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Updated 2007-01-10
Submitted for publication in The Language Teacher September 1995 issue on Featured Speakers, for Oxford University Press. By Kevin Ryan.
Multimedia capability has revolutionized computing because it makes computers accessible to the average person. No longer is there a need for remembering arcane commands, deciphering “computerese” and constantly referring to manuals. Multimedia brings an interface to the computer that increases motivation, compounds the quality and accessibility of information in a program (the software) and allows for a “communicative-like” interaction with the computer. Multimedia offers language teaching a new way to supplement the classroom experience. Learners can go to the far reaches of the planet or their imagination while constructing new concepts. Many different ways of presenting information can be combined to increase the effect of that information for the learner. Multimedia can be especially beneficial for the Japanese learner, particularly ones that are young or are beginners.
But what exactly is this beast? What with the saturation coverage by the news media about computers and their uses (or misuses), the inevitable series of buzzwords appear. Unfortunately, these buzzwords do not reflect the actual situation for education and learning.
Tay Vaughan’ book on multimedia authoring clarifies the related terms that may be confusing, often because of interference with commercial names of products and services.
“Multimedia is any combination of text, graphic art, sound, animation and video that is delivered by computer. When you allow the user—the viewer of the project—to control that and when these elements are delivered, it is interactive multimedia. When you provide a structure of linked elements through which the user can navigate, interactive multimedia becomes hypermedia” (Vaughan, 1993, p. 3).
Multimedia is nothing new to the classroom, especially since the introduction of video. One could even define multimedia as a teacher using a tape recorder, film and a chalkboard. The primary benefit of multimedia is that these different media work in conjunction with each other to have a non-additive effect (to use Korzybski’s words), that is, that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. This is especially true for students with different learning styles.
Computers provide orchestration of media that has not been possible before. Ease of access is the primary benefit, with new information only a click of the mouse away. Computers also allow simultaneous presentation of various media, or the flexibility to combine information in different ways. Most of what people call multimedia today is really hypermedia, with the non-hierarchical linking of media in a kind of cross-referencing of the material so that students can choose different paths though the web of knowledge presented as an additional way to approach the curriculum design.
A retiring professor at the University of Barcelona complained of the word “interactive,” saying that computers can only be “reactive” (Bartolome, 1993). To be interactive, a computer must be intelligent. The professor went on to imply that current technology could not achieve true interactivity. One leading researcher in the field has commented that “... interactive lessons require at least the appearance of two-way communication” (Jonassen, 1989). But to be truly interactive, a computer program must use what is called AI (artificial intelligence), which is a computer program that tries to simulate learning and anticipate the directions the learner will take when using a program. It can “decide” to make the material more or less challenging, suggest ways to accomplish tasks, give hints and feedback or lead the student to additional information to accomplish the task at hand.
Interactivity allows users to participate in their own learning. The act of choosing what to learn and how to learn it increases motivation and attention, as well as retention. “People retain 10 percent of what they see, 20 percent of what they hear, half of what they see and hear (the multimedia advantage), and 80 percent of what they see, hear and do (the interactive edge)” (Begley, 1994, p. 47).
Interface is more than the “look and feel” of a computer, it is the flexibility and possibilities it offers the user. It deals with how the computer reacts to the user, and how the user manages the computer. Most multimedia software today uses devices such as buttons that are obvious in meaning (“intuitive”) to the user (or at least should be after the first trial). As computers get more powerful, they get easier to use, if programmed correctly. There is power enough to help users do their work, with help functions, suggestions or small messages that pop up like cartoon bubbles to guide the user, and even audible or spoken cues.
“John Sculley (1987), [past] chairman of Apple Computer, speaks of the three ‘core technologies’ of educational computing: artificial intelligence, hypermedia and simulation” (Underwood, 1989, p. 72). Simulation is the creation of a “virtual world” where consequences can be controlled but random factors can be introduced to mimic a real or imaginary situation. Most popular among these are the Sim series of “games” developed by Maxis (Sim City, Sim Earth, etc.).
Multimedia helps all learners because of easy, intuitive access to information, presented in a way that provokes interest and requires interaction. Seymour Papert, known for developing the constructivist theory of learning on computers, sees learning not as content to be remembered, but concepts to be discovered and applied. Learners construct their own rules from the information provided, necessitating material rich in content and presentation. The choice built into multimedia software gives enough control to the learner to explore and build concepts. (Some teachers are uncomfortable with the change in their role from “the sage on the stage” to the “guide on the side.”)
