Kirstin Brown

Drexel University
EDUC 525: Multimedia in Instructional Design
Reflection

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This quarter has been productive, interesting and rewarding. Originally, I was not
scheduled to take this course, but enrolled in it to replace a cancelled one to complete my
program at Drexel University. Surprisingly, I have found it was the perfect conclusion to my
two-year course work. As I studied learning technologies, I constantly searched for new
methods and strategies I could actually use with my students. I believe I gained that information
through this course. The most beneficial aspect of the course was participating in situated
learning by using these programs to create the multimedia elements. This is because I can use
them to enhance my teaching and assist my students learning process. As we covered concepts
like the instructional design process, it was helpful to implement the theories and work through
the components step by step. I will use the skills I gained working on a team in future
experiences. I believe I learned from all aspects of this course because they were relevant and
significant.
As I stated, I think one of the most rewarding components of this course was the
opportunity to create multimedia elements. In the past, I have had difficulty identifying
technology programs I can incorporate into my classroom activities. I found the programs
presented in this course were user friendly and applicable to instruction. For example, I plan to
use Audacity and GoAnimate to create read alouds and animations for my students. I was also
surprised to find these ideas can be modified for users of all ages. As a kindergarten teacher, I
have learned that not every program can be successfully modified for my young learners.
However, I believe the audio, graphic, screencast and animation are elements I can use with and
for my students. Although the creations can be time consuming, they are extremely worthwhile.
In my current position, I develop monthly units for my students. My goal is to improve
the overall cohesion of the content, activities and expectations. Dissecting the instructional

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design process has been valuable because it has helped me comprehend each phase and its
importance. Although I quickly complete all steps to create my units, I have learned it is
important to slow down the process and truly evaluate each component. I enjoyed working
through each section this quarter, but looking back I believe one of the most important phases is
the Decide Phase. It is important to take time at the beginning of the process to contemplate the
key factors that will affect the overall project. When my group originally completed this phase,
we had difficulty answering the questions in detail. After some reflection, I believe it was so
challenging because we didnt have a clear understanding of the design process or how we
wanted to develop our unit. The focus, standards, goals, multimedia, and assessment tools are
the foundation of any unit or project. We quickly realized our project needed additional
information because we didnt fully develop the beginning stage. In my professional life, I want
to improve my practices and use this process more often especially the Decide Phase. I have
learned at times it is important to not only focus on the end product, but to analyze what the
students should gain from the end result and the tools they will use to reach it. Taking the time to
examine my overall goals will guide me as I expand the units and have a lasting effect on the
final creative phases.
As we progressed through the phases, it was fascinating to see all the components of the
instructional design process fall into place. I thought it was a very daunting task at first. I
struggled with identifying what multimedia tools will be sufficient for this unit. I didnt realize
how transformative other media tools can be for both teacher use and student usage. As I stated
above, I am thrilled to gain knowledge on different multimedia tools that I can now use in my
classroom. I look forward to implementing them all, but predict the animation will be the most
effective. I think the animation pulls all elements together. It combines the images of the

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graphic with the sounds of the audio to the movement of the screencast. I enjoyed creating this
multidimensional media tool and think it will engage my 21st century students. Additionally, I
think it will address the challenge of meeting all students needs. This will ultimately assist
students in internalizing the instructional material. Using a combination of elements will help
me and my students be more successful.
I hope to increase the success in my classroom by analyzing the multiple intelligences of
my students. I found this concept to be very interesting. As a teacher, I learned their strengths
and weaknesses. In my undergraduate courses, I learned about the different categories of
learners such as auditory, visual and kinetic. In my daily schedule, I work to integrate activities
that will benefit different learning styles. I had not been introduced to the multiple intelligences
of learners. It was enlightening to read about the technologies that would be beneficial for each
intelligence. I want to integrate a wide variety of modern technologies to address the needs of all
students. For example, in my kindergarten class, I can use speech recognition devices to
improve the verbal learners writing skills, integrate computer activities that require a mouse for
the kinesthetic learner, cater to the intrapersonal intelligences by developing digital portfolios for
students and parents and use virtual social studies field trips for the existentialists. Similar to the
assignments in this course, I can also create animations of science concepts for the visual
intelligence, produce recordings of stories and play them for learners with a musical intelligence
and create group projects for interpersonal intelligences. Although I have used many of these
technologies in isolated circumstances, I think its important to stop and assess how I want to use
them to enhance my students experiences rather than identifying a technology just to have that
component. The various multimedia elements are examples of programs and creations that I can

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use. As teachers include additional multimedia elements, more students will be successful
because their learning styles are being acknowledged.
In addition to assessing the phases in more detail and concentrating on the multiple
intelligences, I found the NETS for teachers and students to be great resources and want to use
these documents as I create lessons and activities. This will be my first full year with adequate
and age appropriate resources to integrate technology into my classroom. I feel as though I have
a better understanding of how to accomplish this goal and can strengthen my ability to meet the
NETS guidelines. Specifically, I can improve my encouragement of reflection, customization of
learning activities, modeling skills of digital citizenship and responsibilities and participation in
digital learning communities. This course has introduced me to new possibilities and I plan to
post these standards in my classroom as a reminder.
In addition to the content in this course, I feel as though I gained new discoveries from
working as a team. Any project or assignment that includes collaboration is challenging. Each
member brings unique strengths and weaknesses. This quarter, I learned how difficult it is to
rely on others to submit work they have agreed to complete and in a timely manner. Although I
had a good working relationship with my group, there were stressful times. As I completed my
portion, I was unsure if all members would meet the requirements in a timely manner. Although
I prefer to work independently, I realize working as a group is a valuable life skill and found this
quarter to be an enlightening learning experience. I am grateful for the opportunity to take this
course and look forward to implementing all the knowledge and skills I gained over this tenweek period.