Using Multimedia and Hypermedia in Teaching and · PDF fileDefinitions and characteristics of multimedia and hypermedia systems ... and Learning Multimedia learning ... Multimedia

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This chapter covers the following topics:■ Definitions and characteristics of multimedia and

hypermedia systems■ Unique advantages and instructional uses of five

types of multimedia/hypermedia resources: com-mercial CD-ROM and DVD multimedia softwarepackages, commercial interactive videodiscs, pres-entation software, digital video systems, and variousmultimedia/hypermedia authoring systems

■ Procedures for developing multimedia/hypermediaproducts using various authoring systems

■ Educational applications of multimedia/hypermediaauthoring systems

1

Using Multimedia andHypermedia in Teaching

and Learning

Multimedia learning is not something new. It is woveninto the fabric of our childhood. . .

Tom Boyle in Design for Multimedia Learning (1997)

Technology is the campfire around which we will tell our stories.

Laurie Anderson

C H A P T E R

Objectives

1. Define multimedia and hypermedia from historicand current perspectives.

2. Design classroom lesson activities appropriate foreach kind of multimedia/hypermedia product.

3. Evaluate the quality and capabilities of acommercial hypermedia product.

4. Use an authoring system to develop a product thatmeets visual, navigation, and instructional criteriafor effective hypermedia-based instruction.

5. Design lesson activities appropriate for studentdevelopment of hypermedia products.

Introduction to Multimedia andHypermedia

We live in a multimedia world, surrounded by com-plex images, movement, and sound. So perhaps it is

not surprising that part of our human evolution has focusedon making our technology reflect the color and clamor ofour surroundings. In educational technology, multimediahas been a steadily growing presence for some time. As dis-cussed in Chapter 1, computer-based multimedia learningstations have been used since 1966, and noncomputer mul-timedia methods have been around even longer. This chap-ter looks at current classroom uses of electronic multime-dia and its companion concept, hypermedia.

Multimedia and Hypermedia: How Do They Differ?

Like other educational technology concepts, definitions formultimedia and hypermedia defy consensus (Moore, My-ers, & Burton, 1994; Tolhurst, 1995); people find the twoconcepts either too close to distinguish between or too slip-pery to get words around. Tolhurst quoted one source assaying, “By its very nature, [multimedia] is invertebrate.You poke it and it slithers away” (p. 21). Definitions usedin this chapter come to us from two paths that were sepa-rate initially but have converged over time.

Multimedia simply means “multiple media” or “a com-bination of media.” The media can be still pictures, sound,motion video, animation, and/or text items combined in aproduct whose purpose is to communicate information.

Hypermedia refers to “linked media” that have theirroots in a concept developed by Vannevar Bush (1986) inhis landmark article “As We May Think.” In 1945, Bushproposed a “memex” machine that would let peoplequickly access items of information whose meanings wereconnected but which were stored in different places. In the1960s, Ted Nelson coined the term hypertext to describe aproposed database system called Xanadu based on Bush’sidea (Boyle, 1997). In this system, items of informationfrom all over the world were to be logically connected withhypertext links. For example, one could select “apple” andget information on all related concepts such as trees, fruit—

even the Garden of Eden. The technology at that time wasinadequate to produce Xanadu, but the idea was the fore-runner of today’s hypermedia systems in which informa-tion stored in various media are connected (often via the In-ternet), thus the term hypermedia.

In current technologies such as Internet browsers (seeChapter 8) and authoring systems, most multimedia productsalso are hypermedia systems. That is, the media elements arelinked with buttons to click on or menus from which to se-lect. Clicking on or selecting one item sends the user to other,related items. This chapter gives many examples of hyper-media products; all also are multimedia. The combination ofmedia such as video and audio with text makes them multi-media; the ability to get from one media/information elementto another makes them hypermedia.

Types of Multimedia and Hypermedia Systems

Multimedia and hypermedia systems come in a variety ofhardware, software, and media configurations and, until re-cently, were usually classified according to their primarystorage equipment: interactive videodiscs (IVDs), CD-ROMs (compact disc–read-only memory), digital versatilediscs (DVDs), and other technologies, including CD-I(compact disc–interactive), DVI (digital video interactive),and photo CDs (photographic compact discs). However,dramatic changes in the capabilities of presentation soft-ware and Internet multimedia formats, as well as the de-cline in use of videodisc systems, have changed the focusof this classification system. The medium on which multi-media is presented has become less important than its pur-pose and the type of capability it offers.

This chapter focuses on five kinds of multimedia/hy-permedia formats. The first two are developed by compa-nies and sold to educators and other consumers; the otherthree are authoring systems that educators and others canuse to develop their own products.

■ Commercial multimedia/hypermedia software pack-ages. These are pre-packaged products developed bysoftware publishing companies and offer a variety of me-dia, including animation, video, audio, and links to theInternet. The trend is for most software packages to in-clude all these features.

■ Commercial interactive videodisc packages. Untilthe emergence of CD-ROM and DVD storage media,interactive videodiscs were the storage medium ofchoice for full-motion video in combination with textand still pictures. Because of the large number of IVDcurriculum discs and videodiscs players that remain inschools, this technology is still in use.

■ Authoring tools: presentation software. This author-ing software used to be linear and primarily a combi-nation of text, still pictures, and limited audio and an-imation. But it has grown in capability and now offersbranching capabilities and the ability to include manyof the same features as published products (e.g., em-bedded audio and video clips).

2 PART II Integrating Software and Media Tutors and Tools: Principles and Strategies

■ Authoring tools: video production and editing sys-tems. Digitized videos used to be difficult to produceand edit and were used primarily to capture short videoclips for use in multimedia/hypermedia authored. Newvideo editing systems have changed this. Now anyone,even nontechnical consumers, can produce profes-sional-looking movies with a variety of special effectslike fading and titles.

■ Authoring tools: multimedia/hypermedia author-ing systems. These systems, too, have come a longway since the first versions. They are increasingly ca-pable, allowing users to include many of the featuresthey see in professional products with substantiallygreater ease.

Hypermedia systems published as web page docu-ments also represent a powerful technology of the future.Hypermedia systems used in distance communications andonline learning are described in Chapter 8.

Current and Future Impact of Multimedia andHypermedia on Education

The current widespread educational uses of multimedia andhypermedia systems augur an even heavier reliance onthese products in classrooms of the future. Educators rec-ognize and use these systems when they see the powerfulcapabilities they offer to enhance classroom learning:

■ Motivation. Hypermedia programs offer such variedoptions that most people seem to enjoy using them.Students who usually struggle to complete a project orterm paper often will tackle a hypermedia project en-thusiastically. McCarthy (1989) is among those whobelieves the most important characteristic of hyperme-dia is its ability to encourage students to be proactivelearners.

■ Flexibility. Hypermedia programs can draw on suchdiverse tools that they truly offer something for stu-dents who excel in any of what Gardner calls “intelli-gences” (see Chapter 3). For example, a student whomay not be good at written expression but has visualaptitude can document learning with sound or pictures.

■ Development of creative and critical thinking skills.The tremendous access to hypertext and hypermediatools opens up a multitude of creative avenues for bothstudents and teachers. Marchionini (1988) refers to hy-permedia as a fluid environment that constantly re-quires the learner to make decisions and evaluateprogress. He asserts that this process forces students toapply higher order thinking skills. Turner and Dipinto(1992) report that the hypermedia environment encour-ages students to think in terms of metaphors, to be in-trospective, and to give free rein to their imaginations.

■ Improved writing and process skills. Turner andDipinto (1992) also find that exposure to hypermediaauthoring tools helps students by giving them a newand different perspective on how to organize and pres-

ent information and a new insight into writing. Insteadof viewing their writing as one long stream of text, stu-dents now see it as chunks of information to be linked.

Our society’s heavy reliance on hypertext/hypermediato communicate information seems likely to expand in thefuture. The accelerating number of World Wide Web pageson the Internet is evidence that linking data with hypertextand hypermedia is an effective way to present and addvalue to large bodies of information. Millions of peoplehave published hypermedia documents on the InformationSuperhighway in the hope of attracting viewers, readers,and listeners.

Hypermedia tools also may permit sophisticated eval-uations of learning. In the process of using hypermedia,people are said to “leave a track” (Simonson & Thompson,1994), which may help teachers analyze how students ap-proach learning tasks. Future hypermedia systems mightapply pattern-recognition techniques from the field of arti-ficial intelligence to help schools assess student mastery ofhigher order cognitive skills (Dede, 1994). Bagui (1998)says multimedia “may have unique capabilities to facilitatelearning because of the parallels between multimedia andthe natural way people learn” (p. 4), that is, through visualinformation and imagery.

