Sharing multi-media content

The possibilities for enhanced learning brought about through the use of multi-media are exciting, adventurous and can bring enormous benefits both to learners who might have been satisfied by existing methods and those who for whatever reason have not been well served by current methodologies.

The term 'multimedia' is used here to mean the range of communication channels such as audio, digital photos and video, each used alone or in combination, in addition to text, to provide a varied and enhanced way of engaging individuals in the learning process. With assessment being a vital component in both learning and in giving recognition to achievement of learning (i.e. accreditation etc), multimedia can also contribute a great deal to assessment.

While the components of multimedia have been available for a considerable time it is the recent advances in the capture and delivery of multi-media through digital technologies using low cost devices such as smartphones that have made possible its much more extensive use. Finally the use of cloud based resources that enable rapid sharing of multi-media has brought the benefits to many.

Many learners have difficulty in using traditional text based resources for a number of reasons that include the environment where learning may need to take place, such as a construction site or through personal reasons such as lack of literacy skills or various states of learning disability. The ability to access a learning resource such as an audio or video explanation on a construction site brings big benefits. Similarly for learners who through lack of literacy or speaking skills have difficulty in accessing traditional text based resources evidence is emerging that they may become more readily engaged with images and video sequences. They may also be able to respond more readily through a keyboard or touch-screen than by attempting to apply a pen to paper. In this way multimedia can play a large part in achieving greater inclusivity in the learning process.

It is in the evidencing, or assessment of learning whether to show progress or to demonstrate final achievement that sharing becomes a vital component. For similar reasons just discussed there can be greater inclusivity with multimedia since it can now be readily accessed wherever the learners, tutors or assessors happen to be since it is available to share through any digitally connected device that has access to cloud based resources.

With any new venture there can be negative aspects.There is a need to be able to engage with the devices that capture and distribute multimedia but generally it is in some ways surprising the extent to which individuals from a very wide range of abilities seem able to interact with these devices after sometimes quite limited experience. Possibly the satisfaction through the interaction with multimedia aids motivation to 'keep trying' but it doesn't seem to be an impediment to its wide ranging use.