My Personal Thoughts on Adding Multimedia to Classrooms

As society continues to advance, educators are finding more and more ways to incorporate new technologies in the learning experience. It used to be that a blackboard and a piece of chalk were the extent of a teacher's arsenal, but now there are numerous multimedia tools that are being utilized all throughout the world to increase the effectiveness of a classroom lesson. Some examples are projectors, SmartBoards, iClickers, Skype, Adobe sessions, graphical presentations such as PowerPoint and Prezi, as well as many other technologies. And although these things are good in nature, there are those who would argue that too many multimedia tools can detract from a lesson rather than increase that lesson's effectiveness.

Personally I have experienced both sides of the coin. I have been in classrooms where the teacher was adept at using multimedia tools and used them effectively to advance the effectiveness of the lesson. For instance, my math teacher in high school would use a SmartBoard to plot graphs. The "smartness" of the board would allow her to draw perfectly straight lines and magnificently circular circles, while also letting her change the color of the virtual marker to distinguish between graphs and equations.

In another of my high school classes, an immaculate SmartBoard was attached to the wall, however, I do not believe the teacher ever attempted to utilize its capabilities. Instead, my teacher would use the whiteboard behind the SmartBoard. If the dormant piece of technology were to be removed though, then my teacher would have gained valuable whiteboard space.

I don't mind the technology, unless it sits there unused because of the technological ignorance of the instructor. Multimedia can totally be used to augment the learning experience.

However, I do think there is something to be said about teachers who can wield nothing but a piece of chalk and still hash out a superb lesson. It may be old school, but I think it's pretty cool.