Research on the Impact of Multimedia andHypermedia Systems

While some reviewers have tried to capture the unique con-tributions of these systems on achievement (Adams, 1992;McNeil & Nelson, 1991), Lookatch (1997) echoes Clark’swarning (see Chapter 1) that instructional strategies—notmedia—will make the difference in achievement. In sum-marizing research reviews of findings that could guide fu-ture educational uses of multimedia/hypermedia, Roblyer(1999) found that multimedia’s benefits seem to center onits ability to offer students multiple channels through whichto process information. However, researchers are cautiousabout recommending multimedia to support specific kindsof learning.

Swan and Meskill (1996) examined how effectivelycurrent hypermedia products support the teaching and ac-quisition of critical thinking skills in reading and language.They reviewed hypermedia products as to how well theymade possible response-based approaches to teaching andlearning literature, that is, instructional activities that“place student-generated questions at the center of learning. . . (and encourage) a problem-finding as well as a problemsolving approach to critical thinking” (p. 168). They evalu-ated 45 hypermedia literature programs using criteria inthree areas: technical items, response-based concerns, andclassroom issues. The majority of the 45 products used aCD-ROM format, but 10 used a combination of CD-ROMand videodisc, and four used computer software. Theyfound that most products were technically sound and linkedwell with classroom topics, but few were designed to pro-mote the response-based methods that promote critical

CHAPTER 7 Using Multimedia and Hypermedia in Teaching and Learning 3

thinking. “Programs designed for elementary students . . .equated literature education with reading instruction; pro-grams designed for high school . . . generally adopted a tra-ditional text-centered approach” (p. 187). These findingsindicate that teachers who want to use multimedia/hyper-media products specifically to promote higher level skillsmust select products judiciously and warily.

In another review of the impact of hypermedia onlearner comprehension and learner control, Dillon andGabbard (1998) echo the caution voiced by Swan andMeskill. They conclude that:

■ Hypermedia’s primary advantages accrue to studentsdoing rapid searches through lengthy or multiple in-formation resources. For other purposes, hypermediaand nonhypermedia resources seem equally useful.

■ Increased learner control is more useful to higher abil-ity students; lower ability students experience thegreatest difficulty with hypermedia.

■ Learner style helps determine whether or not certainhypermedia features are effective in various learningsituations. Passive learners may profit more from thecueing offered by hypermedia, while more capablelearners who are more willing to explore may be morecapable of exploiting other hypermedia features.

Research on the Design of Multimedia andHypermedia Systems

Stemler (1997) reviewed findings on various multime-dia/hypermedia characteristics that could have an impacton the potential effectiveness of these systems: screen de-sign, learner control and navigation, use of feedback, stu-dent interactivity, and video and audio elements. Her find-ings are too extensive to give adequate treatment here, buteducators who are committed to high-quality multimediadevelopment should review the full text of her article.

■ Instructional design. Stemler recommends that de-velopers analyze each element in a multimedia productto determine which of Gagné’s nine Events of Instruc-tion (see Chapter 3) it aims to achieve and how well itachieves it.

■ Screen design. Well-designed screens focus learners’attention, develop and maintain interest, promote pro-cessing of information, promote engagement betweenlearner and content, help students find and organize in-formation, and support easy navigation through les-sons (p. 343).

■ Interaction and feedback. Keep feedback on thesame screen with the question and student responseand provide immediate feedback. Verify correct an-swers and give hints and another try for incorrect an-swers. Tailor feedback to the response and provide en-couraging feedback, but do not make it moreentertaining for students to provide wrong answersrather than correct ones. If possible, let students printout the feedback (p. 345).

■ Navigation. Support navigation with orientation cues,clearly defined procedures, clearly labeled back-and-forth buttons, and help segments (pp. 346–347).

■ Learner control. In general, give older and more ca-pable students more control over the sequence;younger, less experienced students should have lesscontrol (p. 348).

■ Color. Use color sparingly and employ it primarily forcueing and highlighting certain elements to bringthem to the learner’s attention. Use a consistent colorscheme throughout to promote ease of use(pp. 350–351).

■ Graphics. Use graphics as well as text to present in-formation to serve students who prefer one kind ofpresentation over the other. Use graphics sparingly forother purposes (to entertain or amuse) (p. 351).

■ Animation. Use animation sparingly and only to pres-ent dynamic processes or to highlight key information(p. 352).

■ Audio. Use audio for short presentations of programcontent, but do not let it compete with video presenta-tion. Do not require long readings on each screen. Sep-arate material into chunks on each of several screens(p. 353).

■ Video. Use video sequences for broader, abstract ma-terial (that with emotional impact) and for advance or-ganizers rather than for presenting detailed informa-tion (p. 354).

Mayer and Moreno (1998) reported yet another studyfocusing on multimedia design issues. They found thatlearners using multimedia materials showed greater com-prehension and retention of learned materials when pic-tures were accompanied by spoken words, rather than writ-ten words. They observed that this “split attention” effectwas consistent with a model of working memory that hadseparate visual and auditory channels. Therefore, learnersdid not process image and text information when it was pre-sented through the same channel (visual). More studies ofthis kind are urgently needed to guide design strategies forhypermedia products.

Emerging Developments in Storage Media forMultimedia Systems: Compact Disc–Read-OnlyMemory and Digital Versatile Disc

In recent years, CD-ROMs and DVDs have replaced com-puter disks and videodiscs as the most popular storage me-dia for motion video, as well as text, sound, and graphics ofall kinds. Consumers now receive most software packageson CD rather than computer disk, and DVDs have replacedvideotapes as the storage medium for movies. CD-ROMand DVD technologies all share a single core technology:Laser beams heat light-sensitive material on a disc so thata chemical reaction causes the area to either remain opaqueor reflect light, thus revealing encoded information. In con-trast, magnetic storage units, such as hard disks and tapedevices, store data as magnetic pulses, which are read or al-


tered by the disk drive. Generally accepted style in the in-dustry has adopted the spelling disk for magnetic storagesystems and disc for optical devices.

CD-ROMs. As music media, CD-ROMs have become ascommonplace in the lives of young people as phonographrecords were to their parents and grandparents. But CD-ROMs have additional capabilities undreamed of in thedays of record albums and turntables. Commonly calledcompact discs or CDs, CD-ROMs are made of the samematerial as videodiscs but are smaller in size, just 4.72inches (12 cm) in diameter. In appearance, CD-ROMs lookidentical to audio CDs. The main practical differences be-tween an audio CD and a CD-ROM are what they can storeand how they are used. Both store data in digital form. Butaudio CDs store sound, whereas CD-ROMs store text, au-dio, video, animation, and graphics information. CD-ROMs are known for their huge storage capacity, up to 650MB of data, which equates to the equivalent of 250,000pages of text, or five hundred 500-page novels. Computersystems get access to CD-ROMs through either internal orexternal CD-ROM players.

CD-ROM technology has adapted to allow users tostore data on them as well as use them for prestored applica-tions. Because CD-ROMs hold so much more informationthan disks, they are becoming valuable additions to schools’collections of storage devices, and readable/writable CD-ROM drives are becoming commonplace.

DVDs. These media look like CD-ROMs but have muchgreater storage capacity: currently from 4.7 GB (singlesided, single layered) to 14 GB (double sided, double lay-ered). Like CD-ROMs, DVDs began with a read-only for-mat but are rapidly taking the place of computer disks, harddrives, and even videodiscs and CD-ROMs. They are ableto store high-quality video as well as audio and text data,thus making them valuable to multimedia developers in ed-ucation and elsewhere. Also, they are replacing videotape asstorage media for commercially produced movies and films.

As storage media continue to evolve in capability anddecrease in price, they will have a significant impact on thekinds of multimedia/hypermedia that teachers can develop.DVD technology is projected to become an important storagemedium in the future, taking the place of current CD-ROMsand even hard drives. This will allow educators to includemore multimedia elements, especially video sequences,which currently take up more room than may be available.

Issues Related to Multimedia and Hypermedia Use inEducation

Educators have voiced several concerns recently about ourmedia-driven culture and its role in education. A few ofthese are described here.

The critical importance of media literacy. As Mergendol-lar (1997) warns, technologies such as multimedia are an

equivocal blessing. They help us communicate informationmore expeditiously but do not help us analyze whether or notinformation is accurate, relevant, or current. The more infor-mation we have, the more important it becomes to learn crit-ical analysis, visual literacy, and information literacy skills.

Limitations of hypermedia. Although multimedia/hyper-media systems truly represent the communication methodof choice both now and in the future, education’s use ofthese resources is hampered by several problems:

■ Hardware intensity. To take full advantage of thebenefits of hypermedia technology, students need am-ple online development time. This presents a problemin most classroom settings due to insufficient numbersof computers. The problem is exacerbated when avail-able computers are not configured for hypermedia au-thoring. For example, they may lack the capacity todigitize sound or to input video.

