What is multimedia?
Multimedia refers to the presentation of both words and images simultaneously (Mayer, 2014). Words can be written or spoken, and images can be in the form of photos, diagrams, videos or animation (Mayer, 2014). There is an extensive range of multimedia technologies including Prezi for presentations or Pixton for comic strips. One extremely useful program is Adobe Photoshop. It is predominantly known for its ability to edit and enhance existing images.
How it fosters creativity
Photoshop nurtures creativity by enabling students to combine two otherwise separate ideas to create something new. They can add, delete and alter elements of a photo to suit their intended purpose. This aligns with the definition of creativity involving the creation of something both new and useful (Mumford, 2003).
One useful tool in photoshop is the layering tool. It allows students to creatively crop an image, by altering the shape of the background. For example, the layering technique could be used by students in a Year 8 Science class to create a poster on personal protective equipment (syllabus dot point WS5.3a. (NESA, 2018)). Photoshop fosters creativity as it encourages students to crop images into a new, engaging and eye-catching format, which is valuable for posters.
Video outlining the steps taken to create the cropped photo using the layering tool. CC BY Renae Cunningham
The layering technique can also be used to create logos by adding images to text. This would be useful in Year 12 Business Studies to explore the effectiveness of marketing strategies, specifically branding (Board of Studies NSW, 2013). This technology would facilitate creativity as students could create something that is both new and useful in promoting a business.
Pedagogical issues
Teachers need to be aware of how combining different modalities can affect students’ processing abilities in order to use multimedia technologies effectively to foster creativity. Cognitive overload occurs when too much information is given at once, overwhelming the working memory (Kalyuga & Sweller, 2014). In accordance with the redundancy effect, audio and visual components should compliment each other rather than repeating existing information to eliminate such cognitive overload (Mayer, 2020). Photoshop contains a lot of extraneous material that can be overwhelming for beginner users. Teachers may need to use the signalling principle (Mayer, 2020) which involves highlighting key tools and breaking instructions into steps to help students process how to use the program. This way, students can focus on the creative process rather than deciphering the tools.
*Updated on 7/4/23 to fix referencing of images
References
Board of Studies NSW. (2013). Business Studies Stage 6 Syllabus. <https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/2f9a5382-5446-4dc6-ba39-f90f53469200/business-studies-st6-syl.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=>.
Kalyuga, S., & Sweller, J. (2014). The redundancy principle in multimedia learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning, 247–262, Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139547369.013
Mayer, R. E. (2014) The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. 2nd Ed. Cambridge University Press.
Mayer, R.E. (2020). Designing multimedia instruction in anatomy: An evidence‐based approach. Clinical Anatomy (New York, N.Y.), 33(1), 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/ca.23265
Mumford, M. D. (2003). Where Have We Been, Where Are We Going? Taking Stock in Creativity Research. Creativity Research Journal, 15(2-3), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2003.9651403
NSW Education Standards Authority. (2018). Science Years 7–10 Syllabus. < https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/57e31750-9802-4808-a6ce-7a3c2df0ff04/science-years-7-10-syllabus-2018.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=>.
Hi Renae,
Great post thanks! I definitely will be utilising Photoshop in classrooms as it will guide and prompt students as well as promoting creativity. Thank you for the insight and what to be aware of incase of cognitive overload. It would be nice to see how this tool can be applied to other KLAs and stages? cheers,
Dianne
Hi Renae,
This was great post, the layout is great and makes it a easy to read. the breakdown of information was great and I really liked how you identified flaws and the limitation of the classroom application. Great use of referencing and relating back to the Curriculum.
Great Job,
Annika 12/04/23
Hello Renae,
This was a really good blog, I really liked how you laid out your information and everything was really easy to navigate. Your information on multimedia and creativity was really engaging. You provided lots of info and it made it really easy to understand. I liked how you addresses the pedagogies and the issues it may have in a classroom.
The example provided was a really good idea but I think you could have explained it in more details. Maybe you could add the limitations of your technology. Besides that I really enjoyed your blog.
Mariam Haideri (47084634) - 12/04/2023
Hi Renae,
I love the layout of your blog! The reading is made so easy through the use of headings and clear writing, and it is hard to find any faults.
Your discussion on multimedia was very interesting, particularly due to the perspective of high school teaching. Thinking about the uses of technologies in different age groups to primary is difficult since my focus so far has been PreK-6. Your examples showed a good understanding of the software used in the tutorial. It would have been interesting to see discussion of other uses of Photoshop, however I am aware that that would have been unnecessary. Nevertheless, the examples created were done well and example 2 showed creative uses of the…
HI Renae,
This blog is great! The close use of the curriculum is a great way of showing how teachers can use multimedia in the classroom. Your pedagogical issues are strong and point out definite flaws with multimedia and things teachers should be careful of. I would of liked to see how you could use multimedia in some other KLAs too. I'm curious how would you avoid students suffering cognitive overload when using multimedia in the classroom? Overall great work!
- Euan O 27.03.2023