Multimedia means specifically presenting information in digital format. Your children have been born into a very different age from their parents or their educators. Multimedia allows information to be presented in a variety of formats, which can enhance user experience and help children learn faster and better. Multimedia has applications far beyond Education and Entertainment, extending to areas such as Medical and Scientific Research, Aeronautical Training, Mathematics and Engineering.
A particular application appropriate to your preschooler is the electronic, multimedia encyclopaedia. So for example, a section on Penguins may be linked to a video of types of penguins and their feeding and nesting habitats. Hyperlinks in an article allow the user to access information in a non-linear way, which is also the way our brain works. The mix of audio and visual allows children to learn by watching, reading, listening or a combination of all three.
Interactive Multimedia also allows for two-way interaction between the user and the material. Thus a child may play a mathematics game and advances as skill levels are reached. Or by text or word prompts and adding images, build their own story. Interactive multimedia is all around us and children even from a very young age can navigate eg an Ipod, to access their own story files or games. It certainly is a technological world and our preschoolers need to learn how to use it effectively.
At Angel’s Paradise Early Education Centre, technology is incorporated into our educational program, providing the children with a wide variety of learning options.