■ Lack of training. Although hypermedia programs arebecoming easier to use, they still require extensivetraining. Unfortunately, training is not a top priority inmost school districts. One survey showed that staff de-velopment makes up only about 8% of technologybudgets (Siegel, 1995). The toughest challenge in-structional personnel face is not learning to use a par-ticular program, but learning to integrate it within thecurriculum. To help alleviate this problem, hyperme-dia training needs to go beyond just learning how tomake an authoring program work. Training must alsogive serious consideration to effective curriculum inte-gration. In addition, to ensure quality products, hyper-media training should extend to the areas of media, de-sign, and the arts.

■ Projection needs. Teachers often want to project stu-dents’ hypermedia projects onto large screens so thatothers can see the results. For this, the teacher musthook up an LCD panel or a video projector to the com-puter. This requires an additional piece of hardware, soevery classroom may not have a projection setup. Acompromise solution may be to use a converter thatcan project the computer signal onto a large televi-sion/monitor.

■ Integration problems. Integration of hypermediatechnology into the curriculum presents some majorproblems. To ensure quality projects, students needsufficient time to focus, build, and reflect. The con-ventional school schedule, often broken into 50-minute blocks, does not lend itself to serious projectdevelopment. If hypermedia authoring is to have a ma-jor impact on learning, educators will need to look atways of infusing more flexibility into students’ dailyschedules. One step in the right direction might bemore integration of subject matter into interdiscipli-nary projects.

■ Memory and storage problems. A hypermedia proj-ect can fill a tremendous amount of storage space on a


computer’s hard drive; digitized video and sound filesare the major culprits. Until the compression tech-niques promised by DVD improve and become morecost effective, this problem will persist. Another com-ponent of this problem is the difficulty of transferringa file from one computer to another, because even verysmall hypermedia files will exceed the capacity of asingle data disk. There are some ways of gettingaround these problems. Students can store files on ex-ternal hard drives or zip disks. These add another costelement, but the prices are dropping rapidly.

Commercial Multimedia/HypermediaSoftware Packages

Background on Commercial Multimedia/HypermediaSoftware Packages

As noted in Chapter 4, instructional software is becomingincreasingly multimedia and hypermedia in nature. Soft-ware tools have also seen an increasing emphasis on thisformat. The increased storage capability and availability ofCD and DVD media has made it easier to store complexprograms with motion graphics, movies, audio, and links tothe Internet. Software used to be produced primarily bywriting code in a computer language. Today’s software isfrequently produced with an authoring system such asMacromedia Director. The number of titles in the CD-ROM and DVD market has increased at a phenomenal rateduring the past few years and will continue to grow. TheMultimedia Compendium from Emerging Technologies(http://www.emergingtechnology.com) is a frequently up-dated catalog of current offerings. (See Figure 7.1.) Currently,several popular categories of multimedia/hypermedia-basedproducts are used in classrooms.

Instructional Software

A single CD-ROM can store the equivalent of eight hun-dred 3.5-inch computer disks. This makes CD-ROM awonderful technology for distributing more memory-intensive instructional software. Some companies havetaken advantage of this added capacity by enhancing suc-cessful programs with multimedia features and Internetlinks, for example, Sunburst’s Multimedia: The HumanBody. (See Figure 7.2.)

Interactive Storybooks

These on-screen stories have become extremely popularwith primary teachers and students (Glasgow, 1996,1996–1997, 1997; Kahn, 1997). On the audio tracks, narra-tors read pages as the words are highlighted on screen. If astudent needs to hear a word again, just clicking on it withthe mouse pointer will activate the audio. Some electronic

storybooks have a straightforward approach, allowing stu-dents to read them at their own pace. Other books are struc-tured to be more interactive and open ended, some allow-ing students to choose the story path and ending they wanteach time the story is read. A recent study by Doty, Pop-plewell, and Byers (2001) found that students’ ability to an-swer comprehension questions was higher when they readstories in an electronic storybook format than when theyread a traditional book format.

Reference Materials

Many reference materials are available on CD and DVD atvery reasonable costs. To add still more value, these re-sources are accompanied by search engine software thatmakes searching for information both easy and efficient.Some materials have Internet links to still more material.Below are just a few of the categories and example titles.

Encyclopedias. Most of the major encyclopedias are nolonger published exclusively in book format; they are avail-able on CD and DVD. Some like Microsoft’s Encarta weredesigned solely for the electronic format and are availableonly on disc or the Internet. However, others such as theWorld Book Encyclopedia now have a version on disc aftermany years in book format. (see Figure 7.3.) Many, likeWorld Book, also have Internet versions or supplements.

Almanacs. Popular information collections such as TheTime Almanac are increasingly shifting to electronic for-mat. Some, such as the CIA World Factbook, are on theInternet.

Atlases. Map utilities such as the Picture Atlas of theWorld allow teachers and students to do a variety of inter-active activities such as determining distances and routesfrom one location to another.

Collections of Development Resources

Many collections of resources used to develop multimediaare now shipped on CD-ROM. These include collections of


Figure 7.1 The Multimedia Compendium

Source: Used with permission form Emerging Technologies, Inc.

clip art, sound effects, photographs, video clips, fonts, anddocument templates. Also, some major technology confer-ences, like the National Educational Computing Confer-ence (NECC), distribute to each registrant proceedings,presenter handouts, vendor samples, and shareware on CD-ROM.

Integration Strategies for CommercialMultimedia/Hypermedia Products

Because products in this category vary so widely, instruc-tional uses for them are also varied and rich. Integrationstrategies for instructional software are discussed in detailin Chapter 4, and strategies for software tools are described

in Chapter 5. Technology Integration Ideas 7.1 and 7.2 il-lustrate ways some of the commercial multimedia/hyper-media resources are being used in classrooms.

Commercial Interactive VideodiscSystems

Background on IVD Systems

Videodiscs are optical storage media for random-accessstorage of high-quality audio and analog information. Laservideodiscs can store text, audio, video, and graphics data inanalog format. Interactive videodisc (IVD) technology wasfirst released in the 1970s and now has applications in boththe education and business worlds. A videodisc resemblesan audio CD disc, except it usually is larger in diameter.Most videodiscs are 12 inches in diameter and hold 54,000still frames or the equivalent of 675 carousel slide trays.They represent a durable medium for storing and displayingvisual information. Videodiscs are read by a laser beam, andthe mechanism allows random access to any part of the disc.The random access feature is important because it avoids theneed to fast forward or rewind to find a particular image asis necessary with a videotape.

IVD past, present, and future. Optical disc technologywas first introduced by the Dutch firm NV Philips in 1972,leading to the release of a commercial product in 1976.Videodiscs were initially marketed as media to showmovies at home. Soon after they got started in the consumermarket, however, relatively low-cost VCR technology be-came available and emerged as the medium of choice for


Figure 7.2 Screen from Sunburst’s Multimedia: The Human Body

Source: Used with permission form Sunburst.

Figure 7.3 Screens from World Book Encyclopedia.The Just Looking feature enables World Book CD-ROM users to browse through the entireencyclopedia or just one part of it. Users can choose arandom selection or an alphabetical list

Source: Used with permission from World Book Encyclopedia.

7.1

TECHNOLOGY

INTEGRATION

IDEA

7.1

7 .2

TECHNOLOGY

INTEGRATION

IDEA

7.2


Hypermedia Projects with Multimedia/Hypermedia Reference Software ToolsTITLE: Tracking Down Trivia—A World Scavenger Hunt

CONTENT AREA/TOPIC: Research and study skills

GRADE LEVEL: Fourth through sixth

NETS FOR STUDENTS: Standards 1, 3, 4, 5

DESCRIPTION: This activity is designed to improve student skills in using CD-ROM-based encyclope-dias for research. Pass out copies of a list of questions like the following to the class. Have students workin pairs on a “scavenger hunt” for information. Using an atlas and/or encyclopedia as resources, havethem look up the answers to the questions. If appropriate, inject an element of competition in the activ-ity by offering incentives to all those who answer the most questions correctly during class.

1. What is the capital city of Sweden?2. What was E. B. White’s first name?3. Who won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1985?4. When did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor?5. How did John Paul Jones die?6. What is the state flower of Utah?7. What does illiterate mean?8. What gases make up the atmosphere of Jupiter?9. What movie won the Academy Award for best picture in 1985?

10. What is a synonym for the word supercilious?11. What is the chemical formula for sulfuric acid?12. If Babe Ruth had lived 20 years longer, how old would he have been when he died?

Source: Contributed by Jack Edwards.

