Developing Interactive Multimedia Modules To Train Rural Special Education Personnel.

Overview & Synopsis

Multimedia instructional materials represent an important resource for teacher education programs in special education. They enable prospective special educators to observe and study important aspects of professional practice without the time and expense of actual field experiences. Multimedia materials can be a form of anchored instruction or situated learning to help learners relate theory to practice and form useful concepts of important principles. Computer-assisted multimedia is especially appropriate for the design of self-instructional modules. To date, there have been few applications of multimedia for teacher education in special education. Recent innovations in desktop software applications, however, have simplified the development and programming of original multimedia modules tailored by instructors for their own specific instructional uses. At West Virginia University, a development team consisting of a faculty member with content expertise in supervision of special education practicum experiences, a doctoral student with a background in special education and instructional technology, and a video producer with experience in digital video media worked together to develop a series of self-instructional multimedia modules to prepare coordinating teachers and university supervisors for their roles in supervising rural practicum experiences. This paper reports on the development process and the final product. Sections discuss the rationale for multimedia instruction, development of module content and activities, preparation of video and audio segments, and use of desktop computers for multimedia development and production. Contains 47 references. (Author/SV)