Kathy
Brocker
Fall, 2000
Dr. Marianne Dove
Citation:
Riley, T.L. & Brown, M.E. (1998). The magic of multimedia: creating
leaders of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, Gifted Child Today, 21 (5),
20-26.
Critique of Journal Article on the use of Multimedia with Gifted
Children.
Turn a group of gifted and talented students
loose in a computer lab equipped with a decent multimedia program and you have
the excitement and magic of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. There may not be brooms
washing dishes, but the problem solving tasks that can be accomplished are
nothing short of dazzling. This article described a workshop in computing for
Clever Kids held at Massey University in New Zealand. The demand for
university-based programs that serve the needs of gifted children is high in
North America (Olszweski-Kubilius, 1997). This workshop was the first university
program developed in New Zealand to tap into the largest concentration of
expertise in teacher education.
The topic chosen for this multimedia exploration was “Great Leaders”.
It has long been recognized that gifted individuals were more likely to be
leaders. Terman made note of this in his classic long-term study of over 1,000
gifted children begun in the early 1920’s.
New Zealand Department of Education included leadership characteristics
in their proposed definition of giftedness in 1986. The study of leadership was
deemed valuable for students who had no previous leadership training or been
identified as having leadership characteristics. This experience would serve to
give the students a broader experience base of what is a leader, lifetime
accomplishments of known leaders, and general expectations of those classified
as leaders. The students were required to select a well-known leader from a wide
range of endeavors: medicine, sports, entertainment, politics, etc. Names of
potential choices were included in a letter each child received before attending
the workshop. The students were instructed to research and bring any photos,
audio, video clips, articles or books relating to the person of their choice to
the weekend session. Emphasis was placed on all research being completed prior
to the meeting so the session time would be used for active project construction
and students could have fun at the workshop.
What is multimedia and why is it magical? In simple terms, multimedia is
a computer program that uses text, combined with audio and graphics. The vast
choices of applications and technologies make this type of project especially
suited to the gifted learner. “When computer applications are selected that
afford high levels of leaner control, students can develop their autonomy,
creativity, and problem-solving abilities” (Knight and Knight, 1994).
Multimedia has become a mystical catch phrase within the last several years.
The general impression of multimedia held by many computer novices is a
complicated program, some unknown computer wizard cooked up while sequestered in
an ivory tower, subsisting on coffee and pizza. By a method totally
incomprehensible to common folk, the multimedia author madly taps away on a
keyboard, magically combining programs, bringing to life a speaking, moving
program not unlike the creature of Dr. Frankenstein. The reality is that with a
knowledgeable facilitator, creation of multimedia is fairly simple. The vast
diversity of possibilities allows the gifted student to function in a non-linear
fashion, combining various applications through a variety of media. This very
process challenges the way a gifted child thinks. The student becomes an active
learner in creating an innovative means to display knowledge gained.
THE PROCESS: The students were asked to complete an application to become
a member of a team. This process enables students to describe previous
experiences, personal strengths and interests. This was to encourage the
understanding of each student as an individual and the team as a group of
individuals with different and unique qualities. This procedure would aid the
gifted student in understanding a necessary characteristic of leadership.
The actual process of creating the project used brainstorming regarding
the relevant qualities, contributions, and characteristics of the chosen
personality. Based on these factors, the student then created a storyboard of
the proposed electronic project. The storyboard was a critical aspect of the
entire project. It required organizational skills and cooperation prior to the
actual creation of the project. The storyboard is the skeleton by which the
creators supported the framework and individual concepts to be presented. When
the storyboard was completed, the project would resemble a book, complete with
title page, introduction, individual content pages, an ending and credits.
The facilitators provided feedback on the completed storyboards.
Cooperative problem solving became a dynamic aspect of the experience as
students learned and shared knowledge between team members. Students became so
absorbed in the creation process that it was difficult to get them to break for
lunch.
Most of the children worked independently and rarely required adult
assistance. The students were highly absorbed with the creation process. When
the projects were sufficiently completed, the groups were convened to evaluate
each other’s products. The teams then re-grouped for a final discussion about
the characteristics of leadership. This project demonstrated the depth to which
the students explored their chosen personality. The final session was an intense
analysis of the concept of leadership.
As technology explodes like a nova throughout every environment,
education of the gifted must stay ahead of the shock wave. Dover (1983)
predicted that gifted children would make the greatest contribution to computers
in education. The question is, can the educators of these gifted students
provided them with the necessary tools and guidance needed to accomplish this
task? Young gifted students, with their unwavering dedication to the task, have
already changed many aspects of technology both structurally and legally as seen
in the “Napster” debate. The motivation behind Napster was an 18 year old,
who focus his life around make the acquisition of music programs easier.
Likewise, one of the comments made by a young participant of this workshop was
to “make the tools easier.” As gifted students tackle this problem throughout the world
of technology, the computer environment may become less hostile for even the
computer challenged individual.
