With the advent of multimedia technologies, today's teachers have opportunities that were rarely dreamed of 20 years ago. The ability to access video, sound, animation, still pictures, and text from a single control and to quickly choose between them or even to use more than one at a time, allows the teacher and the students to bring greater drama and reality into the classroom. But, just as with any powerful tool, it is only as good as the skill of the artisan directing its power. In order for any tool to be useful in the classroom, the teacher must know how to use it appropriately.
Multimedia is no different.
It will only affect the quality of learning in a classroom if the teacher can use it effectively. Merely showing a movie to students will not ensure that they have learned anything. The teacher must know how to prepare the students so they know what they are watching, why they are watching it, and how it will affect their lives. The purpose of these teacher guides is to help you learn to use one of the most powerful tools that teachers have ever had. A quality teacher with a dynamic and versatile tool like computer-driven mutlimedia can work wonders in a child' s life.