Hypermedia Projects with Multimedia/Hypermedia Reference Software ToolsTITLE: Research Detectives

CONTENT AREA/TOPIC: History

GRADE LEVEL: Seventh through twelfth


DESCRIPTION: This activity can help develop students’ skills at locating and analyzing historical infor-mation. Distribute to small groups of students copies of a scenario involving a “theft problem” they mustsolve. Provide access to a CD-ROM player and a variety of CD-ROM reference tools. Microsoft’s Book-shelf is excellent for this activity since it contains an encyclopedia, dictionary, almanac, atlas, and otherresources—all on one CD-ROM. The scenario should include a list of suspects whose descriptions in-clude high-level vocabulary and ambiguous facts that require students to use the reference resources toread up on the history cited, locate discrepancies in the suspects’ stories, and analyze them to determinewhich suspect must be lying. Another way to do this type of project is to have students write their ownscenarios, which could then be published and shared with other classes to develop their research and an-alytical skills.


consumers. A videodisc player connects to a television setor computer monitor in much the same way as a VCR does.Both generally are configured to use either RF or RCA con-nectors. Remote controls and bar-code readers are not dif-ficult to use but do require some training and practice. Totake full advantage of the interactivity in IVD technology,the teacher must handle the mechanics of its operationsmoothly.

Once a dominant form of multimedia products,videodiscs are not now generally considered cutting-edgetechnology. However, due to the installed base of videodiscplayers, they remain popular tools among many educators.According to Anne Winchester, president of Laser Learn-ing Technologies, videodiscs are being replaced by cur-riculum products on CD-ROM and DVD. Titles listed inthe Multimedia Compendium for the latter outnumber thosefor IVD by two to one.

Levels of interactivity. The level of interactivity of avideodisc program refers to the amount of control the pro-gram gives the user and what kinds of software and hard-ware the user needs to achieve control. Videodisc programscome in Level I and Level III formats. Level I, the mostpopular format, requires only a videodisc player and a bar-code reader to use the curriculum videodiscs designed forit. Level III requires a computer connected to a videodiscplayer with special cables.

The explosion of CD-ROM technology has been pre-dicted to eclipse videodiscs, and these predictions willdoubtless come true eventually. However, teachers still findLevel I IVD technology an easy-to-use and effective tool.This format seems to be gradually moving to DVD playerswith bar-code readers. On the other hand, the future ofLevel III IVD seems short lived because of its awkwardhardware configuration; schools will likely prefer the sim-pler interactive multimedia platform. Videodiscs that oncewere used as Level III resources may change roles to thatof presentation tools and Level I uses.

Advantages of IVD Technology

IVD supports a variety of applications for teachers and stu-dents. The control options, as well as the unlimited creativepotential of repurposing videodiscs by selecting bar codesfrom them, allow this tool to integrate effectively into mostcurricula. Advantages of IVD include the following:

■ Dual audio tracks. Developers often use the secondtrack to play program audio in a second language (usu-ally Spanish) or to include a simpler or more detailedversion of the presentation. The teacher can then letsome students listen to one track through headphoneswhile the rest of the class listens to the other trackthrough the monitor.

■ Ease of use. Most teachers and students feel comfort-able enough to begin using Level I IVD technologywith only a few hours of training. However, they may

become fully comfortable only after many hours of use.Some schools allow teachers to check out videodiscplayers for practice at home as a means of encouragingthem to use the equipment in their classrooms.

■ Quality. High-resolution video images and audio clipsstored on videodiscs provide much higher quality thanvideocassette tapes. Videodiscs also beat the quality ofdigitized video displayed directly on computer monitors.

■ Durability. Since videodiscs are read with a laserbeam, they suffer no real wear and tear with normaluse. Discs are coated with plastic that generally pro-tects them from small scratches or fingerprints. Theyare certain to last longer than videotapes or films.

Disadvantages of IVD Technology

■ Cost. The cost of some videodisc programs can bequite high (e.g., $300 to $500 or more). This presentsa big problem when a school’s media purchasers seethese programs simply as videos. Someone who canpay $49.95 for a videotape may balk at the cost of avideodisc. Schools should evaluate these higher endvideodisc programs as curriculum packages, ratherthan just discs.

■ Read only. The videodisc is a read-only technology,which means that users cannot record information.This is an obvious disadvantage compared to the VCRor writable CDs.

■ Hardware-intensive systems for Level III. A Level IIIsetup includes a videodisc player, monitor, computer,and cables. Teachers often find it burdensome to gatherall of this equipment in one place. Some schools haveopted to create portable multimedia stations that caneasily be transported from one classroom to another.Level III interactivity also presents a cumbersome inter-face for the user who must pay attention to two moni-tors—the computer screen and the television screen.

■ Maintenance costs. Videodisc players can be expen-sive to repair, and users should handle them with care.However, the industrial players sold to schools are de-signed to be more durable than home players.

■ Limited video capacity. Although videodiscs providetremendous storage capacity for still frames, whenplayed as continuous video, the CAV format offersonly 30 minutes per side. A complete movie can fillthree, four, or even five separate discs.

Classroom Uses of IVD Systems

Using bar codes. Users can scan bar codes to accesschapters, individual frames, or segments of video on bothCLV and CAV discs. (See Figure 7.4.) The bar codes looklike UPC codes on commercial-use products. The bar-code reader that interprets the patterns of stripes resem-bles the technology in many stores. Bar codes are consid-ered the easiest way to access information from videodisc.They simplify control of the technology so the teacher can


concentrate on interacting with the students without worry-ing about entering frame or chapter numbers with a remotecontrol device. Vendors have taken advantage of these ca-pabilities and now include bar codes with most Level I pro-grams. A good example of the power of bar codes emergedwhen Optical Data Corporation upgraded its Windows onScience program. By indexing discs with bar codes, thecompany turned a potentially cumbersome program intoone that teachers find both exciting and easy to use.

A number of software packages for Macintosh, Win-dows, and DOS systems (Bar’n’Coder 3.0, Barcode Maker,Lesson Maker) enable users to create bar codes forvideodiscs. Most of these programs work similarly. Theuser enters the frame or time-code numbers to display andthen types in a descriptor for the bar code. At the user’scommand to make the bar code, the program either prints itout or exports it to a word processing document.

Once the bar code is generated, it can be used in manyways. A teacher might create bar codes that access data on avideodisc dealing with geography and then glue the barcodes on appropriate parts of maps. This becomes an explo-ration center for students. Another instructor might use thecomputer to paste the bar code into a word processing fileand then scan it during a teacher-directed activity. Bar-codesoftware can also make bar codes for an audio CD. Videodiscplayers sold since 1992 support the LB2 standard. They canplay audio CDs under control of bar codes that match thestandard. The “address” for the audio CD shows up on theTV monitor hooked up to the videodisc player. Users can en-ter this information into the bar-code program as they do fora videodisc frame to get to a specific part of the audio CD.

Interactive curriculum. Perhaps the most ambitious use ofvideodisc technology has been the development of entirecurriculum packages around Level I technology. Examplesinclude Optical Data Corporation’s Windows on Science pro-gram, now in wide use, with Windows on Math and Windowson Social Studies. Some states now allow school districts toadopt these programs in lieu of textbooks. D. C. Heath’s In-teractions program uses video technology to bring interac-tive examples of math applications in real-world settings.

Problem solving. Discs such as Videodiscovery’s ScienceSleuths (see Figure 7.5) and Math Sleuths provide studentswith mysteries to solve. The videodisc programs offer cluesin the form of interviews, textual and numeric data, photo-graphs, and diagrams. The teacher plays an active role inguiding students via questioning techniques and just-in-time teaching.

Simulations. Optical Data’s Adventures of Jasper Wood-bury teaches middle school math with a series of simulatedscenarios. Students solve real-world applied math prob-lems by retrieving data embedded in the stories. Bar-codetechnology comes in handy, since it enables students to re-view segments from the story as needed. It is designed sothat the teacher can stop the action and teach certain mathtechniques just when needed to solve techniques problems.

Visual databases. Visual databases are collections of in-dividual pictures and short video segments. BioSci II wasone of the earliest examples of this type of program. Thesedatabases are perhaps most useful in the areas of scienceand art and provide a wealth of resources for both teacherpresentations and student projects.

Movies and documentaries. Schools can choose fromthousands of movies, documentaries, and other general-usevideodiscs at reasonable prices. These resources can yieldtremendous educational benefits. Through the search featurecontrolled by the remote control, a teacher can access anyframe or segment of a disc almost instantly. The random-access capability of the technology holds great promise forencouraging sound pedagogical uses of video as opposed toplaying movies straight through.


Figure 7.4 Bar-Code Reader

Source: Used with permission from Optical Data Corporation.

Figure 7.5 Videodiscovery’s videodisc Science Sleuths

Source: Used with permission from Videodiscovery.

7.4

TECHNOLOGY

INTEGRATION

IDEA

7.4

7.3

TECHNOLOGY

INTEGRATION

IDEA

7.3

Student presentations. Videodiscs allow students to cre-ate their own illustrated presentations on topics they haveresearched or books they have read (Thorpe, 1993). This isa kind of repurposing, in which students present selectedframes to support and enhance their reports.

