Chapter 6: Teaching with Multimedia and Hypermedia Tools

Multimedia learning is not something new. It is woven into the fabric of our childhood.... Tom Boyle (1997)

Introduction to Multimedia and Hypermedia

* We live in a mulitmedia world, surrounded by complex images, movement, and sound.

Mulitmedia and Hypermedia: How do they differ?
* Multimedia simply means "multiple media" or "a combination of media." The media can be still pictures, sound, motion video, animation, and/or text items combined in a product whose purpose is to communicate information in multiple ways.

* Hypermedia refers to "linked media" or "interactive media" that have their roots in a concept developed by Vannevar Bush in his landmark article "As We May Think."

Types of Hypermedia Systems
* Hyoermedia systems come in a variety of harware, software, and media configurations and, until recently, were usually classified according to their primary storage equipment: interactive videodiscs (IVDs), CD-ROMs (compact disc-read only memory), digital versatile discs (DVDs), and other technologies.

* Commerical hypermedia software packages
* Authoring tools: Presentation software
* Authoring tools: Video production and editing systems
* Authoring tools: Hypermedia authoring systems
* Authoring tools: Virtual reality (VR) systems

Current and Future Impact of Hypermedia on Education
* Increased motivation
* Flexible learning modes
* Development of creative and critical thinking skills
* Improved writing and process skills

Research on the Impact of Multimedia and Hypermedia Systems
* Roblyer (1999) found that hypermedia's benefits seem to center on its ability to offer students multiple channels through which process information.

* Swan and Meskill (1996) examined how effectively current hypermedia products support the teaching and aquisition of critical thinking skills in reading and language.

* They found that most products were technically sound and linked well with classroom topics, but few were designed to promote the response-based methods that promote critical thinking.

Research on the Design and Use of Multimedia and Hypermedia Systems

* Stemler findings are too extensive to give adequate treatment here, but educators who are committed to high-quality multimedia development should review the full text of her article.

* Instructional design
* Screen design
* Interaction and feedback
* Navigation
* Learner control
* Color
* Graphics
* Animation
* Audio
* Video

* An ongoing series of studies by Mayer focuses on design and usage characteristics for educational multimedia that can optimize impact on student achievement.

Recent Developments in Hypermedia Systems
Three trends in hypermedia system use in education are evident:

* The "vanishing videodisc" - It is one of the more unfortunate developments in educational technology that videodisc technology has all but disappeared from the technology landscape, taking with it the rich array of classroom resources that were developed for this easy-to-use format.

* Convergence of offline (disc) and online (Internet) development - Much of hypermedia either has embedded Internet links, of has been uploaded to the internet after development.

* Increasing ease of use - Hypermedia development use to be a fairly technical enterprise.

Commercial Hypermedia Software Packages
Background on Commercial Hypermedia Software Packages

* The increased storage capability and availability of CD and DVD media has made it easier to store complex programs with motion graphics, movies, audio, and links to the Internet.

Instructional Software
Hypermedia features have increased the capability and value of these programs. For example:

* Tutorials
* Drill and practice
* Simulations
* Instructional games
* Problem solving

Interactive Books and ebooks
* Two kinds of interactive books are currently available: interactive storybooks and interactive texts.

* The first type target primarily younger students, while the second are most often used by older students and adult learners.

*ebooks have become a valuable resource for students and teachers alike, since they offer more flexibility than print texts.

Reference Materials
* Many reference materials are available on CD and DVD at very reasonable costs.

* Some materials have internet links to still more material. Below are just a few of the categories and examples titles.

* Encyclopedias
* Almanacs
* Atlases
* Newspapers and newsletters
* Proceedings and other conference materials

* Some new commercial multimedia products combine instructional software functions with a set of reference materials to create a multifaceted product that can meet a variety of educational needs.

Collections of Development Resources
* Many collections of resources used to develop multimedia are now shipped on CD-ROM.

* These include collections of clip art, sound effects, photographs, video clips, fonts, and document templates.

Evaluating Commercial Hypermedia Products
* Because so many hypermedia products are on the market, teachers must become savvy consumers of these materials.

* Instructional planning and support
* Instructional design
* Content
* Interface design and navigation
* Feedback and interactivity

Integration Strategies for Commercial Hypermedia Products
* Because products om this category vary so widely, instructional uses for them are also varied and rich.

