Reflection 1 - Personal Multimedia Experience

Reflect on these two topics:

What was your best experience with multimedia for learning?

One of the best multimedia experiences for learning was attending the Beauty and the Beast 3D movie at one of the local IMAX theatres in Plano, Texas, in 2017. I entered the online Masters of Science program at the University of Maryland Global Campus. I was required to take the learning technologies course as the foundation class. One of the modules was studying Mayer’s twelve principles of multimedia learning. The instructor wanted to try something new, and the assignment activity had to be a multimedia learning experience outside the classroom. It took me a moment to comprehend, but then my light bulb came on. I became interested when my little cousins talked about a Disney 3D IMAX movie at a family event. I decided to see Beauty and the Beast movie and, upon entrance to the theatre, received my first 3D cardboard glasses. Some folks bought their 3D glasses. I was captivated by the singing, dancing, plot and special effects on the objects in the movie. The teapot was singing, and the vanity chest was dancing. The 3D IMAX Beauty and Beast movie was engaging, made me feel like an active participant, and was the best multimedia experience in my life. It reminded me of how much this techie still loves the arts.

What was your worst experience with multimedia for learning?

I have had several bad experiences with multimedia for learning, but I will discuss the Microsoft SQL course in Washington, DC, a couple of years before COVID-19 as the worst. A well-known training company backed by Microsoft offered a select group of Microsoft Certified Trainers a unique course offering to accelerate our learning to teach the new course curriculum through a three-day boot camp. First, the instructor had the wrong PowerPoint deck, welcome kit with instructions, and handouts; hence the instructor was unprepared. The instructor realized she was prepped for a different course. Secondly, the instructor and training company tried fixing the problems by bringing in another trainer remotely to help teach the designated course. His online screen connection kept dropping on the media projection screen. His voice started to be choppy at times as he was instructing, so it was hard to hear what he was teaching. It was probably due to inadequate bandwidth or a low-quality microphone. When he showed images or screen outputs, they mostly looked distorted on the projection screen. However, the group was refunded all expenses.