Integration Strategies for IVD Systems

Technology Integration Ideas 7.3 and 7.4 illustrate some ofthe many current uses for IVD multimedia/hypermedia re-sources.


Hypermedia Projects with Commercial IVD SystemsTITLE: A Capital Idea—Problem Solving with Jasper Woodbury

CONTENT AREA/TOPIC: Mathematics in problem solving

GRADE LEVEL: Middle school

NETS FOR STUDENTS: Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6

DESCRIPTION: The activity described here is based on one of the Jasper Woodbury videodisc scenarios,“A Capital Idea.” The problem the students must solve is to replace money the city can no longer pro-vide to support class trips. The students are challenged to propose a citywide recycling plan to raise thefunds and present the plan to the mayor. The emphasis in this activity is on group work and cooperation.Before beginning the work, the teacher divides the students into small groups and tells them they shoulddevelop collaborative skills within their team of listening, sharing ideas, and encouraging participation.They discuss what these skills look like in action and that working together is important to solving theproblem. Then they begin the seven-stage activity: Focus (watch the video), gather information to solvethe problem, organize the information and determine what is missing, analyze information for relation-ships, review the video for further information, synthesize information and form a problem solution, andprepare presentations that provide a problem solution.

Source: Brown, J. M., and Verhey, R. (1997). A capital idea: Project-based mathematics learning. Learning and Leading with Technology, 25(3), 31–37.

Hypermedia Projects with Commercial IVD SystemsTITLE: The Salt Quest—A Persuasive Presentation

CONTENT AREA/TOPIC: The Environment

GRADE LEVEL: Fifth through twelfth

NETS FOR STUDENTS: Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6

DESCRIPTION: Pass out a copy of the following scenario to the students. Ask them to read it.

Military commands all over the world are in a state of high alert. A fleet of alien spacecraft hasbeen lurking just outside earth’s atmosphere for the past two days. An organization called“What’s Up”—a think tank composed of highly educated men and women who for years havebeen convinced that extraterrestrial life exists—was asked to contact the aliens to see what theywanted. The spacecraft are from a planet called Nacl, which is in another solar system. The in-habitants of Nacl require tremendous amounts of salt to exist. They are getting close to de-pleting their own supplies and have been on a long search for new supplies. They have noticedthat the earth’s oceans are full of salt, so they thought that they would help themselves to thishuge supply. You are a committee of “What’s Up” members that must persuade the Naclitesthat it would not be a good idea to mine the salt from the oceans. The Naclites are reasonablebeings who, it is thought, will move on to other places if they realize that mining the oceanswould kill off millions of beautiful creatures. “What’s Up” is charged with putting together apresentation that will convince the Naclites that the sea life on earth is too magnificent to besacrificed just to satisfy their need for salt. The members decide that the presentation must havevisuals, and Level I interactive video would be the best media to use.


Three Kinds of Multimedia/HypermediaAuthoring Systems

Background on Multimedia/Hypermedia AuthoringSystems

One of the most amazing things about how multimediasystems have evolved is that people with fairly nontech-nical skill levels now can develop their own complex,professional-looking hypermedia products. Perhaps mostimportantly for schools, hypermedia authoring may play amajor role in preparing students for the information-intensive and visually oriented world of the future. In to-morrow’s digital world, powerful personal computers andubiquitous electronic networking will allow people to in-corporate a variety of media into their communications. In-deed, hypermedia publishing may eventually supersede pa-per publishing in importance and impact. Three kinds ofmultimedia/hypermedia authoring tools for use by bothteachers and students are described in this chapter:

■ Presentation software■ Video production and editing systems■ Hypermedia authoring software.

Although these systems vary in capability and author-ing procedures, all allow people to summarize and displayinformation and knowledge using a combination of text,video, animation, music, graphics, and sound effects. Thearray of skills and resources that students and teachers willneed in order to use any of these three categories of author-ing tools are described here. In addition, integration strate-gies common to all of these authoring formats are discussed.

Hypermedia Authoring Resources

Over time, hypermedia programs have become increasinglymore powerful and user friendly, and are adding featuresand capabilities with every new version released. Authorsnow can draw on a wide variety of resources to put a fullrange of sound and motion in their hypermedia products.The newest feature available in hypermedia authoring is theability to insert Internet links into products. Users can clickon these links and go immediately from software screen toInternet site. This section describes some of the other com-mon resources available in hypermedia authoring.

Audio resources. Hypermedia authoring programs offerusers a number of ways to incorporate audio clips.

■ CD audio. Cards include segments of audio CDs inCD-ROM drives or videodisc players. CDs providedigitized music, speech, or sound effects.

■ Videodiscs. Rather than playing both the video and au-dio tracks of a videodisc, authors may choose to leavethe video and access the audio track alone.

■ Recorded sounds. Hypermedia programs usually al-low authors to record sound into their programs. This

can include voice, such as when an author records hisor her reading of a poem or directions to students.

■ Prerecorded sounds. Many hypermedia authoringprograms come with built-in selections of sound ef-fects. Authors can also add sounds from packaged col-lections sometimes called “clip sounds,” which arestored on disk or CD-ROMs.

Video resources. Motion video clips can add a whole newdimension to a program and provide authors with manynew communication possibilities. As with audio, authorshave several options for incorporating video displays into aproduct:

■ Digitized videos. By using a video digitizer, a hyper-media author can import video images from externalsources such as a VCR, a videodisc, or a camcorder.Programs such as Quicktime allow authors to createand edit their own short videoclips (movies) and placethem on cards. Teachers and students need to observecopyright laws when importing video in this manner.Digitized video also consumes a great deal of harddrive storage space, thus limiting the amount of videothat can realistically be incorporated into a program.An external hard drive offers one solution to this prob-lem; removable cartridge systems are very effective inthis role, although the costs for the individual car-tridges can be quite high. In the future, more efficientvideo compression routines promise greater latitudefor hypermedia authors.

■ Videodiscs. Most hypermedia programs enable au-thors to access either individual slides or segments ofvideo from videodiscs. This can prove a big advantagedue to the high quality of audio and video recordingsfrom videodiscs.

■ Prerecorded videos on CD-ROMs. Authors can buycollections of short videoclips on CD-ROM to incor-porate into hypermedia programs. No copyrights in-hibit use of these images, giving authors much moreleeway in their presentations.

Photographs. A picture is worth a thousand words in hy-permedia, as much as elsewhere. Photographs provide apowerful resource for authors in all subject areas.

■ Scanned photos. Authors can digitize traditional pho-tographs using scanners and then incorporate these im-ages into hypermedia stacks.

■ Captured from video sources. By using a video dig-itizer, an author can freeze images from a VCR, cam-corder, or videodisc player and then import them.

■ Digital cameras. These cameras take digitized, colorpictures that can be added to hypermedia cards. Pic-tures can be downloaded directly from the camera tothe computer’s hard drive.

■ Imported from CD-ROMs. Collections of photo-graphs on CD-ROMs are marketed expressly for in-clusion in hypermedia programs.


Graphic images. Graphics or drawings offer another toolfor authors to communicate their ideas. Often an illustra-tion will demonstrate a point that is difficult to get acrosswith words. This aspect of hypermedia authoring is partic-ularly appealing to artistically inclined users.

■ Created by authors. Virtually all hypermedia pro-grams offer basic collections of tools that let usersdraw or paint graphics. These tools enable users witheven limited artistic talents to create credible designsand drawings.

■ Imported from clip art collections. A vast array of clipart collections are available for purchase. These pre-made graphics cover a wide assortment of subject areas.

■ Scanned images. As another alternative for accessinggraphics, an image can be scanned from either a bookof clip art or a drawing done in conventional art mediasuch as pencils or paintbrushes. Since computer accessoften is limited, some teachers prefer students to drawtheir pictures by hand and then digitize them usingscanners.

Animation. Animation is a highly effective tool for illus-trating a concept; a student might create an animation of aseed germinating as part of a project on plants. The sourcesof these displays are familiar.

■ Imported from CD-ROMs. Collections of animationare also available on CD-ROM. Like other media,these premade collections allow authors to rapidly addeffective and professional animations to a project.

■ Created using animation tools. Hypermedia pro-grams have improved dramatically in their animationcapabilities. A novice animator can now easily gener-ate sophisticated and effective animations.

Text. In spite of the attention paid to other components ofhypermedia, text still remains one of the most powerfulways of communicating ideas.

■ Writing as project develops. All hypermedia pro-grams offer standard word processing features that en-able users to write text. In addition, text may also beadded as a graphic item. This feature lets the user eas-ily drag text around the screen and is handy for addinglabels to pictures.

■ Importing from word processing files. Most pro-grams also let authors import text created separately inword processors. This can be a boon for an author whohas saved a great deal of writing in a large collection ofword processing files.

