Impact of Technology and Multimedia

Today in our learning society, technology is rapidly taking over our classrooms and creating what appears to be endless possibilities in bringing education and information to learners around the world and on multiple electronic devices. "Research literature throughout the past decade has shown that technology can enhance literacy development, impact language acquisition, provide greater access to information, support learning, motivate students, and enhance their self-esteem" (O'Hara & Pritchard, 2009). Adding technology to our learning environment has certainly proven to have many benefits. However, there isn't a lot of talk about what it takes to either move a face-to-face classroom into the online environment or developing an online classroom from scratch. "Moving to the online environment means developing a new set of habits, tools, and practices, and that takes time, energy, and patience" (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010, p. 103). Converting to online and developing new online learning is something I personally have experienced in my professional and educational work.

When developing online courses there are a lot of factors to consider. For instance, the impact technology and multimedia have on online learning environments. Well, the overall impact can be a good one as stated above. For the learners, many do very well with technology and multimedia being incorporated into their learning. They are more engaged, able to do hands on activities to help in their understanding of the material, and with online learning have more control. There can be an overload of technology that we want to be cautious of as too much of a good thing can have a negative impact. However, when technology and multimedia are incorporated appropriately, the benefits are high for the learners and I have seen my company's New Hire class thrive once technology and multimedia was incorporated.

The online instructor does have considerations to make before including technology and multimedia into their course. They first need to think of their learners and if adding technology will benefit them. Then they need to consider what type of technology with they utilize - videos, audio files, interactive games, a course management system, etc. Their next step will be to ensure they know the technology they are going to use and that their learners will know it or be able to learn it before a graded assignment (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). They will also need to develop strategies for how they will utilize the technology. For example, will they send out their announcements via e-mail or post them on the announcement section in the course management system? Will they incorporate instant messaging or twitter? How will they enforce the use of the discussion boards? These are all great questions out textbook " The Online Teaching Survival Guide" addressed. It is important for the online instructor to have a thorough plan when implementing technology because even though it's a great tool, it can also pose a lot of issues and confusion for learners. Therefore, "developing good practices for the sometimes endless details of managing and administering leaves more time and energy for guiding the knowledge development of your learners and developing satisfying learning relationships" (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010, p. 110).

Another factor to consider is what the implications might there be for the usability and accessibility of the technology tools towards online teaching. Well, anything with technology could have technical issues with operating, starting, compatibility, etc. The online instructor needs to take these into consideration and communicate alternative options for the students if the technology fails (a back up plan). In terms of usability, having learners use the technology with non-graded assignments before a graded assignment is an excellent resource to use (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004). Doing this gives the learners a substantial assignment to complete in the program and direction on the program's potential.

All of those factors and details were things I've learned in my professional and educational work in developing online courses that have helped me currently and will continue to help me with future online development. For the educational work, I was able to experiences a course management system before we implemented one at work. I found that to be highly effective and helped with a lot of the grunt work (tracking students scores, how many times they logged in, when their last log in was, how many discussion posts they've done, etc.). Some kind of management system is one I would highly recommend to any instructor venturing out into the online learning environment. Another technology tool I love is Adobe Captivate. Captivate is a program that is great for our training department because it allows us to create online courses, record voices, create quizzes, develop simulations, record video, etc. I think it would be beneficial to utilize in any educational type field vs. straight web development where Dreamweaver may be more appropriate. Those are the two technology tools I've found very beneficial and provide a lot of opportunities for my development in the online learning industry.



References

Boettcher, J.V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

O'Hara, S., & Pritchard, R. (2009). What is the Impact of Technology on Learning. Education.com, Inc. Retrieved March 31, 2011, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/what-impact-technology-learning/