Teachers can use multimedia to present lectures; introduce new math concepts; review historical material; show famous artwork; prepare a Web page tutorial; and create a presentation on the human body.
Students can use multimedia to create writing projects; design electronic portfolios; research curriculum topics; show a slideshow on the Internet; create interactive storybooks; and create biographies of famous leaders.
What Is Multimedia?
Multimedia is everywhere, on television, at the shopping mall, in newspapers, and in education.
Multimedia refers to the communications of more than one media type such as text, audio, graphics, animated graphics, and full-motion video.
Multimedia is a computer-based method of presenting information that emphasizes interactivity.
Historical Perspective
the professional literature, the words closely related to multimedia are hypertext and hypermedia.
Hypertext originated in 1945 with Vannevar Bush, an electrical engineer and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, who was given credit for proposing the idea of a hypothetical machine called a memex that mimics the mind's associative process.
Douglas Englebard conducted research at the Stanford Research Institute in 1960 that led to inventions such as the mouse, an online work environment now called Augment, and the concept of a viewing filter for quick viewing of an abstract of a document or file.
Ted Nelson made the most critical step in the development of multimedia in 1965, when he coined the term hypertext, meaning nonsequential writing, and he developed the writing environment called Xanadu that lets users create electronic documents and interconnect them with other text information; this writing environment made texts electronically available.
hypertext, text, images, sound, and actions are linked together in nonsequential associations that let the user browse through related topics in any order.
the center of the hypertext system is linking.
hypertext, no document or bit of information exists alone.
hypertext, each document contains links to other related documents.
example of hypertext is a computer glossary from which a user can move on to other, related terms.
Hypermedia is nearly synonymous with hypertext, but emphasizes the nontextual components of hypertext.
Hypermedia uses the computer to input, manipulate, and output graphics, sound, text, and video as part of a hypertext system.
Different forms of communication are linked together in hypermedia, so the user can move from one to another.
A computer and monitor are the basic equipment necessary for a hypermedia presentation, with the computer acting as controller and the monitor displaying images.
Teachers can add a variety of devices such as digital cameras, video cameras, audio digitizers, scanners, video digitizers, a FlexCam-iCam (Video Labs), and software programs to enhance the hypermedia creation.
Hypermedia components range from sound-enhanced documents to a PowerPoint presentation that offers sound, animation, and color.
Hypermedia Authoring Tools
HyperCard, developed by Bill Atkinson at Apple Computer in 1987, was one of the first implementations of hypermedia and the best known.
HyperCard was an authoring tool that let users organize information, browse through it, and retrieve it.
The user could browse through cards using buttons or hot spots that were clicked on.
Cards were displayed one at a time and organized in stacks, in much the same way as a Rolodex or flipcharts.
HyperCard enabled nonprogrammers to create their own applications without mastering complicated programming languages.
HyperCard was a user-friendly program but required a considerable amount of work to construct a stack.
Other authoring tools were developed, but a huge step forward in hypermedia occurred with the creation of HyperStudio.
Roger Wagner developed HyperStudio for the Apple IIGS.
HyperStudio had many of the HyperCard features and functions, but its simplicity made it more user-friendly.
HyperStudio did not require scripting (programming) language, because all its major functions were already built into the software program itself.
HyperStudio had many built-in features and functions, such as color, videodisc, and CD-ROM support, animation, and scrolling.
HyperStudio displays its information in the form of cards that contain text, graphics, sound, and animation.
HyperStudio cards are organized in stacks and have buttons that allow the user to navigate through cards and perform actions such as playing video and accessing Web sites.
The Home Stack is the guide to HyperStudio and serves as a visual directory of the different elements in the program.
HyperStudio (Sunburst/ER) is currently under development, and a new version will be coming out soon.
PowerPoint (Microsoft)
PowerPoint, a presentation tool for all age levels, lets users turn ideas into powerful presentations.
The program has instant layouts, on-screen directions, and tool tips that let users make compelling multimedia presentations.
PowerPoint displays its information in the form of slides that contain text, sound, graphics, and animation. See pp. 177-179 for examples of PowerPoint creation and use.
