Authoring is the creation of something that is your own work. The term Multimedia Authoring refers to the creation of a piece of Multimedia which is interactive for the viewer.
Multimedia is the use of two or more types of media in conjunction with each other. Different types of media include: animation, audio, video, text and graphic images.
Different applications which can be used to create multimedia include: Animto ( a slideshow creation program), Microsoft Powerpoint and Microsoft Word, Movie Maker, Paint and Flickr.
Different activities can be created for students to help them and give them practice in using different types of media. They can use different media when creating presentations to show to the class, they can represent photos and images taken at school or home into slideshows, and also find different types of media on the same topic for research purposes. Teachers can also use multimedia in their lessons to help give students different examples and visual representations of subject matter. This can not only help students gain a better understanding of the things they are learning about but also increase stimulation and willingness to learn.
Lessons incorporating multimedia can help with: encouraging students to express their knowledge in multiple ways; increasing problem solving skills; promoting constructivist learning and encouraging negotiation and groupwork.
Please see below an example of multimedia:
I like the idea of multimedia, as indeed as you mentioned it gives teachers diversity in lesosns as students have the opportunity to see a variety of visual representations. Its clear through my own casual days, that children love videos and anything that is represented on a smartboard. Animoto is a great source however it has its limitations. I beleive students can go way off track if lessons are not specific and explicit.
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