Multimedia in Teacher Education: Perceptions & Uses

Abstract

Educational systems around the world are under increasing pressure to use the new technologies to teach students the knowledge and skills they need in the 21st century. Education is at the confluence of powerful and rapidly shifting educational, technological and political forces that will shape the structure of educational systems across the globe for the remainder of this century. Many countries are engaged in a number of efforts to effect changes in the teaching/learning process to prepare students for an information and technology based society. Multimedia provide an array of powerful tools that may help in transforming the present isolated, teacher-centred and text-bound classrooms into rich, student-focused, interactive knowledge environments. The schools must embrace the new technologies and appropriate multimedia approach for learning. They must also move toward the goal of transforming the traditional paradigm of learning. Teacher education institutions may either assume a leadership role in the transformation of education or be left behind in the swirl of rapid technological change. For education to reap the full benefits of multimedia in learning, it is essential that pre-service and in-service teachers have basic skills and competencies required for using multimedia. This paper, therefore, explores the latent benefit of using multimedia tools particularly in professional teacher education. The paper also discusses why pre-service teachers need to use multimedia technologies within the context of students' familiar, technology-rich living spaces to develop their own teaching skills and the technology skills of their students. In addition, the author also explains the role of multimedia in enhancing the 21st century skills.

Keywords: Multimedia, Teacher Education, Pre Service Teachers, 21^st Century