Other educational hypermedia authoring tools such as Keynote, Ezedia MX, and Media Blender can also be used in the classroom to create multimedia presentations. See Table 8.1 on p. 180 and Appendix A for a list of titles.
Classroom Suggestions for Using Hypermedia
A rich selection of software and hardware exists for teachers to use in developing first-class hypermedia presentations.
Students can use programs such as PowerPoint or Keynote to create interactive presentations.
Students can create their own motion pictures, and teachers can generate slide slows that explain a range of topics.
Teachers can prepare interesting film clips and combine presentations with computer graphics, photographs, animation, sound, and music.
Guidelines for Creating a Multimedia Presentation
Students and teachers should employ nine steps in creating a quality presentation or multimedia stack.
Consider educational objectives that prescribe what learners will do.
Plan ahead with a sketch or rough layout.
Look at the format of the slides or cards.
Add emphasis to the work with font size, style, white space, and highlighting.
Avoid using too many fonts that detract from the card's presentation.
Use color wisely.
Try to avoid too much white space when working in black and white.
Check the work thoroughly before showing it or printing copies.
Have a student or other intended audience preview work before it is presented.
See p. 183 for a computer multimedia project evaluation form with a list of criteria.
Pros and Cons of Hypermedia
Hypermedia use has many benefits.
Hypermedia programs actively involve students, motivate them to learn, and promote user control.
Hypermedia stacks allow students quick and easy access to large amounts of information.
Hypermedia presentations can be created especially for certain curriculum and students.
Hypermedia presentations encourage cooperative learning and problem solving.
Hypermedia use has some drawbacks.
A great deal of teacher time is required to learn or devise hypermedia programs and presentations.
Hypermedia programs stimulate in-depth knowledge but may not be effective with broad knowledge.
Hypermedia learners are able to control learning and follow their interests, but random learning may not be as effective as sequential learning.
Hypermedia students need assistance in focusing on important basics and may be distracted by tangential elements such as links and graphics.
Hypermedia may give teachers difficulty in breaking information into smaller, more organized components.
Hypermedia hardware and the large memory requirements of hypermedia may be prohibitively expensive for schools.
Hypermedia is not a substitute for books and the library.
Hypermedia technology is so new that research about its role in the classroom is inconclusive and not yet extensive, so that educators must draw their own conclusions.
Multimedia Software
Software has been developed to address the time-consuming nature of hypermedia presentations. See Appendix A for a list of award-winning multimedia software and p. 194 for classroom lesson plans.
Inspiration visual mapping software for grade 4-adult and Kidspiration for grades K-3 are designed across curriculum lines, so that users can brainstorm and create concept maps, graphical organizers, storyboards, cause-and-effect diagrams, and outlines.
A Scholastic Series of CD-ROMs based on books by popular, award-winning authors allows students to explore social studies themes as required by the National Social Studies Curriculum Awards.
General reference tools such as the 2003 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia address many areas of the curriculum and give students access to multimedia maps, pictures, videos, animation, sound, and timelines.
Digital cameras, used with programs such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, ImageBlender, and iPhoto, allow the user to take pictures and use image editing to create dramatic audiovisual presentations.
Both beginner and advanced programs for video editing exist, such as Adobe Premiere, Apple's iMovie, Video Studio, IntroDV, and EditDV.
Adobe Premiere is a video editing package that is full-featured but daunting for beginners.
Apple's iMovie allows the user to create QuickTime movies, videos, and multimedia presentations.
Video Studio, Intro DV, and Edit DV use a timeline or storyboard interface.
Music
Compression technology such as MPEG Audio Layer3 (MP3) is an audio compression technology that produces CD-quality sound while providing almost the same fidelity and enables users to download music quickly from the Internet.
Programs for creating classroom collections of music such as WinAmp3 and iTunes allow users to play a variety of audio formats such as MPEG-4 audio, MP3, Wav, and others; play custom playlists; and track music by artist, song, music style, or other elements.
One of the more popular digital players sold today is iPod, which has a hard drive capable of holding up to 40GB and works in conjunction with iTunes Music Store to preview, buy, and download music from http://www.apple.com.
