Thoughts on "Writing with Multimedia"

The move toward using multimedia is obvious in nearly all parts of our life. Many churches have large screens in the front of their sanctuaries where they project song lyrics, announcements and even scripture text. Funeral homes now, at least in my area, prepare short slide shows with a musical background and pictures provided by the family. Many weddings and receptions have a song or two using pictures or video about the couples' lives.
With the advent of cameras on everyone's cell phones and the constant posting to youtube and blogs, I believe our children are growing up in a world where there is music, pictures and video about nearly everything. I think they can't help but think in these terms. The only reason they might not consider producing work for school in this format is if their assignment restricts them to paper.
Richard Miller's This Is How We Dream might serve to make teachers more aware of the world of presentation than students. As I said, students are surrounded with these forms of communication. So, if teachers will provide class time, the tools and instruction in how to use them, and allow students to choose a topic of interest to them, I believe teachers will be surprised how creative their students will be.
It is worth mentioning that I think the biggest hurdle besides obtaining the tools, might be educating the students in how to use them. Some students will come to the classroom with some prior knowledge and access, but others will not. If the tools are introduced in a step by step method and built upon with time, just as math or most any other subject, the student will not become overwhelmed and be able to be more creative with their projects.