Introduction to Multimedia and Hypermedia Authoring
* One of the most amazing things about how multimedia and hypermedia systems have evolved is that people with fairly nontechnical skill level now can develop their own complex, professional-looking hypermedia products.

Four kinds of multimedia/hypermedia authoring tools for use by both teachers and students are described in this chapter. These are listed here and their uses and sample products are given later in various figures as the following types are discussed:

* Presentation software,
* Video production and editing systems,
* Hypermedia authoring software, and
* Virtual reality systems and other information tools.

The various skills and resources that students and teachers will need in order to use any of these four categories of authoring tools are described here.

Multimedia and Hypermedia Authoring Resources
* Over time, multimedia/hypermedia programs have become increasingly more powerful and user friendly, and features and capabilities are being added with every new version released.

* Authors now can draw on a wide variety of resources to put a full range of sound and motion in their multimedia/hypermedia products.

* Audio Resources. Hypermedia authoring programs offer users a number of ways to incorporate audio clips.
* Video Resources. Motion video clips can add a whole new dimension to a program and provide authors with many new communication possibilities.
* Photos. As in other settings, in hypermedia a picture is worth a thousand words.
* Graphic images. Graphic elements, drawings, and animations offer other tools for authors to communicate their ideas.

Hardware Requirements for Hypermedia Authoring
* Although hypermedia authoring can be accomplished with a fairly minimal computer system, more complex products require additional hardware and software capabilities.

* Computer with keyboard and monitor
* Digital cameras
* Scanners
* Video digitizers
* Camcorders and other video input
* Microphones
* Audio speakers

Hypermedia Authoring Procedures
* Whether teachers are developing their own skills or those of their students, the hypermedia authoring process involves two distinct phases.

* Initially, authors need to learn the mechanics of the programs and develop their understanding of the concept of hypermedia.

* Review others' products - an effective way of developing authoring skills for beginners is to look at what others have done.

* Done research first - most hypermedia development projects require research to locate materials and data, analyze the findings, and summarize them in a format for use in the hypermedia product.

* Storyboard - storyboarding helps students make better use of their time.

* Develop individual frames and segments - in the case of hypermedia products with authoring software, students should develop each frame, including text fields, before adding links or graphics.

* Add links and/or scripts - for software-authored products, links or "buttons" should be added last.

* Test and revise the product - after it is drafted, students should test their products, preferably with the help of others who have been involved in its development.


Authoring Skills to Develop over Time
* The beauty of hypermedia authoring is that students can create products with skills that range from basic to extraordinarily complex and sophisticated.

* Media literacy
* Using msuic and art
* Print design principle
* Video design principles
* Creativity and novel thinking
* Considering the audience

Evaluating Student-Developed Hypermedia
* When students create thier own myltimedia/hypermedia products Dipinto and Turner (1995) suggest that student self-assessment of hypermedia projects may be the most important component of the assessment process.

* Several authors have developed criteria and rubrics for assessing the quality of students hypermedia products.

Multimedia Authoring Tools Type 1: Presentation Software
Introduction to Presentation Software

* Presentation software tools help users create on-screen descriptions, demonstrations, and summaries of information.

* An example of a technology that migrated from business and industry to educatioon, these tools were first adopted by business executives and salepeople who used them to give reports at meetings and presentations to clients.

* Presentation tools began exclusively as electronic slide shows, or sequences of frames shown in a linear way.

* Presentation software also allows authors to include graphics of all kinds, audio and video clips, and internet links.

Integration Strategies for Presentation Software
* Because it is readily available and relatively easy to use, powerpoint software is often the multimedia tool of choice for classroom use.

* Support for lectures or presentations of content - by far the most popular use of these tools is for supporting classroom presentations.
* Practice screens - many teachers set up presentations of spelling or vocabulary words or objects to identify (e.g., lab equipment, famous names or places) to run automatically in the classroom, knowing that students' eyes are drawn to the moving slides.
* Assessment screens - when teachers need students to identify pictures of items (e.g., lab equipment, famous people), powerpoint screens can enable visual assessment strategies.
* Brief tutorials - teachers can create powerpoint reviews of simple concepts (e.g., grammar rules) or "how-to" procedures (e.g., a lab procedure) so that students can review these on their own to make up work of to prepare for tests.
* Book reports - instead of presenting book reports verbally or as written summaries, it is becoming increasingly common or students to report on their reading through powerpoint slideshows.
* Student-created presentations - as technology integration ideas 6.2 and 6.3 illustrate, the most powerful strategy for presentation multimedia is for students to create individual or small-group presentations to document and display the results of their research and/or to practice making persuasive presentations.

