MULTIMEDIA

A. MULTIMEDIA KITS 

     A multimedia kits is a collection of teaching/learning materials involving more than one type of medium and organized around a single topic. Kits Drinclude CD-ROMs, filmstrips, slides, audiotapes, videotapes, still pictures, study prints, overhead transparencies, maps, worksheets, charts, graphs, booklets, real objects, and models. Sometimes multimedia kets are designed for the teacher to use in classroom presentations and designed for individual students or by small groups.

Advantages : 

     1). Interest : Because multimedia kits are multisensory.

     2). Cooperation : Kits can be an ideal mechanism for stimulating small-group project work. Cooperative learning activites can revolve around experiments, problem solving, role playing, or other types of hands-on practice.

     3). Logistics : Multimedia kits can be transported and used outside the classroom, such as in the media center or at home.

Limitations :

     1). Expense : Multimedia kits can be more expensive than with other, more conventional, methos.

     2). Time consuming : Time consuming to produce and maintain the materials.

     3). Replacement : Lost components can make the kit frustrating to use.

B. HYPERMEDIA

     Hypermedia refers to computer software that uses elements of text, graphics, video and audio connected in such a way that users can easily move within the information. Hypermedia is based on cognitive theories of how people structure knowledge and how they learn. It's designed to resemble the way people organize information with the concepts and their relationships. With hypermedia, one can link asynchronous data sources directly to compose and display nonsequential information that may include text, audio and vidual information. The is no continous flow of text, as in a textbook or novel. The intent of hypermedia is to provide users with possibilities to move about within a particular set of information without necessarily using a predetermined structure or sequence. Computer hypermedia systems can be used for several different purposes :

     a). Browsing : Users browse or navigate through the information by choosing routes that are of interest.

     b). Linking : Users can create their own special connections or links within the information.

     c). Authoring : Users can author or create their own unique collections of information, adding or linking text, graphics, and audio ss they wish. 

The button is used to move around in the hypermedia environment. The linking interface lets navigate or move about more quickly and precisely within a hypermedia environment. 

Advantages :

     1). Engrossing : The opportunity for deep involvement can capture and hold student interest.

     2). Multisensory : The incorporation of sounds and images along with text expands the channels to the mind.

     3). Connections : By using"hot buttons" students can connect ideal from different media sources, for example, connecting the sound of a foghorn with the word "lighthouse".

     4). Teacher and student creation : Software allows teachers and students to easily create their own hypermedia files, student projects can become opportunities for collaborative work.

Limitations :

     1). Getting lost.

     2). Lack of structure.

     3). Noninteractive : Programs can be simply one-way presentations of information with no specific opportunities for interactive practice with feedback.

     4). Time consuming : hypermedia programs tend to require more time for students to reach prespecified objectives.

C. INTERACTIVE MEDIA

     Computer based interactive media creates a multimedia learning environment that capitalizes on the features of both video and computer assisted instruction. It's an instruction delivery system in which recorded visuals, sound, and video materials are presented under computer control to viewers who not only see and hear the pictures and sounds but also make active responses with those responses affecting the pace and sequence of the presentation. The video portion of interactive media is provided through a CD-ROM, DVD, or the Web. Because CD-ROM discs can store many types of digital informstion including text, graphics, photographs, animation, and audio. Multimedia CD-ROM products are commonly found in school library media centers, primarily in the form of encyclopedias or other reference databases. The images can be presented in slow motion, fast motion, or frame by frame(as in a slide show). The audio portion may occupy two different narrations for each motion sequence.

The heart of an interactive mefia system is the computer, which provides the "intelligence" and interactivily required. The computer can command the system to present audio or video information, wait for the learner's response and branch to the appropriate point in the instructional program from that response.

Advantages :

     1). Multiple media : text audio, graphics, still pictures and video can all be combined in one easy to use system.

     2). Learner participation : The R of the ASSURE model is achieved with interactive video materials because they require that learners engage in activities.

     3). Individualization : Provided for branching allows instruction on remedial as well as enrichment levels.

     4). Flexibility.

Limitations :

     1). Cost : The most significant limitation to interactive video is the cost, although the prices of ready-mafe discs and machines are decreasing.

     2). Production expense : It's expensive to produce CD-ROM and DVD discs, making it necessary to rely on commercially prepared discs, which may not meet local needs.

     3). Ridigity : The discs cannot be changed once they have been made, therefore material may become outdated.

D. VIRTUAL REALITY

     Virtual reality (VR) is one of the newest multimedia applications of computer-based technologies. VR is a computer-generated three dimensional environment where the user can operate as an active participant. The user wears a special headpiece that contains a three dimensional liquid crystal video display and headphones. The essence of VR is the expansion of experiences of the user. Because VR place the user into the virtual environment, it provides an opportunity to interact with that environment in a unique way, giving the user "ultimate" chance to grasp new ideas.

Advantages :

     1). Safety : VR creates a realistic world without subjecting viewers to actual or imagined danger or hazards.

     2). Expensive.

     3). Opportunities to explore : VR allows students to experiment with aimulated environment.

Limitations :

     1). Cost : The equipment is extremely expensive.

     2). Complexity : The technology is complex and doesn't lend itself to most classroom uses.

     3). Limited titles.

E. EXPERT SYSTEMS

     Expert system is a software package that allows the collective wisdom of experts in a given field to be brought to bear on a problem. One of the first such systems to be developed is called MYCIN, is a program that helps train doctors to make accurate diagnoses of infectious diseases on the basis of tests and patient information fed into the computer. Expert system are slowly making their way into education. 

     One example that involves individualized learning is an expert system called CLASS LD. Developed at Utah State University, the program classifies learning disabilities by using an elaborate set of rules contributed by experts. In tests, the program has proven to be at least as accurate as informed special education practitioners. The next step is to develop a software package that will design an individualized education program (IEP) for children diagnosed by CLASS LD. Because many children with learning disabilities are in mainstreamed classes, the expert system would make more manageable the classroom teacher's job of providing appropriate instruction.

      Source : Heinich, Molenda, Russell, Smaldino et. 2002. Instructural Media  and Technologies for Learning volume 7. California: The University of California.