Weekly Reflection 2- Multimedia, Screencasting, and H5P

This week’s class focused on multimedia learning theory, digital storytelling, Screencasting, and video editing, and on why multimedia can be such a powerful tool for communication, especially in teaching and learning. I appreciated that we spent time understanding why multimedia matters before jumping into the technical “how-to” of making videos.

One idea that stood out to me was how clearly research explains something many of us already feel: our brains have limits. Learning theory describes working memory as having limited capacity. When too much information comes at once, learning can shut down instead of deepening. I relate to this strongly. When I feel overloaded, I don’t just feel confused, I feel stressed, frozen, and sometimes even frustrated or angry. In those moments, learning becomes emotional, not productive.

This made me reflect on my own habits as a future teacher. I know myself well enough to admit that I sometimes talk too much. I get excited, I want to explain everything, and I forget that more information does not always mean more learning. I still remember a classmate once joking that he wanted to become a teacher so people would have to listen to him. We laughed, but there was truth in it. I have seen this same tendency in many teachers and professors. Even in our own program, where most educators are aware of cognitive overload, it is easy to forget that less is sometimes more. When we slow down and say less, students are more likely to enjoy the learning process instead of feeling overwhelmed by it. This is a difficult balance to maintain, and it may even be impossible to keep all stakeholders fully satisfied at the same time.

The technical aspect of this week.

I learned a lot this week. I enjoy learning new things, but there is no way I could learn all of this during a Zoom class that covers so many tools at once. Instead, I watched the videos ahead of time, followed the UVic Library instructions, and, with extra searching and videos, I eventually learned how to make my video.

Recording my video through zoom was straightforward, I just don’t like my own voice and thinking making videos might not be something in my future.

Then I imported the video into Adobe Premiere, since I have used it before to do very basic editing, such as cutting clips or adding a track. However, when it came to adding titles and music, I realized how much more there is to learn. Because of this, I exported the video and moved on to Clipchamp, which Rich suggested.

Clipchamp was very user-friendly and easy to use, and I had a clear step by step tutorial to follow. The only challenge for me was timing the fade-in and fade-out effects, which I think will improve with more practice and a bit of reading. In the end, I ran out of time and exported the video as it was.

Today in class, I learned how to make my video interactive using H5P, and it was very helpful to follow Rich step by step on the screen. This approach saved me a lot of time and reduced some of the stress I was feeling.

To view the interactive moments, check minutes 0:44, 1:42 and 5:21 in the video below.

PhET Projectile Motion Screencast – Interactive PhET Projectile Motion screencast with H5P.

I know that what I did this week only touched the surface, and that the result is very basic. Still, it gave me enough confidence to use these tools in future and to see what is possible for me going forward. Hopefully, week by week, I will become more efficient and a little less anxious.

I think H5P could be a useful tool at the high school level because it allows students to pause, reflect, and interact with content instead of watching passively. For students who need more time, or who learn better through visuals, this can support deeper understanding. At the same time, too many interactive elements could become distracting. I notice that I often pause videos, rewind, turn on captions, slow the playback, or speed it up. These options have helped me a lot, and I imagine many learners are similar. We all have strengths, but we also approach learning differently. For me, language and certain topics can be challenging because my brain has a default way of processing information. I often make up for this by asking questions, working ahead of time, or giving myself extra time.

I also recognize that this flexibility is not always possible for everyone, especially when life is already full of other responsibilities. Because of this, videos like these are just one helpful tool, and they work best when learning is designed to allow time to pause, think, digest, and make connections.

Till next week enjoy the sunshine!