Hardware Requirements for Hypermedia Authoring

Although hypermedia authoring can be accomplished witha fairly minimal computer system, more complex productsrequire additional hardware and software capabilities. De-pending on the complexity of the product, some or all of thefollowing hardware resources are needed.

Computer with keyboard and monitor. Hypermedia de-velopment can be done on any platform as long as the sys-tem has a hard drive and sufficient random-access memory(RAM). The minimum requirements to utilize programslike HyperStudio or Macromedia Director are much moreaffordable for the average classroom than they used to be.

Digital camera. Cameras like the Apple QuickTake orSony Mavica let users take digital photographs and storethem as digital files. The images can then be incorporatedinto hypermedia projects. Students of all ages enjoy usingtheir own digital photographs in projects.

Scanner. If no digital camera is available, scanners can beused to digitize photos so they can be saved to a disk. Scan-ners also can capture still images from magazines or books.

Video digitizer. Video digitizers, also known as digitizingboards, capture full-motion video from video cameras,VCRs, videodisc players, or live TV. The video segmentsare then stored as computer files and can be edited usingsoftware like Adobe Premier. Both teachers and studentsshould recognize copyright restrictions when digitizing andediting video.

Camcorders and other video input. Video cameras orcamcorders, VCRs, videodiscs, or CD-ROMs are amongthe possible sources for motion video sequences to includein a production.

Audio card. To incorporate sound, an audio capture, play-back card, and audio source such as a microphone areneeded. Many computer systems sold in recent years havebuilt-in audio cards.

CD-ROM or DVD drive. CD-ROMs and/or DVDs are es-sential elements in multimedia technology, and, because oftheir huge storage capacity, they are the only technology forstoring large quantities of digitized video or audio. Hyper-media authors also can buy large collections of digitizedvideo, audio, and still image resources on these media.

Audio speakers. To monitor quality and simply to hear theaudio parts of a program, speakers are mandatory for hy-permedia development. Many newer computers are shippedwith either external or internal speakers.

Videodisc players. Videodiscs provide excellent re-sources for hypermedia authors. High-quality video or au-dio input can easily be accessed from any videodisc. Withthousands of videodisc titles on the market and existingvideodisc players in many schools, this technology willprove to be a valuable resource for years to come.

Hypermedia Authoring Procedures

Whether teachers are developing their own skills or those oftheir students, the hypermedia authoring process involves


two distinct phases. Initially, authors need to learn the me-chanics of the programs and develop their understanding ofthe concept of hypermedia. No one can develop a qualityproduct without first being reasonably comfortable with thetools. However, at the next level, hypermedia authors mustdevelop insights on the complexities of the various mediaand knowledge of visual and navigation design. This is along-term process that will emerge through a great deal ofexperience. A number of strategies can aid the classroomteacher in helping students use their time efficiently and fo-cus on developing quality products. Consider the followingsteps when students engage in hypermedia development:

1. Review others’products. An effective way of develop-ing authoring skills for beginners is to look at what oth-ers have done. This is particularly true with scripting.Evaluating the scripts of existing programs can give in-sight into how to write scripts for new projects. Throughthe Internet or commercial online services, teachers candownload stacks. This opens up a world of low-cost orfree hypermedia resources for both teachers and stu-dents. It is also helpful to examine some effective usesof media; Ken Burns’s series on the Civil War, for ex-ample, demonstrates the power of images and soundwhen melded together in the context of a story.

2. Do research first. Most hypermedia developmentprojects require research to locate materials and data,analyze their findings, and summarize them in a formatfor use in the hypermedia product. It is important to al-low adequate time for this research phase, for it is theheart of the learning activity.

3. Storyboard. Storyboarding helps students make betteruse of valuable computer time. On index cards or stickynotes, students can lay out what they want on each indi-vidual frame. But planning is the most difficult thing forstudents; they want to get right to the “fun stuff.” Moststudents prefer to develop only on the computer. Teach-ers must insist that on-paper planning be done first. Itmay help to explain that professional media creatorspractice storyboarding and that even famous movie di-rectors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielbergstoryboarded entire movies before doing a single cam-era shot because it saves time in the long run.

4. Develop individual frames. Before adding links orgraphics, students should develop each frame, includ-ing text fields.

5. Insert graphics. Add clip art, photos, animations,movies, and other media onto each card as needed tocarry out the design.

6. Add links and/or scripts. Only after all the cards havebeen developed and decorated should links be added.Most authoring software allows a storyboard format tosee most or all of the cards at one time. This and thecard or sticky-note storyboards help students keeplinks organized among cards.

7. Test and revise the product. After it is drafted, stu-dents should test their products, preferably with the

help of others who have not been involved in its de-velopment. The aim is to revise their products andmeet criteria outlined in a later section of this chapter,Evaluating Hypermedia Products. Rembelinsky(1997–1998) offers a development sequence designedspecifically for creating multimedia summaries ofproject-based research. She recommends students dosteps in each of the following general headings: writ-ten summary, historical background, creative narra-tive, scanned images, video, and self-evaluation.

Authoring Skills to Develop over Time

The beauty of hypermedia authoring is that students cancreate products with skills that range from basic to extraor-dinarily complex and sophisticated. Students may beginwith “the basics” and teachers can help them move on toadvanced techniques in several areas.

Media literacy. Given the complexities and proliferationof different media, an understanding of media basics willbecome a fundamental skill for the information age. Sincemost people will have tremendous capabilities to adapt andalter existing media in the near future, a critically importantpart of instruction in hypermedia authoring will focus onhow to be critical and ethical producers and consumers ofmedia (Roblyer, 1998).

Using music and art. Visual arts and music play majorroles in the effectiveness of hypermedia products. As stu-dents gain more knowledge in the theory and aesthetics ofmusic and art, they will use these resources more produc-tively in the authoring process.

Design principles. Many principles of desktop publishingalso apply to hypermedia designs. When students first seethe array of graphics and sound options available, they typ-ically overindulge and use so many colors, graphics, andsounds that content is overshadowed. Some of the designprinciples that can help guide more judicious use of theseoptions are described later in this chapter in the EvaluatingHypermedia Products section.

Creativity and novel thinking. When assessing studentprojects, look for and encourage creative uses of the poten-tial of hypermedia. Too many student projects resembleglorified paper-based projects; they do not take advantageof the true power of this medium. Classroom activities thatencourage creative and critical thinking in all subject areashelp develop skills and a mind-set that naturally enhancesthe authoring process.

Considering audience. Whenever possible, teachers shouldtry to give students an opportunity to display their projects.Students will be much more motivated if they believe theirwork is valued. Research on writing has shown that studentswill invest more effort in the writing process when they know


others will read their writing. Turner and Dipinto (1992) andothers have observed that this sense of audience carries overto hypermedia authoring. However, teachers sometimes findthat components of a student project make sense only to theauthor. Younger students in particular should be remindedconstantly that they need to think of their projects from theuser’s point of view. Encourage them to test their projects onother students, family, or friends.

Authoring Tools Type 1: Presentation SoftwareSystems

Presentation software packages such as Microsoft’s Power-Point help users create on-screen descriptions, demonstra-tions, and summaries of information. Presentation tools areone example of a technology that migrated from businessand industry to education. These tools were first adopted bybusiness executives and salespeople who used them to givereports at meetings and presentations to clients. Their ca-pabilities to demonstrate, illustrate, and clarify informationbecame evident and presentation tools began to make theirway into K–12 and university classrooms.

The programs allow a user to choose from an array oftext, graphics, animation, audio, and video options. Presen-tation tools began exclusively as “electronic slide shows,”but have evolved into multimedia authoring tools, whichallow users to incorporate motion sequences from CD-ROM and other video media into their presentations.

The effectiveness of a presentation tool dependslargely on the communications skills of the presenter. Forlarge classes and other groups, presentation software prod-ucts usually are used in conjunction with computer projec-tion systems. These may be devices such as LCD panels

that fit on top of overhead projectors or systems that oper-ate as stand-alone devices. All of these devices enlarge theimage produced by the software by projecting it from acomputer screen onto a wall screen.

While presentation software makes it possible for stu-dents and teachers to communicate in the “grammar ofmultimedia,” new users make some common “grammaticalmistakes.” Ten of the most common errors made by usersof presentation software are described in InSight 7.1.

Characteristics of presentation software. These pack-ages were originally designed to display in a linear se-quence and, even though they now offer branching by al-lowing authors to include clickable buttons or “hot spots,”many materials produced with presentation software retainthis linear characteristic. Presentation software also allowsauthors to include graphics of all kinds, audio and videoclips, and Internet links.

Presentation software packages. By far the most com-monly used presentation software is Microsoft’s Power-Point. (See Figure 7.6.) However, other packages such asKidPix and presentation options within integrated produc-tivity packages such as AppleWorks also offer similar “slideshow” capabilities.