Papert is also known for his programming language, LOGO, that is simple enough for children to use. In the classic example, they direct a turtle around an area. The process of writing the language requires cooperative learning, interaction between group members and verbal skills that fit so well with language learning. Multimedia software often works better with small groups than alone. These small groups of two or three could include students alone, parents or teachers.
In his book Frames of Mind Howard Gardner believes that there are at least seven different “intelligences” (i.e. logical, spatial, kinesthetic, social) and has demonstrated ways to develop each of these. Multimedia software can address many more of these intelligences than a text. Different learning styles can also benefit from the same multimedia program. Learners that are visually oriented can benefit from the text and graphics, auditory learners can concentrate on the sounds and verbal content. Again, the symbiosis between these two media reinforce each other to enhance the weaker style. Multimedia tends to be holistic, and lends itself to integrative learning across the skills.
Multimedia software for language learning falls into three major groups. Courseware is designed to provide a curriculum and syllabus while allowing for some variation of activities within that framework. Supplemental software can be either reference works (i.e. Grolier’s Multimedia Encyclopedia) or specific educational activities designed to be “fun.” The unfortunate term “Edutainment” is often used for this category. Applying this term to learning, in my opinion, devalues the experience. Learning is interesting, it is compelling, it is rewarding, but it is not entertainment. The third category of software is designed for other uses, but can be applied to language learning. Word processors, spreadsheets, drawing programs are examples.
Multimedia offers a non-threatening way for learners to get feedback. It is an exceptional way to supplement material presented in class. Learners can get reinforcement of language points through communicative interaction with the program or with other students as they use the software.
Japanese communicative style lends itself to interaction with multimedia. Anderson (1993) finds four outstanding factors for Japanese students in a classroom; group-mindedness, consensual decision-making, formalized speech-making and listener responsibility. Interacting with a computer relieves students of pressure from all of these factors that often inhibit communication in a classroom setting (p. 107).
Children learning languages in Japan can find a lot to benefit from using multimedia software to supplement their traditional studies. Individual attention by the computer, quick and consistent feedback, and life-like (simulated) situations all contribute to give the students what they are sorely lacking in classroom interactions. Roger Schank, head of Northwestern’s ILS (Institute of Learning Sciences): “Children and adults, he argues, learn best when they receive information at the moment they need it. This makes classroom teaching an oxymoron” (Williamson, 1994, p. 84).
Software for children develops many skills. For pre-schoolers, software can develop spatial and shape recognition, sorting and pattern recognition, problem solving, sequencing, imagination, counting, letter recognition and phonics, geography and navigation, and strategic thinking. Elementary school children can use multimedia to learn reading and basic science, and corresponds to Piaget’s preoperational stage, which is learning society's symbol systems. These also include some of Gardner’s other intelligences, singing and drawing. Junior high kids are at the stage where they are curious about the world outside of their domain, so reference works or material that is exotic is useful here.
Children today are often accused of having a short attention span, and of being a “TV generation.” Multimedia software includes the visual and auditory stimulation of television, but engages them in the content through the interactive aspects. Educational software is an enticing alternative to games like “Mortal Kombat” played by so many children today.
Cited Literature
Anderson, F.E. (1993) The enigma of the college classroom. In P. Wadden, (ed.) A handbook for Teaching English at Japanese Colleges and Universities. Oxford, England, Oxford University Press, 101-110.
Bartolome, A. (1993). Learning styles: Interactivity levels and path control. In Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia Annual, 1993, Hermann Maurer, ed. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, Charlottesville, VA, USA. 52-59.
Begley, S. (1994). Teaching minds to fly with discs and mice. Newsweek, May 31, 1994, 47.
Jonassen, D. (1989) Interactive lesson designs: A taxonomy. In Bosco et.al.: Interactive Video. Englewood Cliffs: Educational Technology Publications.
Underwood, J. (1984). Linguistics, computers and the language teacher: A communicative approach. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Vaughan, Tay (1993). Multimedia: Making it work. Berkeley, CA: Osborne/McGraw-Hill.
Williamson,
M. (1994) High-tech training. Byte 19,
12, 74-88.
Bio: Kevin Ryan, Showa Women's University, Junior College Division, past President of The Tokyo PC User's Group, has taught in Barcelona, Chicago and Nanjing. Current research in multimedia language learning at Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Technology.