Joseph B Siegle Jr

Reflective Response
Multimedia in Instructional Design
EDUC 525
March 16, 2015

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In reflecting on my time in EDUC 525 I have discovered a period of learning and growth.
I learned about a topic that I had never before thought about. The process of creating a
multimedia element can be difficult at times. The process had tools and models of which
I had literally just learned. The amount of steps to be taken intimidated me in the
beginning. What role would the DDD-E model play and how do I use it? Blooms
Taxonomy? I had no idea what this model was. However, I used what I learned to be a
facet of my Multiple Intelligences to calm down and take in the information in various
ways. This metacognition worked for me. After reading about these models and tools I
became comfortable and was able to use them to the best of my blossoming ability.
Building a lesson plan out of a media element became more than a project, it became a
challenge and a learning experience.
I learned quickly that I wasnt up to date on technology. I found that the media programs
like Audacity werent extremely hard to use and that I liked using them. I had fun
producing an animation of a plasmid being made because it was bringing to life the way
that organisms are made in world of genetic engineering. Not only was this a project,
but it was a lesson in learning about myself and relating that experience to others
through my work. I was also very pleased to see that I was learning some of the NET-S
as I moved through the course. I dont have them all down yet, but I certainly know more
now than I did in January. So as a learning tool this course was phenomenal. I learned
much about myself and how I worked and what areas I needed to strengthen before
heading into a class to teach.
As a teaching tool multimedia seems limitless. You can reach almost all of the MIs and
produce a lesson that students will enjoy. Using this technology makes it possible to

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relate to the times the students are in. They are children of technology and they would
therefore learn with it. It can turn a boring lecture about how plasmids are made into an
interactive and visual experience that wont be forgotten. With one lesson plan you can
produce a product that has the capability to reach a larger amount of students and help
form their higher order thinking skills. It also makes it easier to share the aspects of
biology that we cant see with the naked eye or microscopes yet. I feel an animation of a
working cell is much more memorable to a student taking a test then a picture in a book
or just words spoken to them. I also see multimedia as a way to bring the students
together in learning groups. This builds inter/intra personal skills that will be used for the
rest of their lives.
Working in a team with multimedia can be challenging and yet fun. In the beginning
when our team came together it was difficult to see where people were coming from
with ideas. I learned that intra/inter personal skills being used over a computer can be
quite different. Its hard to gauge what is being said without hearing the inflection and
tone of voice. But this soon gave way to a great experience with my three teammates.
That was the most striking part to me. Over the span of a few months we became a
team and addressed ourselves as such, not just a group. By using multimedia we were
able to come together and understand one another and appreciate how each of us
learned. If one needed help it was freely given to help them catch up or using new
equipment.
Overall I found that I thoroughly enjoyed the course and have taken from it the most I
can carry at the moment. I will use what Ive learned to build upon future endeavors in
the classroom as a teacher and a student learning how to teach.