Multimedia Use in Higher Education: Promises and Pitfalls.

The typical undergraduate student of today is accustomed to receiving information on a daily basis in a variety of formats, i.e. multimedia channels. This can present a challenge to educators wishing to engage students in the classroom while still providing required content in order to enhance learning outcomes. Although technological tools purporting to aid in the delivery of educational content are expanding at an ever-increasing rate, supporting research of their effectiveness has been limited and scattered. In order to assist educators in choosing from the myriad of multimedia options available, this paper provides an overview of what constitutes educational “multimedia” and presents research evaluations of their effectiveness. These research findings consider not only the educational content being delivered, but also variables associated with the receivers, i.e., the student audience. The paper concludes with suggestions for new research areas that consider variables and environments not previously studied.

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