Multimedia Authoring Tools Type 2: Video Production and Editing Systems
Induction to Video Production and Editing Systems
* Video editing sotware is to motion images what word processing is to text. The next decade likely will see an explosionin video editing and production to rival the rapid increase in word processing of documents.

* Video can be brought into a computer from a source such as a comcorder and changed into digtial format [Audio Video Interleave (AVI) format or Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) format], or it may be transferred in digital form from a digital camera.

Integration Strategies for Video Production and Editing Systems
* Students and teachers are using computer-based video production and editing systems for a variety of purposes ranging from presenting the daily school news to teaching professional-grade video production skills.

* Demonstrations of procedures - for frequently repeated activities, for example, procedures for science experiments, teachers can film themselves or others completing the steps.
* Student-created presentations - Although students can produce a video as a way of documenting their research findings, as they do with powerpoint presentations, they often create videos that illustrate real-life examples of concepts they have learned (e.g., showing how algebra applies to everyday situations) or document conditions they want to bring to light (e.g., social issues in their community).
* Video lectures - teachers can take video of themselves or other experts explaining key concepts.
* Video portfolios - students portfolios have become more common for assessment purposes, and video systems have assumed a central role in portfolio development.
* Video decision-making/problem-solving simulations - this strategy was made popular with the adventures of jasper woodbury videodiscs.
* Documenting of school activities - many middle and secondary schools use video cameras and video editing software to produce a daily news show or morning annoucements.
* Visual literacy instruction - now that video is playing a greater role in our society, visual literacy is a requirement.
* Teaching of video production - technology education labs usually feature video production as one of the required learning stations.

Multimedia Authoring Tool Type 3: Hypermedia Software
Introduction to Hypermedia Software Tools

* In the late 1980s, early hypermedia authoring programs inclued HyperCard for Macintosh, LinkWay for MS-DOS machines, and TutorTech for Apple II computers.

Integration Strategies for Hypermedia Authoring Software

* Multimedia and Hypermedia development projects are taking the place of many traditional activities to accomplish the same purposes.

* Brief tutorials - both teachers and students can create multimedia instructional sequences that step the user through the components of a subject.
* Student-created presentations - scholten and Whitmer (1996), Bennett and Diener (1997), and Stuhlmann (1997) point out that hypermedia presentations not only let studnets present their fndings attractively and with impact.
* Interactive storybooks - Frederickson (1997) describes a use that builds on the book report purpose.

Multimedia Authoring Tools Type 4: Virtual Reality and Other Immersion
Introduction to Virtual Reality and Other Immersion Tools

* Once only dreamed of in science fiction, some types of virtual reality (VR) are now seen frequently in classrooms.

* Through various visual and tactile devices, VR can represent real or imaginary worlds in which the user interacts through multiple senses: a true multimedia environment.

*Full immersion systems - though not often used in education, this is what people usually envision when they think of VR.
* In full immersion systems, the user places a headset (e.g., goggles or a helmet) over the eyes.

* Web-based VR - this kind of VR is made possible by Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) and Extensible Mark-up Language (XML).

*3-D models - these are made possible with sophisticated software that creates three-dimensional replicas of objects or locations.

* QuickTime VR (QTVR)- made possible by QuickTimeVRAuthoring Studio from Apple Computer, this type of VR is easy to access using the standard QuickTime player available free from Apple Computer, but requires much less effort to create than immersion systems, VRML, or 3-D models.

Integration Strategies for Virtual Reality and Other Immersion Tools
* Though not as common as other forms of hypermedia, VR is gaining interest for some instructional needs.

* Imaging for virtual field trips - perhaps the most common VR application is QuickTime VR panoramas created and used for virtual field trips.
* 3-D models to illustrate how systems work - although still limited to more technical topics in mathematics and science.
* Immersion learning environments for practice and exploration - full immersion systems are usually limited to university settings, but they have seen fairly extensive use in special education as a way to allow students to practice skills in a realistic, but safe, setting.