structural:expansion, stylistic:style_transfer, quality:correction, structural:scholar_edition
Social work

Multimedia is a robust education methodology within the social work context. The five different types of multimedia that support the education process are narrative media, interactive media, communicative media, adaptive media, and productive media. Contrary to long-standing belief, multimedia technology in social work education existed before the prevalence of the internet. It takes the form of images, audio, and video into the curriculum.

First introduced to social work education by Seabury & Maple in 1993, multimedia technology is utilized to teach social work practice skills, including interviewing, crisis intervention, and group work. In comparison with conventional teaching methods, including face-to-face courses, multimedia education shortens transportation time, increases knowledge and confidence in a richer and more authentic context for learning, generates interaction between online users, and enhances understanding of conceptual materials for novice students.

In an attempt to examine the impact of multimedia technology on students' studies, A. Elizabeth Cauble & Linda P. Thurston conducted research in which Building Family Foundations (BFF), an interactive multimedia training platform, was utilized to assess social work students' reactions to multimedia technology on variables of knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy. The results state that respondents show a substantial increase in academic knowledge, confidence, and attitude. Multimedia also benefits students because it brings experts online, fits students' schedule, and allows students to choose courses that suit them.

Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning suggests that "people learn more from words and pictures than from words alone." According to Mayer and other scholars, multimedia technology stimulates people's brains by implementing visual and auditory effects and thereby assists online users to learn efficiently. Researchers suggest that when users establish dual channels while learning, they tend to understand and memorize better. The mixed literature of this theory is still present in the fields of multimedia and social work.