Multimedia Technology in the Classroom

In my classroom the use of multimedia has been on the conservative side. In a couple of the courses I teach I do not use any. It is not that I am against using some form of multimedia in those courses, it just that I have not been able to find anything that would be a natural fit. I feel that if I am going to use a form of multimedia it should be related to the subject, it should add to or build on the lesson, it should be interesting to the students, and in short, it should be a positive not a negative for that particular class subject.
When I do use a video to enhance my classroom lesson, I like to have some form of assessment that goes along with it such as a handout with questions to answer as they are watching or just shortly afterwards. Sometimes I have them write a short essay over the video. I also use major points or facts from the video on a more summative assessment either in the form of a question or a short essay.
In my Introduction to Engineering and Design class I play two videos that introduce and tie into one of my first lessons. I use my teacher’s computer tied into a surround sound system and projected to a larger screen in the front of the room. The first video tells the story of how one individual develops an idea to solve an engineering design challenge by first brainstorming with his family and friends, and then builds an awarding winning product. I show this video to help students see not only how an engineer uses the skills we talk about in class, but how an individual working out of his home on his own can put these skills to great success.
The second video I play shows how a modern day design company uses brainstorming to design an award winning new product. This video flows from the introduction of a client’s needs, to the design firm’s brainstorming ideas, to the final product showing all the steps and missteps between. I especially like this video because it has a woman that leads the design team, and has several other minority engineers in professional lead positions. I believe this to be important for my urban students to see. This diversity in the design world would be hard for me to show so well by any other means. Furthermore, the video adds something to the lesson that I could never fully explain or model in my classroom. Even taking my students on a field trip to a design company would not give the same level of understanding of process that is demonstrated so well in this video. I feel these videos meet the criteria I listed above and add to the value of the lesson.
Most of the classes I teach have state-set benchmarks that do not leave much room or time for deviation. The benchmarks are so plentiful that it is very difficult to address even half of them. There is something I have learned about in my graduate class at MNU that I do believe will blend in with my engineering class. I think I will start having my engineering students take digital pictures of different stages of their work from day one and upload them into Photo Story 3. This will allow students to document and give evidence of their work. Gifted students could show creativity by recording their voices and music to make their projects more appealing. Also, with my students using Photo Story 3 to document the progress of their work I will have a medium to better help parents understand what it is we are doing in class. Parents will be able to see their child’s progress. Photo Story 3 is a free software download that matches the technology I already have, and the expense of adding a few microphones and digital cameras is within my already constrained classroom budget.