The Developer's Handbook of Interactive Multimedia

Robin Phillips

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780749421212
• eBook ISBN: 9781135364496
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

New technology is being used more and more in education and providers have to be aware of what is on offer and how it can be used. This practical handbook demonstrates how interactive multimedia can be developed for educational application.

Chapter 1

Interactive
Multimedia Development

Rob Phillips and Nick Jenkins

1.1 Introduction

The term ‘interactive multimedia’ (IMM) is currently enjoying enormous popularity, not only in the computing and educational communities, but also among the general public. Despite the hyperbole in the marketplace, there seems to be little doubt that IMM technology will combine with the burgeoning electronic networks (the so-called information superhighway, or Infobahn) to deeply affect the way that humans learn, work, communicate and even relax into the next century.

This book is a guide for people who want to develop IMM computer programs. While we have a particular interest in the use of IMM in education, many of the considerations discussed here are valid in other applications. Our aim is to give a practical description of the procedures which we have developed since 1992, illustrated by many examples from projects with which we have been involved. We also seek to give beginning developers an overview of what is possible with this technology. Our intended audience includes both:

● university academics who want an appreciation of the issues involved in developing IMM for computer-based learning, and

● IMM developers and students who want guidance on development methodologies for IMM projects.

1.1.1 What interactive multimedia is

The term ‘interactive multimedia’ is a catch-all phrase to describe the new wave of computer software that primarily deals with the provision of information. The ‘multimedia’ component is characterized by the presence of text, pictures, sound, animation and video; some or all of which are organized into some coherent program. The ‘interactive’ component refers to the process of empowering the user to control the environment usually by a computer.

Interactive multimedia is sometimes abbreviated to simply ‘multimedia’, but this is not strictly accurate – any television advertisement has all the aspects of multimedia, but does not utilize a computer and is not yet interactive.

1.1.2 What interactive multimedia isn't

Hardly a day goes by without some mention of ‘multimedia’ in the print or broadcast media. Computer retailers proudly extol the virtues of their multimedia computers, and there is a widely-held belief that having a CD-ROM drive means that you have multimedia. It is true that IMM is often delivered on a CD-ROM, but so are reference databases and many other software packages. IMM may just as well be installed on the computer's hard drive, or be delivered via a computer network.

IMM is neither a delivery mechanism nor a hardware platform, but rather it is a technology implemented in a software package.

The popularity of IMM has led to a huge increase in the amount of IMM software on the market. However, the following quote from the Wall Street Journal shows that many products do not sell, and it is likely that this is due to the poor quality of the software.

‘According to PC Data Inc., the number of CD-ROM titles burgeoned to 2,057 by the end of 1994 up from 197 two years earlier. But much of the multimedia hype has been nothing but hot air, with 20% of titles selling fewer than 11 copies last December. Ninety titles sold only one copy that month/ (Wall Street Journal 1 March 1995, A1)

The true measure of IMM software is the quality of the software itself. What is its purpose? How appropriate is the content? How effective is the user interface and the graphic design? Does it perform responsively, and without errors?

1.2 Applications of interactive multimedia

1.2.1 The range of applications

IMM may be used in information kiosks, reference works, games, entertainment and in education, and has potential for many other areas. Some applications may extend across more than one of these categories.

All of these categories are theoretically characterized by a potentially high level of user control, although this may not always be achieved in practice. The development methodology described in this book can be applied in whole or part to all of the categories.

Information kiosks

Information kiosks are stand-alone systems which provide unattended information about a location or attraction. For example, they might be used in a department store as a directory to locate different services, or they might provide information about the attractions of a tourist destination.

Kiosk applications may be attractive to the user, and they are generally less costly than employing personnel for the same purpose. They can provide users with more flexibility in finding out information, with a richer choice of media than notice boards and displays, and they may be useful for shy people.

Reference works

There is a valuable role for IMM in presenting information sources and reference material, such as encyclopaedias. A richer range of media, working on a wider range of senses, can be utilized than in paper-based versions. For example, a bird may be described and shown in flight, and you may be able to hear its call. As in a printed encyclopaedia, there are numerous ways the material can be accessed and cross-referenced. Encyclopaedia-based CD-ROMs are also less expensive to duplicate and distribute than paper-based versions.

However, in this type of multimedia, only information is presented. Understanding relies on the user, who decides which way the information will be utilized.

Games

Although not readily recognized, computer games were probably the first examples of IMM. Certainly they combine most of the elements of multimedia with a high degree of user control. Initially, the quality of the media elements was not high, colours were restricted, animations were jerky and audio frequencies limited. To attain usable speeds, much of the programming was done in assembly language rather than in higher-level languages, which restricted the authoring process to a small band of highly technical individuals.

