Intro to Multimedia Technology

7/29/2019 Intro to Multimedia Technology

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CBMT 2103 INTRODUCTION TO MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY

MAY 2009 SEMESTER

NAME :

MATRIC NUMBER :

PROGRAM :

LEARNING CENTRE :

TUTOR :

EMAIL ADDRESS :

PHONE NUMBER :

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QUESTION 1

PATTERNBLOCKS3

Description

Title : PatternBlocks3

Producer : Gingerbooth.com

Address : 633, Longfellow Drive, Branford, CT 06405 USA

Users : Younger generation (kindergarten)

Topics : Early mathematics

Cost : Free (available online)

Reference : http://gingerbooth.com/flash/patblocks3/patblocks3.html

Objectives

The stated objectives of this program are to teach basic mathematics in such a

way that no prior knowledge of computers is required and to provide learners with

confidence in the use and understanding of a hands-on simulator.

Content Description

This program offers great fun for early learners in mathematics. Within this area,available options include the following modules: File, Examples, and Help.

Within these modules, the sub-area will range from creating new design, to

sample designs available, and also guidelines in creating the designs. It is

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designed in way that follows a 3-step process: principles are introduced and

illustrated, learners work through the sample designs, and exercises built upon the

sample designs.

Content Evaluation

This program, when used in the companionship of parents or teachers, offers a

correlation with modules that were taught in preschool curriculum. Information is

clearly presented in the tutorial format through the Help module and sequencing isappropriate. Liberal use of well-illustrated examples combined with learners

interactions and subsequent step-by-step guidelines result in appropriate learning

experience to meet the stated objectives.

Technical Design Description

Neither sound nor inverse lettering are used, however color and graphics are used

to draw attention to educational purpose.

Technical Design Evaluation

Displays are appropriate, uncluttered, consistent and easily interpreted. Speed of

access is dependent upon network speed but is generally satisfactory. Below are

several screenshots of the courseware:

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Figure 1 This is the Title for a menu to set design info title, author, notes.

Saving a file brings up the same menu.

Figure 2 the File menu is used to save the work and manage saved files.

File | Open brings up a list of files saved before via File | Save.

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File | Save saves the design to the local computer.

File | Email sends a picture, plus a link so the To: addressee can edit a copy of thedesign. This saves the design to the webserver, but never stores the email

addresses.

File | New begins a new design. Examples | Blank does this, too.

File | Delete deletes the current open design.

File | Save As Picture saves a snapshot of the design.

File | Print was found to not working as yet. Instead use Save As Picture, and

print that file.

Figure 3 - Examples is a list of already-made designs to load. Learners can use

Examples | Blank (or File | New) to start a new design. Help is a menu of help

topics.

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Figure 4 this is an example of a background of jelly beans that was set with the

desired background color and pattern. When the background box was clicked, it

opens up a bigger Background menu as shown. In there, learners can select the

desired background patterns and colors based on the classification provided.

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Figure 5 in painting shapes, learners can drag and drop the shapes to the

drawing area. Shapes will snap together at corners. The action to rotate is by just

clicking, and moving by dragging the mouse. Colors of the shapes can also be

chosen from the color slab as Figure 6 below:

Summary Statement

This program is generally a good learning package which learners should be able

to operate independently (provided there is an overview by teachers or parents,

prior to the usage). It requires only Internet access with very minimum hardware

specifications.

A. Create a table to compare TWO types multimedia authoring software of

your choice based upon the features of each software, system requirements

and price.

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For this assignment, I have chosen the courseware titled Adobe Captivate,

manufactured by Adobe and Camtasia Studio by TechSmith.

Adobe Captivate courseware can help rapidly author professional eLearning

content with advanced interactivity, software and scenario simulations, quizzes,

and other engaging experience, with no programming or multimedia skills

required.

Adobe Captivate (formerly RoboDemo) is an electronic learning tool for

Microsoft Windows which can be used to author software demonstrations,

software simulations, branched scenarios, and randomized quizzes in .swfformat.

It can also convert Adobe Captivate generated .swf to .avi which can be uploaded

to video hosting websites. For software simulations, Captivate can use left mouse

clicks, key presses and rollover images. Adobe Captivate 3 cannot simulate right

mouse clicks without editing the files that are generated, but with Adobe

Captivate 4, this is now possible.

Captivate builds and edits interactive software demonstrations, simulations,

podcasts,screencasts, games, program demos and lessons. For software demos, it

can either record in real time or use an event-based screen capture that snaps a

sequence of still images and then builds mouse movement simulations to create

the appearance of a running program. By using Adobe Flash Tweening

technology, Captivate is able to create screencasts in a much smaller filesize than

needed for a real full-motion screen capture movie.

