Inventive Approaches in Higher Education: An Introduction to Using Multimedia Technologies

Abstract

The chapters in this book focus on using different types of multimodal, multimedia, and transmedia technologies to create technology-rich learning environments that have the potential to enable higher levels of academic motivation, participation, and engagement. Developments in relatively low cost and abundant digital technologies, coupled with the improvements in contemporary learning theories and pedagogical practices, are quickly enhancing and transforming the way we teach and learn in the 21st century and changing our understanding of what it means to teach and learn in a highly web-based multimedia world. At the individual, group, and institutional levels, these technologies are being used in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes. In teaching and learning, they offer promising and innovative ways to create more interesting and enjoyable academic environments and offer more meaningful and authentic ways to better engage the senses of learners. Mayer (1997) states that multimedia-based teaching and learning offers many benefits to educators (e.g., a variety of instructional options, more effective learning, and more efficient use of instructor time especially for very large classes). This is based on the core multimedia principle posited by Mayer (2005): people tend to learn more deeply with both words and images than from words alone.

Citation

Wankel, L.A. and Blessinger, P. (2013), "Inventive Approaches in Higher Education: An Introduction to Using Multimedia Technologies", Wankel, L.A. and Blessinger, P. (Ed.) Increasing Student Engagement and Retention using Multimedia Technologies: Video Annotation, Multimedia Applications, Videoconferencing and Transmedia Storytelling (Cutting-Edge Technologies in Higher Education, Vol. 6 Part F), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2044-9968(2013)000006F003