Blog 3 - Multimedia and Constructivist Theory in Education

To ensure that students are equipped with knowledge and skills that will help them succeed in the future, educators and the education system should aim to promote learning aligning with the constructivist theory which believes in creating long-term retention and deep understanding of information, rather than just encouraging students to memorize facts temporarily (Hernández-Ramos, & De La Paz, 2009).

To do this, educators must create learning environments for students that are engaging and encourage creative thinking, problem solving and where they can express ideas freely. This is where technology, or more specifically multimedia becomes more necessary to introduce and incorporate into the classroom (Hashimi, et. Al., 2019).

Constructivist theory and multimedia are linked in education as multimedia can be used as a tool to facilitate and enhance the construction of knowledge by learners. According to constructivist theory, learners actively construct their own understanding and knowledge through their experiences and interactions with the environment (Hernández-Ramos, & De La Paz, 2009). Multimedia, with its combination of different media such as text, images, audio, and video, provides learners with multiple representations of information that can be processed and interpreted in different ways, allowing them to construct meaning based on their individual experiences and perspectives (Mayer, 2020).

A multimedia tool that can enhance deeper learning in the classroom is Powtoon (Powtoon, 2023). Powtoon (2023) is a multimedia technology that allows you to create animated videos and presentations to represent your ideas. It provides templates, pictures, audio and more at a click of a button. The program is easy and fun to use.

Figure 1. Screenshot of myself searching for a template on Powtoon to use for a History Assessment (Powtoon, 2023).

Teachers can make use of Powtoon across all Key Learning Areas (KLAs) in the classroom, including History assessments. For example, students can select a historical figure from a list and conduct research on their lives. With Powtoon, they can create an engaging presentation that displays a timeline of events, major impacts, and contributions to modern-day society. This type of assessment can be incorporated across different grade levels, although the complexity of content may be more suited for older students. Nonetheless, Powtoon can be used creatively by younger students for other KLAs.

Figure 2. Screenshot of creating a timeline for an historical figure (Powtoon, 2023).

In Figure 2, I demonstrate how easy it was for me to begin developing a timeline of events for Mary Mackillop, a historical figure. It took me less than 5 minutes to create the first page. If students invest more time in conducting thorough research and planning, their Powtoon presentations can promote more profound learning experiences and foster their creativity. Thus, incorporating constructivist theory and multimedia.

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REFERENCES

Al Hashimi, Al Muwali, A., Zaki, Y., & Mahdi, N. (2019). The effectiveness of social media and multimedia-based pedagogy in enhancing creativity among art, design, and digital media students. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 14(21), 176–190. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v14i21.10596

Hernández-Ramos, & De La Paz, S. (2009). Learning History in Middle School by Designing Multimedia in a Project-Based Learning Experience. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(2), 151–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2009.10782545

Mayer, R. E. (2020). Designing multimedia instruction in anatomy: An evidence‐based approach. Clinical Anatomy, 33(1), 2-11.

ChatGPT has been used for the final edit of this post.

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