research, documentation, and the mechanics of their
writing. The most reluctant proofreaders became voracious proofreaders and
insistent editors. I no longer had to correct their work—they took an active
interest in making sure that what was published was accurate and well written.
—Technology learning coordinator
Project-based multimedia learning
is one instructional strategy that you can use in a school year that may also
include non-technical projects, lecture and note-taking, rote practice,
writing, and artistic or creative work. During this part of the year, students
may be spending less time on rote practice and the breadth of material they
cover may be smaller. What they will be doing instead includes:
Honing their planning and
organizational skills;
Learning to present information
in compelling ways;
Synthesizing and analyzing
complex content and data;
Practicing research and technical
skills; and
Learning how academic subject
matter applies to the real world.
We worked on the project on and
off for much of the year. At the beginning, I would let the students work on
the project one day every week or so. When that day came, students would pump
their arms and say, “Yes!” The students were so into the project that the class
just basically ran itself. I would wander the room getting group updates and be
available to help with individual group problems. Students were always asking
for more time on the computers, even 10 minutes here and there. Sometimes
students would hang around for hours after school; when their parents came to
pick them up they would have a hard time getting the students to leave.
—Middle school teacher
Further, the motivational
character keeps students engaged, giving you the freedom to support individual
students—far better than when every moment of instruction depends on you alone.