Copyright protections for major music publishers have become an important issue in downloading and distributing music from the Internet.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is "a standard protocol for the interchange of musical information between musical instruments, synthesizers, and computers" (Freedman, 2003) and has been widely used for background music in multimedia presentations.
Sound editing programs like Sound Companion allow users to cut, copy, and paste audio segments, as well as apply sound effects such as echo and fade in and out to audio files.
QuickTime and QuickTime Virtual Reality (VR) are important formats of multimedia.
Apple was the first company to integrate motion video into its operating system when QuickTime was incorporated into Mac OS's System 7.
The Windows options are called Audio Video Interleaved (AVI) and QuickTime for Windows.
QuickTime is an extension of the Macintosh system software that lets an application display miniature motion picture sequences in a screen window.
QuickTime is also used on the Web to provide Web pages with animation and video.
QuickTime lets the user create, edit, publish and view multimedia content.
Students and teachers can create and edit their own movies with QuickTime and place them in PowerPoint or Keynote presentations.
special hardware is required to play the video for any of the formats.
Problems exist such as low resolution in video quality and a small viewing window.
Quickness of video playback depends on the computer used.
A large video file size is required to transport and store video files.
A huge amount of hard disk storage space is required to accommodate large video files.
Software developers have improved compression ratios to produce a video file size more reasonable for typical hard disk capacities.
Many users purchase flash and Zip drives to store their work.
QuickTime VR is an extension of QuickTime that lets the user view on-screen in 3-D space.
Scenes are created from renderings or multiple still shots taken at all sides.
QuickTime VR has pushed technology to new heights.
Developers can use QuickTime VR to create photorealistic 3-D shots based not on video clips, but on images that are fastened together into one continuous file.
With QuickTime VR, computer users are able to see 360 degrees around an object, with seamless pan and zoom abilities, and designate items in a scene as buttons that invite interactivity.
The first product that used this technology was Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual. Products such as Oregon Trail, eZediaMX, and HyperStudio 4.5 use VR.
Morphing
Morphing products animate a picture sequence by gradually blending one image into another, like the shape-shifting security guard in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or the evil Terminator in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Morphing software accomplishes a smooth transformation by matching a series of central points set in an image to the ending image, charting the images, establishing the points, and sending dots charted in the beginning image to their final location in the ending image.
Morphing programs relieve today's artists from the tedious task of drawing many images by hand.
Warping
warping, the key points of one image are used to create an effect that does not involve the blending of two images; by adjusting these main points, the user pushes the selected points of the original image into a different shape.
The final warping production can stretch the shape of image into one that is completely different from the original, such as in the movie The Mask, when warping was used to stretch Jim Carrey's face.
Students can use morphing and warping in the classroom to experiment with different images and cut and paste them to illustrate a story or report, or to create a morphed movie or warped picture for a hypermedia presentation.
Virtual Reality
is the supreme achievement in multimedia, with William Gibson's depiction of cyberspace in his book Neuromancer (1984) considered to be a good example of VR.
Virtual reality is a three-dimensional, interactive simulation, in which participants in a computer-generated VR environment can manipulate what they see all around them.
How Virtual Reality Works
VR, users are electronically immersed in a simulated environment, in which they use their sight, hearing, and touch in all three dimensions, not only to enter a virtual world but also to manipulate it.
Participants wear headgear in which computer-generated images are sent to small screens placed before their eyes and to headphones in their ears; the headgear blocks out all actual stimuli to focus concentration on the simulated stimuli.
Participants also wear gloves or bodysuits equipped with sensors that communicate changes in body position to the computer, which then communicates changes to the headgear.
has found its way into research labs, business, the military, and video game arcades; in some video games, the user directs the action of the game with the body, wearing headgear, gloves, and a bodysuit.
can be used to test the design of a building or to learn how to operate heavy equipment.
VR's potential in education has yet to be explored, with VR technology allowing students to interact more with information being presented in all subject areas.
in education means students and teachers could conduct experiments and experience situations that would otherwise be inaccessible, too costly, or dangerous; an educational VR system could be networked to foster positive relations among people of different cultures, and students could experience VR tours and simulate interaction or practice with experts and famous people.
The weight and cost of VR equipment are impediments to its implementation.
