Multimedia and Me
- Kasey Brown
- Aug 12, 2023
- 4 min read
Detailing the process and reflecting on my first multimedia creation
For my multimedia project, I decided to focus more on my research project for the program and create a resource that could introduce 1:1 learning to teachers, specifically those that are reluctant to dive into this type of learning environment. My audience is geared more towards elementary and intermediate level teachers, as that is where most of my personal experience lies. As I began to develop ideas for my project, I knew I wanted this to be a resource that my audience could hold onto and refer back to when needed. While it isn’t intended to divulge all there is to know about 1:1 learning, my goal was to simply plant seeds and shed light on ways this type of environment can support teachers, students, and families. I wanted the design to be simple, but purposeful and I feel like I accomplished that with the final product.
By better understanding Mayer’s Principles of Multimedia, I was able to tailor my designs in order to create functional elements that were appealing to how the brain is wired to receive information. If I’m being honest, there were so many things I wanted to try to implement within the project, but I just didn’t have the mental capacity or time to truly dive into them all. However, I feel like being aware of all of these tools now will be beneficial in the future as I continue on as an instructional technologist.
Storyboard
After determining a topic, I began developing the storyboard that laid out the foundational pieces of my presentation. My reading/language arts brain really enjoyed doing this because it was like I was creating a rough draft, but with multiple elements that integrated various media. I used Canva to create my storyboard for a few reasons. First of all, the premade storyboard templates within Canva were extremely helpful when it came to laying out my pieces and deciding the flow of my project. I knew from the beginning that my final piece would be non-linear, as I wanted my audience to be able to click on the resources they felt were most relevant. I also enjoy using Canva because there are so many great graphics within the program that are high quality. I was also able to find matching pieces of clipart that made my project look more cohesive. Canva allowed me to add animations to my project, as well as music to include a few more of Mayer’s Principles. I knew I wanted to create a digital classroom and Canva gave me several options that enabled me to customize it how I needed it to be. Below is my storyboard:
ThingLink
From the very beginning, I knew that I was wanting to use ThingLink for my project because I had seen other examples of items using the program and it seemed like a program I could utilize in my classroom, so I wanted to get familiar with it. Because ThingLink works so well with Canva, it was really easy to use. I feel like I probably used ThingLink at a more basic level, but I am already thinking up ways to use it more complexly in my classroom this year. I simply just created all of my slides for my presentation in Canva and then very easily uploaded them into the program. Once that was complete, I just had to decide where I wanted to add the tags within the images that make the project interactive. After that, I spent time linking the resources that I wanted to use. I used several YouTube Videos, but also included audio that contained research bits behind 1:1 learning and article links that could be viewed for further learning. By implementing audio and visual elements, I feel like I was able to cover UDL guidelines.
ThingLink and Canva
I used Canva to build my design and layered in the elements that I needed to create my digital classroom. After many trial and error attempts, I learned that I would need to make individual slides that introduced each new element of the project in order for it to look animated. That seems like such a simple concept, but it took me hours to figure out that that was the way I needed to do it. To accomplish this in a more efficient manner, I ended up creating one slide with all of the elements and then duplicating that slide and deleting elements one by one until I had enough slides to introduce each element. To add auditory aesthetics, I added some fun instrumental music to play as the elements are introduced. I did learn that the animations and music HAD to be added before my project could be uploaded into ThingLink. Once I had the animations and music how I wanted them, I then uploaded them into ThingLink and began placing tags where I needed them. Once the tags were placed I began linking the resources I needed with each tag and uploading the audio recordings I had made. I wasn’t sure how exactly to include captioning on my audio, so I decided to just add a script of the audio that was play so that it could be read along as the audio played.
Final Product
Overall, I am pleased with my final product. I feel like it is easy to navigate and provides relevant and important information that introduces just a few benefits of 1:1 learning. Please find the link for the final product below:
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