Captivate users can edit Captivate presentations to add captions, clickablehotspots, text entry boxes, rollovers, videos, etc. Authors can edit the content

(including mouse pointer path, position, image) and change the timing for each

item to appear and disappear. The hotspots can branch to other slides in the

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windowshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.swfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.avihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcastshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcastshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screencasthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweeninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windowshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.swfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.avihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcastshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screencasthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweening


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presentation, or to outside webpages. E-learning authors can also provide multiple

levels of feedback using multiple interactions per slide.

Its competitor, which is the Camtasia Studio. Quoted from Wikipedia, Camtasia

Studio is a screen video captureprogram forMicrosoft Windows. It is published

byTechSmith. The user defines the area of the screen or the window that is to be

captured before recording begins; it is also possible to capture the entire screen

area. You can also talk, and use a videocam.

The first new thing which caught my attention in Camtasia 6 was something

called SmartFocus. This is a tool which, in effect, gives you a virtual

cameraman that follows your screen activity and automatically zooms in on the

areas of interest. SmartFocus can be applied when you edit a previously recorded

movie. This means that you can record a large area of the screen and then let

SmartFocus produce a version of the movie in which your actions are tracked. As

you move around the screen, the movie will zoom in on any areas of interest. You

dont have to use SmartFocus if you dont want to. However, as a way of

cramming a large-screen recording into a small-screen playback area (say forWeb viewing), this is incredibly useful.

In terms of functionality, I really dont have any major criticisms of Camtasia 5.

My main gripe is that the sound tends to break up a bit when played back in the

editor. This can make it difficult to do precise editing based on the soundtrack.

This does not affect the quality of the sound in the finished movie, however. In

addition, I think there is scope to make Camtasias various component parts more

tightly integrated. There are separate applications for making menus of various

sorts and editing audio. Even though Ive used Camtasia quite a bit over the years,

I still dont know my way around all the Camtasia applications. If all these

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standalone applications are really needed (and I am not entirely certain that they

are), Id like to see them integrated into the main editing environment.

The comparisons by specifications between these two can be seen in table below:

Software Camtasia Studio Adobe Captivate

Latest stable version 6.0.2 4

Latest release date 2009, 01/06 2009, 01/20

OS Windows Windows

Software license Proprietary Proprietary

Open source No No

Price USD 299 USD 799

The comparisons by features between these two can be seen below:

Software Camtasia Studio Adobe Captivate

Open source No No

Audio recording Yes Yes

Whole Desktop Yes N/A

Full Screen OpenGL Yes N/A

Full Screen DirectX on

Win32Yes N/A

QUESTION 2

a. Definition of Multimedia

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Multimedia is simply multiple forms of media integrated together. Media can be

text, graphics, audio, animation, video, data, etc. An example of multimedia is a

web page on the topic of music that has text regarding the composer along with an

audio file of some of his music and can even include a video of the music being

played in a concert.

Besides multiple types of media being integrated with one another, multimedia

can also stand for interactive types of media such as video games CD ROMs that

teach a foreign language, or information kiosk at KL Sentral. Other terms that are

sometimes used for multimedia include hypermedia and rich media.

Multimedia has become a huge force in our culture, industry and education.

Practically any type of information we receive can be categorized as multimedia,

from television, to magazines, to web pages, to movies, multimedia is a

tremendous force in both informing the public and entertaining us.

Advertising is perhaps one of the biggest industry's that use multimedia to send

their message to the masses. Where one type of media, let's say radio or text can

be a great way to promote an item, using multimedia techniques can significantly

make an item being advertised better received by the masses and in many cases

with greater results.

Multimedia in education has been extremely effective in teaching individuals a

wide range of subjects. The human brain learns using many senses such as sight

and hearing. While a lecture can be extremely informative, a lecture that

integrates pictures or video images can help an individual learn and retaininformation much more effectively. Using interactive CD ROM's can be

extremely effective in teaching students a wide variety of disciplines, most

notably foreign language and music.

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b. Online Shopping

Quoting from Wikipedia, Online shopping is the process consumers go through topurchase products or services over the Internet. An online shop, eshop, e-store,

Internet shop, webshop, webstore, online store, or virtual store evokes the

physical analogy of buying productsorservices at a bricks-and-mortarretaileror

in a shopping mall.

The metaphor of an online catalog is also used, by analogy with mail order

catalogs. All types of stores have retail web sites, including those that do and do

not also have physical storefronts and paper catalogs. Online shopping is a type of

electronic commerce used for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-

consumer(B2C) transactions.

From the point of view of shoppers, the internet has introduced some significant

changes to the selection and buying process, including far greater ability to search

for and buy products from anywhere in the world at any time of day; as well as

easier and more rapid access to large volumes of information on products to

inform their choice.