Authoring Tools Type 2: Video Production and EditingSystems

Once the exclusive domain of Hollywood, movies andvideo sequences are now a growing presence in school ac-tivities. Students and teachers are using computer-basedvideo production and editing systems for a variety of pur-


INSIGHT 7.1

The Top Ten Mistakes Made by Users of Presentation SoftwareAll of the following are qualities that can interfere with

readability and/or communicating content during a PowerPoint-type presentation.

1. Type too small. Use at least a 32-point font; use larger typeif the audience is large and a long distance away from thepresenter.

2. Text and background don’t contrast. The audience can-not see text too similar in hue to the background. Use textwith high contrast to background (e.g., dark blue on white,black on yellow).

3. Too much text on one frame. The purpose of text is to fo-cus attention on main points, not present large amounts ofinformation. Ideas should be summarized in brief phrases.

4. Too many different items on one frame. Displaying toomany items on one frame can interfere with reading, espe-cially if some items are in motion. Frame designs should besimple, clear, and free of distractions.

5. Too many fancy fonts. Many fonts are unreadable whenprojected on a screen. Use a plain sans serif font for titles,a plain serif font for other text.

6. Gratuitous graphics. Graphics interfere with communica-tion when used solely for decoration. They should alwayshelp communicate the content.

7. Gratuitous sounds. Sounds interfere with communicationwhen used solely for effect. They should always help com-municate the content.

8. No graphics, just text. Well-chosen graphics can helpcommunicate messages. Text alone does not make best useof the capabilities of presentation software.

9. Presenting in a bright room. Frames can fade away if theroom is too bright. Cover windows and turn off lights dur-ing a presentation.

10. Reading text to audience. Do not read what the audiencecan read for themselves. Use text to guide main points ofdiscussion.

poses ranging from presenting the daily school news toteaching sophisticated video production skills.

Characteristics of Video Systems. Video editing systemsare to motion images what word processing is to text. Thenext decade likely will see an explosion in video editingand production to rival the rapid increase in word process-ing of documents. As Howard (2001) observed, video soft-ware can be very time consuming for anyone who wants todo high-quality videos, and especially so for novice users.However, schools across the country are beginning to usethese systems to produce school news programs and to de-velop digitized video for use in authoring hypermedia prod-ucts (Hoffenburg & Handler, 2001).

The main purpose of these software systems is to takevideo into a computer from a source such as a camcorder andchange it into digital format (AVI or MPEG files), which al-lows it to be edited and combined with special effects suchas titles, screen fades, and voice-over audio. It also allows theresulting digitized video clips to be inserted in a multimediapackage or uploaded to the Internet. An example of a movieframe in a video editing screen is shown in Figure 7.7. At thebottom of the figure are two tracks, audio and video. By slid-ing markers on these tracks, students can cut, copy, and/orpaste sections of a video and/or combine them with specialeffects such as fades or background music.

Current Video Editing Software Packages. When AppleComputer included a free copy of its video production soft-ware iMovie with some of its computer systems, it heralded

the beginning of widespread interest in video editing amongeducators and other consumers. In addition to iMovie, pop-ular editing software also includes the following:

■ Adobe Premiere (Adobe)■ Avid Xpress (AVID Technology)■ EditStudio (Pure Motion)■ Final Cut Pro (Apple, Inc.)■ Cute Video (Litora, Inc.).

Joss (2001) also recommends several other hardwareand software options for video production.

Authoring Tools Type 3: Hypermedia Software

Characteristics of Hypermedia Authoring Software. Inthe late 1980s, early hypermedia authoring programs in-cluded HyperCard for Macintosh, LinkWay for MS-DOSmachines, and TutorTech for Apple II. These programsrepresented a major jump forward in technology, but be-cause authors had to make major time commitments tolearn and use the software, their use was limited. Thingsbegan to change when Roger Wagner’s HyperStudio wasreleased. This program used the same basic “card andstack” metaphor as HyperCard but eliminated much of theneed for extensive scripting or for programming com-mands. In recent years, a number of programs have be-come available that emulate HyperStudio’s easy-to-useformat. As computer power increases and becomes moreaffordable, even more sophisticated and easy-to-use pro-grams than the ones described here have become available.


Figure 7.6 Sample PowerPoint Screen

However, teachers also can choose simpler products suchas Brøderbund’s KidPix or the slideshow option in Apple-Works.

A trend in multimedia software is toward increasinglyhigher end, more capable software such as Macromedia Au-thorware. Also, many multimedia packages (e.g., Macro-media Director Shockwave Studio) are moving toward in-cluding web page authoring and 3D production. Use ofthese latter packages in education is limited, but they areseeing increasing integration into high school technologyeducation programs.

Current Hypermedia Authoring Software. Most classroom-based multimedia/hypermedia authoring is donewith software such as the following:

■ HyperStudio (Roger Wagner, Inc.). One of the mostinnovative products on the market for Mac and Windowscomputers, this product (See Figure 7.8) has developeda large following among teachers. It remains the mostused multimedia authoring system in education.

■ MicroWorlds Project Builder (LCSI). The unique em-phasis on Logo gives users experience at simple pro-gramming. Separate packages are also sold as MathProject Builder and Language Arts Project Builder.

■ Multimedia Toolbook (Asymetrix). This Windows pro-gram features video editing software, support for manyfile formats, and a Media Packager that gathers andcompresses multimedia elements for a given product.

■ Digital Chisel (Pierian Spring Software). A powerfulproduct for Macintosh, this program supports full text-

to-speech capability and includes question templatesfor developing tests.

■ Macromedia Authorware. This authoring package hasfeatures ranging from animations to streaming video.

■ Macromedia Director. This very capable and complexfull-featured system is for developing multimediaproducts and includes video.

■ Mpower (Tom Snyder). This is one of the newer au-thoring packages and emphasizes ease of use and ready-to-use materials for inexperienced developers.

Integration Strategies for Hypermedia Authoring

Multimedia and hypermedia development projects are tak-ing the place of many traditional activities to accomplish


Audio andvideo tracks

Figure 7.7 Movie Screen from iMovie Video Editing Program

Figure 7.8 HyperStudio Multimedia/HypermediaAuthoring Software

Source: Used with permission from Roger Wagner, Inc.

the same purposes. Some common classroom applicationsof multimedia and hypermedia are described here.

■ Electronic portfolios. Student portfolios have becomemore common for assessment purposes, and multime-dia/hypermedia have assumed a central role in portfoliodevelopment. Many teachers also are required to de-velop portfolios to document their teaching methods inpreparation for promotion or additional certification.Portfolios are being done on all three of the multime-dia/hypermedia formats described here (presentationsoftware, video systems, and multimedia/hypermediaauthoring software), although web-based portfolios alsoare becoming increasingly popular. (See InSight 3.12 inChapter 3.) Many authoring programs such as Hyper-Studio include player files that run program files withoutthe application itself. This is particularly useful when astudent wants to take a project home and run it on thefamily computer or take it to a college or job interview.

■ Multimedia slideshows. Although slideshow projectsfrequently call for presentations that are linear in format,they can be useful to help younger students develop be-ginning multimedia creation skills, since the focus is onthe basic skills of writing text and screen design. Mon-ahan and Susong (1996) describe how students devel-oped simple slideshows to display their findings onwildlife. Harrison (1998–1999) describes other instruc-tional uses of presentation software across the curricu-lum, and Brown (1998) describes effective uses of pres-entation software in a one-computer classroom.

■ Slideshow reviews and drills. Many teachers report asimple, but highly effective use of PowerPoint andother presentation software. They set up a computer inthe classroom to display automatically advancingframes of spelling words, vocabulary words, mathfacts, and information such as daily announcements.According to teachers who have used these strategies,students seem to attend to and retain much of what theysee on these slideshows.

■ Tutorials. Both teachers and students can create multi-media instructional sequences that step the user throughthe components of a subject. Figure 7.9 shows two cardsfrom a HyperStudio tutorial on the instruments in an or-chestra. In this product, the user may click on an instru-ment to hear it play and to read more about it.

■ Book reports. Instead of presenting book reports ver-bally or as written summaries, it is becoming increas-ingly common for students to report on their readingthrough multimedia slideshows or as hypermediaproducts. Teachers often design a standard format ortemplate, and students fill in the required informationand add their own illustrations.

■ Research presentations. Scholten and Whitmer(1996), Bennett and Diener (1997), and Stuhlmann(1997) point out that hypermedia presentations notonly let students present their findings attractively andwith impact, the act of producing and sharing whatthey have learned also helps students learn even moreabout the topics and enhance their research, study, andcommunication skills.

■ Created tours. Hypermedia products are an effectiveway to document field trips because they let otherstake virtual “trips” to the locations.

■ Interactive storybooks. Fredrickson (1997) describesa use that builds on the book report purpose. Studentsdocument existing stories or write their own so theycan be read interactively by others. Those readingthese hypermedia stories can click on various placeson the screen to hear or see parts of a story. This for-mat also lets students go beyond one basic sequenceand create their own branches and endings to stories.

