The Benefits of Multimedia

Multimedia in the Classroom
Huey-Ling Fan & Michael Grey

The benefits of providing technology in classrooms has proven to be helpful for students and also the developers in this this article. Providing multimedia composition for middle school children proved to be helpful, significantly to the boys but also surprisingly to the developers of the program.

This article explains the benefits of working with computer programs, explaining difficult subjects such as Composition or even Physics have proven themselves to be "less restrictive" than a textbook style approach. Multimedia can be interactive and delightfully engaging without the humiliation of being wrong in front of the class. Working through academics in a non threatening way allows intimidated students to press on. With the advantage of pressing on through academia, the student continues the learning process and finds new strengths they have, maybe strengths they were not aware of previously.

What I found most powerful from this article was the impact the programs had on the developers. Developers gained more knowledge in the content they were creating for students. This may be the most powerful information I have read yet! For the creators, whom obviously have knowledge in the subject, to get something out of using multimedia tools rather than textbooks, how could it not be helpful to a student who is learning a new subject with new eyes.
I believe one of the most important steps for a student in learning is involvement. With use of multimedia, there is significant proof in engagement and the will to stay involved without the fear of being wrong on front of others. Any outlet to educate and motivate should be embraced. I think this article provided a positive outlook on using technology over reading out of a textbook.