Student Engagement with Multimedia

References
McDermott, P., & Gormley, K. A. (2016). Teachers' Use of Technology

in Elementary Reading Lessons. Reading Psychology, 37(1), 121-146.

Student Engagement with multimedia has come a long way from the

70s when most of our multimedia consisted of print, newspapers, magazines,

books microfiche. As a society we also dabbled in a few more items such as

 flimstrips, flimprojection, televison movies and videos.

    Today there is a vast array of multimedia that students are using.  They

also can get the information with quickness and ease which is much different

than the 70’s. The forms of media being used today are vast in comparison to

that of 40 years ago.  Today's students are using technology to produce items

such as podcast, blogs, presentations using web based programs and numerous

apps that help them learn and grow. The student engagement that students have

is so vast and changing daily.

    As an educator winding down her career I feel that it’s a little too much.  I been

teaching kids for 25 years, and while I don’t want to be a fuddy duddy I feel the

kids are losing out on so many experiences.  Experiences not only school related,

but in their home lives as well. In my classroom I see kids that don’t know how

to color, use scissors correctly, they don’t know how to fold paper or even roll it

up for that matter.  They don’t use glue anymore, heaven forbid if you do a project

not on the Chromebook. I find it quite sad. So students are definitely engaged with

multimedia, but not so sure it’s necessarily a good thing. Still there is a debate

about technology used in the classroom teaching. Enthusiasts contend that

 technology better prepares students for the 21st century by improving their

skills with information in communicative technologies. (pg. 2) Proponents further

argue that technology improve student classroom engagement, increases their

academic achievement,) advances their reading fluency and enriches their

writing. (pg. 2) While research says this I don't find it to be so.  My article also

stated on the other hand opponents argue that technology is oversold and claim

there is little evidence showing that it improves students learning.

Cuban Kirkpatrick & Park who observed that technology generated no

change in classroom social structures and only reproduced existing ways of

teaching and learning Monke argued that technology might actually distract

children from what's most important to learn namely he asserted that children

need to First learn self-discipline moral judgment and empathy for others. (Pg. 3)

I couldn't agree more with this statement.   That's the one thing I’ve been saying

for the last 2 years.   We don't take time to teach them how to behave in class,

and how to have empathy for other students.  We push and push them on these

Chromebooks and with the technology that other things that are important to learn

just get tossed to the side.  So, I truly believe there's definitely enough student

engagement with multimedia it's just a matter of how much is too much especially

at the elementary level. At the Elementary level I think it's really important  to teach

what it means to be a good citizen, How to play fair, do a little cutting and

pasting, learn some cursive, and do a little writing, do a little reading, and do a

little math. It's always worked in the past.