As an author of books for young adult and middle grade readers, I’m always looking for ways to engage readers. Since I started grad school, a whole new world has been opened to me in terms of how multimedia can be used to enhance instructional content.
The great thing about what I’m learning is that it doesn’t apply to just teachers. As a parent, you can also use multimedia to enhance your kids’ or your own learning. If you’re like me, you might be wondering what exactly multimedia is. Before I started taking my class, I was a bit clueless. According to Merriam-Webster, multimedia is simply using or involving several forms of communication or expression. It typically falls into one of five categories, most of which you are probably familiar: text, images, audio, video and animation.
Text
Text is one of the most commonly used types of multimedia. Generally, it is combined with one of the other types. You encounter it all the time. When you see a picture, you will probably also see some kind of text accompanying it. Often with text, less is more. If you are using this method to engage your people, break it up so it’s not huge blocks that will intimidate readers. Check out the app WordSwag or visit Canva to use text to create some amazing designs.
Images
A picture really is worth a thousand words. Images are everywhere. Whether you are capturing a moment on your phone or looking at something on social media, images draw us all in. If you’re looking for free images to jazz up your social media or your child needs images for a school project, check out Pixabay or CreateHerStock.
Audio and Video
Phones have made it so easy to incorporate audio and video into our daily lives and to record things on the fly. Even amateurs can pull together something of professional quality thanks to programs like iMovie and storing and sharing are a breeze when you use programs like SoundCloud.
Animation
Animation can liven up a presentation and allows users to engage in ways that aren’t possible with other forms or multimedia. A number of programs exist, with Adobe Flash arguably being the best.
What are some ways you incorporate multimedia into your daily life, and how can you incorporate other methods to step things up a notch?
