In the cognitive tools approach, multimedia is not a form of instruction to learn from, but rather a tool for constructing and learning with. Learners may create their own multimedia knowledge representations that reflect their own perspectives on or understanding of ideas. Or learners may collaborate with other learners to develop a classroom or school multimedia knowledge base.
Research Results
Ideally, tasks or problems for the application of multimedia construction software as a cognitive tool should be situated in realistic contexts with results that are personally meaningful for learners. Beichner( 1994) reports on a project where these conditions were met in a unique way. The subjects in this study were seventh and eight grade students enrolled in a middle school located on the grounds of a large, metropolitan zoo. The school is a magnet school emphasizing the study of science to which students are admitted based upon a lottery. A primarily qualitative, observational investigation was conducted over a two-year period while the students worked cooperatively to create interactive displays for a touch-sensitive multimedia kiosk for the zoo.
Several categories emerged out of the qualitative analysis of the data which included extensive videotapes, interviews, observations, and student-created materials. The students ' strong appreciation that they were preparing multimedia materials for a real audience emerged as the core category in the analysis. Related findings were: 1) students demonstrated great concern for accuracy in their displays, 2) students quickly assumed the major responsibility for content and editing decisions despite the fact that the original task of designing the displays had been structured for them by the teacher, 3) students accessed wide ranges of science materials and sources to find the content they desired, and 4) their commitment to and enthusiasm for the project remained very high.
On the negative side, the project failed to integrate its activities into the larger curriculum in the school or to attract the participation of teachers other than the computer coordinator. The bottom line was that by establishing an environment where creative thinking about content is combined with real-world assignments, students learned the content, enjoyed the learning process, and recognized that they had created something worthwhile.
Lehrer( 1993) describes the development, use, and results of a hypermedia / multimedia construction tool called HyperAuthor that was used by eighth graders to design their own lessons about the American Civil War. This study exemplifies the principle that: " Cognitive tools empower learners to design their own representations of knowledge rather than absorbing knowledge representations preconceived by others." As Perkins( 1986) maintains, knowledge is a process of design and not something to be transmitted from teacher to student. Thus, students should be engaged in“ HyperComposition” by designing their own hypermedia. The process requires learners to transform information into
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