Competency 2:  Create Knowledge

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• Demonstrates ability to describe common research methods in Educational Technology

• Demonstrates ability to read and evaluate Educational Technology research

• Applies research findings to the solution of common problems in Educational Technology

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To demonstrate my competency in creating knowledge through educational technology, I’d like to present my paper Multimedia, hypermedia and music:  An evaluation of students with special needs from my course EDCI 531 Learning Theories and Instructional Design.  This paper examines common research methods in Educational Technology in which “students with learning disabilities often demonstrate higher-level performance and attention to detail when working on multimedia projects than they normally exhibit”  (Fernandez-Lopez et al., 2013).  

 

Through an investigation and evaluation of Educational Technology research in peer-reviewed journals and personal communication with a special needs instructor, I studied the uses of hypermedia and multimedia in the classroom and alternative instructional methods used for students with special needs.  I then applied these findings to the topic of music, since learning and performing music involves complex tasks and abilities that students with special needs may struggle with.  

 

My synthesis suggested effective methods to more effectively use Educational Technology for the benefit of students with special needs so that they could better learn and retain difficult material. One theory that I hypothesize is that by building new learning schemas with the help of multimedia tools, students could then continue to learn other subjects in new ways. “Music is a subject that has the potential to communicate with someone on a cognitive and emotional level, opening learning opportunities that may have never been discovered within a particular individual” (Donnoli, 2016. p. 9). Multimedia and eLearning learning are topics that I plan to build my career in education around and it’s interesting to read and conceptualize how familiar technologies can unlock new potential in students.

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References

Donnoli, N. 2016. Multimedia, hypermedia and music:  An evaluation of students with special needs. Purdue University. 1-10.

 

Fernandez-Lopez, A., Rodriquez-Fortiz, M. J., Rodriquez-Almendros, M. L., & Martinez- Segura, M. J. (2013). Mobile learning technology based on iOS devices to support students with special education needs. Computers & Education, 61, 77- 90.