The undeniable advancement in technology across the various spheres of life has contributed to the inevitable application of multimedia in the ELA instruction for the elementary school as well as the other levels of schooling in the education system. Various multimedia tools have been used severally to promote learning and integrate the combined role of the teachers and parents on the students’ academic performance. The leading multimedia tools used for instruction are computers and smartphones.
Computers
Computers are devices that allow for the input, processing, storage, and the output of the academic information meant to be consumed by the ELA students at the elementary school level (Rachmadtullah, Ms & Sumantri, 2018). In the twenty-first century, computers come in laptops and desktop computers as the primary forms of computing devices, although the forms are expected to increase as the digital technology age takes root with new inventions and innovations coming up in the world. Computers have wide varieties of use in and out of the classroom, with the laptops being preferred for outdoor teaching and learning due to their profitability.
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Figure 1 : A teacher using a computer to teach elementary school children
Computers achieve efficient students’ engagement and participation in the learning activities due to their friendliness and convenience for use (Rachmadtullah, Ms & Sumantri, 2018). With a few classes set aside to familiarize the students with the machines, the elementary school teachers making use of the devices for instruction have their students ready for the lessons. As a multimedia tool that enables leaning, a computer creates a literate environment to engage students in high-quality texts by providing them with a wide variety of information to guide the learners step by step in their learning (Bulman & Fairlie, 2016). The computers in the classroom can be fed with a wide range of information that is available for both the slow and fast learners as part of the differentiation efforts. The convenience of computers also makes it manageable for learners with disabilities to access learning. Mostly, family involvement in learning with the use of computers is paramount for the effectiveness of the mode of learning (Bulman & Fairlie, 2016). Parents and guardians can encourage their elementary school learners to embrace learning through computers while they walk them through the basics.
Smartphones
Another important multimedia tool that has been considered a product of the latest forms of technology is the smartphone. Smartphones are an improvement of the telephone that was invented in the twentieth century. Smartphones are increasingly constituting an indispensable part of elementary ELA instruction with their ability to connect faster to the internet and portability (Bai, 2019). Most of the latest smartphones have the provision of apps such as the thesaurus dictionary and YouTube that have revolutionized how both teachers and their students view learning. Smartphones, therefore, achieve effective student engagement by offering such apps. In the ELA instruction for the elementary students, for instance, the dictionary is a quintessential app to the learning of meanings of new words and their pronunciation (Bai, 2019). Increasingly, smartphones are becoming more learning-oriented with platforms such as google classroom that share insights and learning materials that the students can use to supplement what they learn in class. Therefore, smartphones are credited with their ability to promote literacy among the students.
Figure 2 : Smartphone learning
Smartphones can be adapted to meet the diverse needs of the students in the ELA classrooms at the elementary school level. Teachers can make use of the short clips on YouTube and other social sites to generate more learning content for the students that learn slower due to their special needs (Anshari et al., 2017). The smartphone generated quizzes on various topics can cater to fast learners as they engage them before the other students catch up with them. Family involvement in smartphone learning is crucial. That is because smartphones have also been reported to be a source of distraction in learning with their advanced capacities to download and play games and videos (Anshari et al., 2017). Therefore, parents and guardians have to ensure that the learners make use of smartphones for their intended purpose in instruction.
The use of multimedia tools of learning has proven necessary for the ELA instruction for the students at the elementary school level. Both computers and smartphones have taken over multimedia learning and provide students with various perks in education.
References
Anshari, M., Almunawar, M. N., Shahrill, M., Wicaksono, D. K., & Huda, M. (2017).
Smartphones Usage in the Classrooms: Learning Aid or Interference? Education and Information Technologies , 22 (6), 3063-3079.
Bai, H. (2019). Preparing Teacher Education Students to Integrate Mobile Learning into
Elementary Education. TechTrends , 63 (6), 723-733.
Bulman, G., & Fairlie, R. W. (2016). Technology and Education: Computers, Software, and the
Internet. In Handbook of the Economics of Education (Vol. 5, pp. 239-280). Elsevier.
Rachmadtullah, R., Ms, Z., & Sumantri, M. S. (2018). Development of Computer-based
Interactive Multimedia: Study on Learning in Elementary Education. Int. J. Eng. Technol , 7 (4), 2035-2038.