It was only after the relatively recent development of higher level authoring tools that the education and training sectors became involved in IMM. The development of educational applications through powerful tools has happened without the involvement of game designers. This is unfortunate, as game designers have much to offer other IMM practitioners in terms of developing simple, engaging interactions between user and system. Game designers specialize in making seductive interfaces and appealing products. The success of their game depends upon customers choosing their product over those of many competitors. Consequently, game designers pay a lot of attention not only to the content but to its presentation, a point which is lost on many multimedia developers. Games which are based on simulations, in particular, demand elegant solutions to complex presentations of information. For example, the SimCity series of computer games from Maxis Corporation succeed both as games and as learning environments because of the smoothness of the user interface.

Entertainment

IMM is widespread in leisure activities. Besides games, the terms ‘infotainment’ and ‘edutainment’ have been coined to describe the existence of information or educational resources which are also entertaining. Popular examples of these are Microsoft's Dinosaurs, and, for younger children, Broderbund's Just Grandma and Me.

While these topics are quite appealing, and show a range of information in an integrated way, there is a danger in these kinds of titles because they may contain inaccurate information and can mix fact and fiction. The Dinosaurs package, for instance, sacrifices fact for entertainment by showing video of dinosaurs and playing sounds that dinosaurs are purported to have made.

Education

IMM has the potential to be used extensively throughout society. If used appropriately, it also has the potential to improve the quality of the education process. When designing educational material, the education sector has an ethical responsibility to ensure there is a clear distinction between fact and fiction. At the very least, it must be able to produce educationally sound IMM which can compete for attractiveness with the infotainment distributed by the entertainment industry.

Numerous educational issues need to be faced in this area; these are discussed in more detail in Chapter 2. However, IMM has a number of potentially powerful characteristics which can be used to improve the education process.

1.2.2 The strengths of IMM in education

Mixed media

By definition, multimedia has a mixture of media, including animations and digital video. This offers clear advantages in some teaching situations over mono-media resources, such as whiteboards and audio cassettes. A particular advantage is the possibility of using the most appropriate medium for the required message, eg text for thoughts, graphics for spatial relations and animation for dynamic information.

It should be emphasized that video and television also have mixed media capabilities, but they lack the degree of user control available in IMM.

User control

Most IMM has the ability to allow users to take their own path through the material, and the potential to build up their own knowledge. A student-centred learning approach is becoming increasingly important in the 1990s, because the rate of change in technology means that employees will continually need to reskill themselves, in a situation of lifelong learning (Candy, et al. 1994).

The potential of user control is not realized at present because little is understood about the nature of a user interface which provides the user with control while at the same time encouraging deep learning. The situation is analogous to the early days of the automobile, where there was no consensus about the functions of the pedals. For example, the Model T Ford used two foot pedals to work the transmission – the left pedal changed the two forward speeds and the centre pedal selected reverse (Twite, 1973).

Simulation and visualization

IMM is especially suited to simulation. Many tertiary curriculum areas require understanding of complex, abstract, dynamic and/or microscopic processes. Simulations allow students to visualize the process and construct mental models. Cognitive scientists use the term ‘mental models’ to describe the understanding of such systems and their use in explanation and prediction – important characteristics of understanding these processes. Complex processes are especially hard to visualize using typical educational technology, such as a whiteboard or an overhead transparency, which is two-dimensional and static.

There is a clear role for IMM to be used as a lecture aid, projecting simulations of the complex concept in a classroom situation. A further advantage to this approach is that these simulations can then be made available for students in a self-paced manner for use as reinforcement tools.

Different learning styles

IMM has the potential to accommodate people with different learning styles. A learning style can be defined as ‘the individual's characteristic ways of processing information, feeling, and behaving in learning situations’ (Smith, 1983).

Investigating learning styles can be of some value, no matter how the different styles are described, because it is important that we as learners and as teachers are able to extend our range of learning strategies. Adopting different strategies helps students to become more flexible in their mental processing rather than being limited to their so-called style.

Interactive multimedia has the potential to create a multisensory...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• 1. Interactive Multimedia Development
• 2. Educational Considerations
• 3. A Model for IMM Production
• 4. Design
• 5. Development
• 6. Evaluation
• 7. Implementation and Maintenance
• 8. Microbiology Project Case Study
• 9. Dosage Calculations Case Study
• 10. Mitochondria Case Study
• 11. Carbohydrates Case Study
• Appendix 1. IMM Authoring Environments
• Appendix 2. A Representative Requirements Specification
• Appendix 3. Glossary of Graphic Design Terms
• Appendix 4. Technical Aspects of Digital Video
• References
• Index