Looking back on this course, what stands out most is how my understanding of multimedia shifted from a creative interest into a deeper pedagogical responsibility. With a sociology background and experience working closely with children, I entered the course aware that educational systems often prioritize speed, academics, and efficiency over learner wellbeing. What I didn’t expect was how strongly this course would intersect with my real-life learning; I began a new role supporting neurodiverse learners at the exact same time. The overlap made the lessons from this course feel not just relevant, but urgent and interconnected.

Revisiting the Plan: What I Learned & How I Met the Objectives

Across the comic, video series, and OER, I learned to design with the learner’s cognitive and emotional experience at the center. These challenges weren’t isolated tasks — they were steps in a progression that helped me move from ‘making content’ to ‘crafting supportive, accessible learning environments.

I met the course objectives by:

• Contextualizing learning in multimedia:
  I became more attuned to how learners (of all ages) process information — visually, narratively, emotionally — and how multimedia can either support or overwhelm depending on design.
• Applying multimedia principles:
  Instead of applying principles mechanically, I began using them to make intentional choices about pacing, simplicity, and clarity.
• Engaging in design thinking:
  Empathy and iteration became central. I repeatedly asked: What does the learner need? Where might they struggle? How can I reduce overload?
• Using storytelling effectively:
  Storytelling became not just a format but a cognitive pathway into understanding — useful for both young learners and adults.
• Producing varied prototypes:
  Comics, videos, and an OER helped me experiment with multiple forms of design, each with its own pedagogical purpose.
• Using GenAI appropriately:
  I used AI for planning, drafting, and refining ideas — never for creating final assets. My creative decisions, scripts, visuals, and design structures were authentically my own.

Identifying the Turbulence: Challenges & Breakthroughs

One major challenge was balancing creativity with cognitive and emotional load. I tend to add more — more visuals, more narration, more detail — but I learned that restraint often serves the learner better. I had to shift my mindset from ‘complete’ to ‘clear,’ and from ‘impressive’ to ‘supportive.’

Accessibility was another area of turbulence. Starting this course at the same time as beginning work in a non-conventional educational setting meant I was receiving two parallel educations: real children showing me what accessibility looks like in practice, and this course showing me what accessibility looks like in design.

Peer feedback became essential in this process. Others pointed out details I had overlooked — colour choices that were too intense, captions that needed clearer pacing, or heading images that distracted rather than supported. This iterative feedback helped me refine accessibility not as a checklist but as a mindset.

By Challenge C, accessibility had become embedded in my design instincts — from chunking activities to simplifying layouts to choosing visuals that support rather than distract.

Evidence of Growth: How My Perspective Shifted

My perspective expanded far beyond children’s learning. I began noticing that multimedia supports all learners — at all stages of life. Learning does not end in childhood; it is a lifelong process shaped by pace, clarity, structure, and emotional readiness. As I watched my peers’ projects, many weren’t teaching “child-focused” content at all — they were teaching:

• how to learn patiently
• how to acquire new technical or physical skills
• how to navigate complex ideas at an accessible pace
• how to understand yourself or your environment more deeply

This made me recognize that the principles we applied — accessibility, coherence, storytelling, segmentation — are not age-specific. They are human-specific.

We are always learning something new at different levels of our lives, and multimedia gives us gentle, structured, digestible pathways into that learning.

This realization sharpened my sociological lens as well. I became more aware of the hidden curriculum embedded in multimedia — who feels included, who feels overwhelmed, and how design can challenge or reinforce systemic academic norms.

Next Destination: Using These Skills as a Future Educator

I now see multimedia as a powerful tool for educational equity across the lifespan. It can:

• slow learning down in a fast system
• support multiple processing styles
• help learners regulate and refocus
• visualize abstract concepts
• give adults and children alike accessible ways to explore new skills

As a future teacher, I can envision using:

• comics for SEL or social stories
• short videos to model routines, strategies, or calming techniques
• digital modules for mindfulness or academic support
• OER-style resources to collaborate with colleagues and support students’ families

Ultimately, this course taught me that multimedia is not about making learning ‘engaging’—it is about making learning humane. It provides gentle entry points, clearer explanations, and supportive structures for learners at any age and stage.

It is a bridge between creativity, pedagogy, and equity — and a way to help learners feel capable, grounded, and seen.

If learning is a lifelong journey, then multimedia is one of the few tools that can meet us at every stage—supporting us as we grow, adapt, and rediscover what it means to understand.