Educational Applications and Multimedia Resources

In today’s ever evolving world of technology it only makes sense that educational methods should evolve, as well. In order to find out what types of resources might be available for use in the modern classroom, it is important to understand exactly what educational technology really is.

University of Geneva professor, Dr. Daniel K. Schneider has written an easy to understand, descriptive Edutech Wiki about this exact subject titled “Educational technology,” which is located at http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Educational_technology. According to Schneider’s (2015) wiki, “Educational technology is the use of technology to improve education. It is a systematic, iterative process for designing instruction or training used to improve performance” (Educational technology). With this definition in mind, I searched through a variety of resources to find those that I feel would be useful in the field of adult education.

Last week I wrote about two types of emerging technologies that can be used to enhance learning in the classroom. This week I am going to introduce two multimedia resources that can aid in the implementation of lesson plans, tests, and other forms of material and exercises in the educational setting of adult learning. 

One important aspect of these resources is that they are that they are free and open source (FOSS), having been written and uploaded by other educators (Bonk, 2009). Both of these elements are greatly appreciated by underfunded, “pressed for time” teachers who often rely on less than engaging school supplied resources or pay for more interesting ones out of their own salaries (Bonk, 2009).

A good database of resource links for digital learning is the website “Classroom Aid” located at http://classroom-aid.com/educational-resources/multimedia-resources/. In addition to links, this site, which is available in a downloadable iTunes U app for iPhones and iPads, also contains links to learning apps, freeware and open source software, learning games, management tools, quiz tools, and much more.

This site also contains links to numerous useful multimedia resources such as TeacherTube and Next Vista for Learning, both of which contain their own collections of resources for educators to utilize in their classrooms.

TeacherTube is located at http://www.teachertube.com and consists of a huge database of teacher submitted videos, audio pods, photos, documents, and numerous other resources and collections. All of these resources can be put to use by any educator to help enhance their students’ learning experience.

Some of the fields available on TeacherTube are math, science, history, English (and other languages), and the arts (including dance). There is also a large selection of miscellaneous topics including locksmithing, using Excel (and other applications), holidays, decorating, and classroom behavior (such as racism and bullying).

In addition to the nearly inexhaustible list of resources available for numerous topics and fields TeacherTube also allows educators to access various classrooms, groups, and educational apps via the “My Hub” interface. An interesting aspect of this site is that users can download various instructional videos using a smartphone and a technology known as QR Code.

As a multimedia resource, TeacherTube is a good option, although many of their materials are geared towards the K-12 demographic, as opposed to the adult learning community. In spite of this, there are still numerous items available on the site to aid in the teaching of adult learners, including those being taught English as a Second Language and professional development.

Next Vista for Learning is a gateway website for a huge collection of over 1500 educational videos, including such topics as careers, health and fitness, history and culture, performing arts, math, science, literature, technology, and many more. All of their topics are categorized in one of three principal collections (Light Bulbs, Global Views, and Seeing Service).

Much like the TeacherTube website, Next Vista for Learning is also geared mostly towards the K-12 educator, although many of their videos can be used to teach the adult learner. Of special interest is their collection of English language and phonetics videos, which are excellent resources for teaching adults English as a Second Language.

This site also contains videos to help educators with their own “issues,” such as instructional videos on how to properly use certain apps (spreadsheets, QR codes, Photoshop, etc.) and technology (iPads, porting, Robotics, etc.).

Bonk, C. J. (2009). The world is open: How web technology is revolutionizing education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Educational technology. (2015, March 4). EduTech Wiki, A resource kit for educational technology teaching, practice and research. Retrieved from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/mediawiki/index.php?title=Educational_technology&oldid=55234