Multimedia is a broad term that encompasses many forms of technology and how they are used to deliver information (Mayer, 2002). The use of multimedia whether it be text and images like in a picture book or a speech with corresponding images, in a presentation, have proven beneficial in assisting learning in the classroom (Mayer, 2002).
During the tutorial we had the opportunity to use Stop Motion Studio, a fun and engaging app that allows you to easily create stop motion videos. It offers many great multimodal features to create more complex stop motion videos for example, voice overs, text and drawing overlay, green screen and sound effects.
Example of the process of making a stop motion video.
FOSTERING CREATIVITY:
The use of multimedia, in this case stop motion is an approach that nurtures creativity in students as it provides a creative environment to express ideas, think creatively, and innovate solutions to problems (Hashimi, 2019). It is evident that providing opportunities to students to use their imagination and collaborate through multimedia increases student motivation, creativity and engagement (Hashimi, 2019). Similarly, the use of stop motion employs the multimedia effect, meaning students learn more deeply when information is presented in different modes (Mayer, 2002). Allowing students to create their own multimodal project puts them in charge of these modes and provides rich learning experiences.
Opportunities for creative learning and creative expression using Stop Motion Studio are endless, not only do students think creatively when constructing the stop motion they can showcase their knowledge from a range of subject areas. This could include bringing to life a prescribed text or creating their own movie in English or manipulating objects/units to demonstrate an understanding of mathematical concepts.
Stop Motion Studio final product.
PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES:
As an educator it is important to allow additional time for students to familiarise themselves with and explore Stop Motion Studio. Students may become caught up in trying to navigate the app rather than using it as a tool to enhance learning. It is also important to note that whilst the app is free the paid version does offer more features.
REFERENCES:
Hashimi, S., Muwali, A., Zaki, Y., & Mahdi, N. (2019). The effectiveness of social media and multimedia-based pedagogy in enhancing creativity among art, design, and digital media students. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 14(21), 176-190.
Mayer, R. E. (2002). Multimedia learning. In Psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 41, pp. 85-139). Academic Press.
Hi Erin,
Absolutely loved your blog. I think everything you mentioned is really great. Love how you included the negatives and downsides to the technology as well. I think your references are really great and loved how you included some in-text references as well as how in-depth you went in the fostering creativity section. I love how you imbedded the link for the stop motion technology into the blog and how you included an example of a stop motion picture someone created. Overall really enjoyed reading your blog post.
Shira Charif
Great analysis Erin! I admire your use of multiple academic sources to prove the benefits of multimedia technology, and specifically stop motion technology, in creative teaching. It would be nice if you could provide an example of lesson design using such technology, or clarify how the technology can be used in creative classroom settings. You did provide a brief description of stop motion’s potential application in learning and teaching, but such description is accompanied by a video that leans more towards comedy/entertainment content than concept demonstration content, which made the aforementioned benefits of using stop motion animation in classrooms rather unclear.
~ Emilia Nguyen, 05/04/2023