Area Advantages Disadvantages

Search and

choice

People can shop at any time

and

from any location, including

home

People may find it hard to

process large volumes of

information

Shoppers can access

previously

remote sellers

Consumers may need to invest in

technology if they shop from home,

as well as develop new skills

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webstorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_and_mortar_businesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retailinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retailinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_mallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_cataloghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_cataloghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_orderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_commercehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business-to-businesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business-to-consumerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business-to-consumerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webstorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_and_mortar_businesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retailinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_mallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_cataloghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_orderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_commercehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business-to-businesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business-to-consumerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business-to-consumer


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High speed information

flows can

reduce search and switching

costs

Methods of search and how

results are ranked, including paid

for prominence and inclusion,

may not always be clear

Search intermediaries such

as search

engines and price

comparators can

provide rapid access to large

numbers of retailers and

products

People can access

information on

multiple items, including

user

reviews and forum

discussions

Interactivity

Payment details can be

stored,

reducing future transaction

costs

As with other distance channels,

lack

of physical interaction may make it

harder to assess products, build trust

and achieve redress. Buyers need to

trust that remote parties will treat

their personal details securely

Buyers can leave feedback

andshare their views with

others

Many other parties may be involved

in addition to buyers and sellers(such

as ISPs, search engines, product

comparison sites, payment

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providers,

delivery companies). This may lead

to

complications in the transaction

After-sales service (such as

manuals) can be provided

online

Shoppers preference for ease of

transaction might limit switching

between retailers

Delivery

Consumers do not need to

leavehome to shop or take

delivery

For delivered goods, shoppers

have to wait rather than being

able to take the good awayimmediately. For some products

(such as medicines) this may not

be convenient

Buyers can sometimes track

deliveries

As with other distance sales

channels, buyers are reliant on

effective delivery and need to

make arrangements to receive

goods problems with delivery

can create hassle

Some goods can be

delivered

instantly, such as downloads

or

e-tickets for travel

A variety of delivery

choices are

often offered such as in-store

collection or collection at a

Post

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Office, along with services

suchas gift wrapping

There are advantages and disadvantages of online shopping on traditional stores

and shopping malls.

Area Advantages Disadvantages

Search and

choice

Sellers can reach a large

number of

customers, irrespective

of location

Businesses need to invest in

equipment, connectivity and skills

Sellers may include a

greater variety

in their online catalogue,

as there is

no need for showrooms

A lack of physical presence mean

advertising and branding are likely

to be more important

Sellers may include a

greater variety

in their online catalogue,

as there is

no need for showrooms

Low search and selection costs

for buyers may mean low

retention rates

Sellers can quickly and

cheaply

change prices and other

details

Interactivity

Sellers can receive

payment from

customers quickly

Bad publicity may spread more

quickly, so brands may be more

fragile

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Companies can react

quickly to their

customers needs or

concerns

The increased importance of

branding may require substantial

spend on marketing

Collected data can allow

targeted

advertising and tailored

offers

Delivery

Businesses can easily set

up,

without the need for

physical retail

outlets (although they

may still

require a means to store

and

distribute goods)

As for other distance sales

channels, companies are reliant

on effective logistics as well as

delivery providers

Businesses that only sell

online

(pure players) can locate

in cheaper

areas, reducing their

costs

Distribution costs are

low for

products delivereddirectly over the

internet (such as e-

tickets)

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Real time matching of

supply and

demand may reduce

inventory costs

c) Give example of how multimedia has affected or influence:

i) Your local community

Multimedia, since its introduction to the local community many years back, has

been here to stay for sure. The development of the town from being difficult to

access to how people do their groceries have changed in numerous ways.

One example is on the learning industry. Students are spoiled with options when it

comes to education. During those years when we were in school, the only source

of education is books. We might have the experience to search high and low for

the right book to furnish our learning period. We seek information from various

hardcopies, and we need to search page by page. With the evolution of

multimedia, we have the beloved Internet as our best friend. We also have theaccess to numerous types of multimedia, from CD ROMs to conference papers

from the countries in the world.

Another example is on the news. With the presence of multimedia, news are

communicated easily and speedier than before. We do not need to wait for days

before news from the other parts of the world, or even Kuala Lumpur, to reach us

here in the northern region. We can get them in real-time. A good example is on

the news of the breakout of the Influenza A H1N1 virus. By easy access of the

information, we can get our own country and community to get ready and get

prepared for whats to come.

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Theres a downside to it though, since rumors can spread at the same speed as

well with the arrival of multimedia.

ii) Your personal life

I am part of the community, so the influence of multimedia covers the range of

the influence to the community as well. However, what interest me most is how

easy it is now, with the help of multimedia, for me to get access to numerous

information on items to shop! From variety of websites to browse, to samples and

presentations from the merchandiser, I am spoilt by choices, in which the pocket

will suffer. To my opinion, multimedia has cost me dearly, and money has

become a necessity to accommodate to the uprising technology market.

REFERENCES

1. Multimedia, Making It Work, Seventh Edition, Vaughan,Tay, McGraw

Hill, 2008, USA

2. www.wikipedia.org

3. The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, Mayer, Richard,

Cambridge University Press, 2003, New York

4. www.adobe.com

5. http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp

6. http://gingerbooth.com/flash/patblocks3/patblocks3.html

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Documents

Intro to Multimedia Technology