■ School yearbooks. Although still a relative novelty,more and more schools are developing their yearbooksas hypermedia products (Kwajewski, 1997).

■ School news reports and announcements. Manymiddle and secondary schools are beginning to usevideo cameras and video editing software to produce a


Figure 7.9 HyperStudio Stack: The Sections of the Orchestra by Jolaine Sims

Source: Used with permission from Jolaine Sims.

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7.5

daily news show. These productions “star” the studentsthemselves, and students also do the camera and edit-ing work. New shows offer valuable opportunities tohelp students develop their on-camera presentationskills, as well as their technical production skills.

Procedures for Implementing Hypermedia Authoring

Like most technology resources, the impact of multimediasystems will depend heavily on how well teachers integratethem into classroom activities. Blissett and Atkins (1993)suggest that the following points are important for teachersto keep in mind when integrating interactive multimediainto the classroom:

■ Provide guidance and further explanation on the natureof the task when a group gets stuck or, worse, misun-derstands what to do.

■ Check that the software package provides advance or-ganizers for its conceptual content.

■ Individualize the learning experience by assessinglearning as it occurs and then intervening to link andrelate or extend and consolidate concepts to meet theneeds of particular pupils or groups.

■ Ask open-ended questions that require pupils to ver-balize their thought processes and review their under-standing of the conceptual subject matter.

■ Challenge and provoke thinking, leading to more ab-stract and conceptual discussions.

■ Help the group to review its problem-solving strate-gies and direct them toward more powerful ones.

■ Before assigning hypermedia projects, do training ingroup-work skills.

As Blissett and Adkins point out, teachers must pre-pare students well for hypermedia authoring activities byteaching them the technical skills they need and by setting

well-defined parameters for the project. This is especiallytrue for younger students and for all students doing suchprojects for the first time. Technology Integration Ideas 7.5through 7.9 illustrate some of the many current uses formultimedia/hypermedia authoring resources ranging fromPowerPoint to Macromedia Director.

Evaluating Hypermedia Products

Evaluating Commercial Hypermedia Products

To derive criteria to use in evaluating multimedia soft-ware, Gibbs, Graves, and Bernas (2000) used Delphi sur-veys of a panel of instructional technology experts. Per-haps not surprisingly, the list of criteria (see AppendixFigure A.7) emphasizes the instructional and pedagogicalaspects of the products rather than their multimedia char-acteristics. The result is a list similar to that found inChapter 4 for instructional software.

Evaluating Student-Developed Hypermedia

Dipinto and Turner (1995) suggest that student self-assessment of hypermedia projects may be the most impor-tant component of the assessment process, saying that per-haps it enables students to construct a microworld whereassessment becomes a feedback mechanism, leading to fur-ther exploration and collaboration (p. 11). Several authorshave developed criteria and rubrics for assessing the qualityof students’ hypermedia products. Litchfield (1995), Brun-ner (1996), and Clark (1996) describe qualities to look forin effective products. These are summarized in AppendixFigure A.8.


Hypermedia Projects with Electronic Encyclopedias andPowerPointTITLE: Selling a Space Mission

CONTENT AREA/TOPIC: History/science

GRADE LEVEL: Middle school


DESCRIPTION: This activity asks students to design, write, edit, and publish a brochure and prepare aPowerPoint presentation to “sell” a space research project. Students pair up into space mission planningteams. Each team conceptualizes a mission that would accomplish both scientific and social goals thatthe public could enthusiastically support, with the right encouragement. Then students “sell” their spacemission. The teacher uses the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia or another such resource, along with anoverhead projection device or large monitor, to take a journey through the history of space exploration,from the Sputnik days of the 1960s through the Apollo moon mission, the Challenger disaster, and to therecent remote-robot exploration of Mars. When students design their brochure, they can paste in picturesfrom the encyclopedia to illustrate their slides.

Source: Based on a lesson from Microsoft Productivity in the Classroom. Copyright 1997 by the Microsoft Corporation.

7.8

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INTEGRATION

IDEA

7.8

7.7

TECHNOLOGY

INTEGRATION

IDEA

7.7

7.6

TECHNOLOGY

INTEGRATION

IDEA

7.6


Hypermedia Authoring Software—KidPix Slideshows with VideoTITLE: Using QuickTime movies and KidPix in an Animal Alphabet Project

CONTENT AREA/TOPIC: Prereading skills

GRADE LEVEL: Kindergarten and first


DESCRIPTION: Students combine digital photos, QuickTime videos, and text in KidPix to prepare mul-timedia presentations on the alphabet. During the year, students learn the letters of the alphabet by match-ing letters to animal names, and then learn the American sign language hand sign for the sounds. Theymake clay models of their animals, and the teacher makes digital photos of the animal models. With theteacher’s help, students open their pictures in KidPix and stamp the initial letter of the animal around thepicture. Finally, teachers videotape students naming the letters, their initial sounds, and the related signlanguage hand signs for that letter. The videos are made into QuickTime videos and inserted into the Kid-Pix frames to complete the product: a KidPix slide show.

Source: Kampman, M. (1998–1999). Fat crayon multimedia digital toolbox. Learning and Leading with Technology, 26(4), 36–39, 48.

Hypermedia Authoring Software—HyperStudio StacksTITLE: A Student Autobiography

CONTENT AREA/TOPIC: Writing/language arts

GRADE LEVEL: Fifth through eighth


DESCRIPTION: This activity begins with students researching their family backgrounds. This activityshould employ a questionnaire that students help generate. They take home the questionnaire and get helpfrom relatives with filling out details of their lives. The teacher may suggest or require that the projectscontain some or all of the following information:

■ Events that happened the year they were born; these may be drawn from newspapers, almanacs,magazines, or parents’ recollections

■ Their interests and hobbies■ Information about the town where they were born■ Family tree diagrams■ Top 10 lists, including books, foods, movies, songs, people, and sports teams■ Scanned-in photos.

Students use an authoring software like HyperStudio to develop their products. The project culminateswith an open house for relatives to view the autobiographies.


Hypermedia Authoring Software—QuickTime VideoTITLE: Using QuickTime Movies in a Monarch Butterfly Project

CONTENT AREA/TOPIC: Science/biology

GRADE LEVEL: Elementary


DESCRIPTION. After visiting several Internet sites to learn more about Monarch butterflies, childrenvideotape the development of the butterfly as it goes through the four stages of metamorphosis. The re-sulting movies are placed on a web page to share with other classes.

Source: Stuhlmann, J. (1997). Butterflies: Using multimedia to capture a unique science project. Learning and Leading with Technology, 25(3), 22–27.

7.9

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INTEGRATION

IDEA

7.9

Record and apply what you have learned.

Self-TestTo review terms and concepts in this chapter, take the Chapter 7self-test. Select Chapter 7 from the front page of the CompanionWebsite (http://www.prenhall.com/roblyer), then choose the Mul-tiple Choice module.

Portfolio ActivitiesThe following activities address ISTE National Educa-

tional Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) and will helpyou add to your professional portfolio. To complete these activi-ties online and save or submit the materials electronically, selectChapter 7 from the front page of the Companion Website (http://www.prenhall.com/roblyer), then choose the Portfolio module.

1. Defining Multimedia and Hypermedia (NETS-T Stan-dards: I-B, V-A) Use a presentation software to develop achart, diagram, or other graphic presentation that comparesand contrasts multimedia and hypermedia. List or describethe defining qualities they share and those that make themdifferent from each other.

2. Hypermedia Professional Self-Description (NETS-T Stan-dard: V-A) Use a hypermedia authoring program (any of the

three types) to develop a presentation that introduces yourprofessional background, skills, and plans for the future. Usestoryboards or sticky notes to storyboard the design and lay-out for your presentation. Review your product and makesure it meets the criteria given in this chapter.

Questions for Thought and DiscussionThese questions may be used for small group or class discussionor may be subjects for individual or group activities. To take partin these discussions online, select Chapter 7 from the front pageof the Companion Website (http://www.prenhall.com/roblyer),then choose the Message Board module.

1. Mergendollar (1997) said that multimedia environments arean “equivocal blessing” because they give us a bounty of in-formation without indicators of its quality, accuracy, or use-fulness. What are the possible consequences to education ofour increasing wealth of unevaluated multimedia informa-tion?

2. Boyle (1997) said that, “Multimedia learning is not some-thing new. It is woven into the fabric of our childhood”(p. ix). What do you think Boyle meant by that, and what im-plications might his observation have for enhancing chil-dren’s learning experiences?


Hypermedia Authoring with High-End Authoring SystemsTITLE: Quilting Our History

CONTENT AREA/TOPIC: U.S. history and multimedia design

GRADE LEVEL: High school


DESCRIPTION: Students develop high-end multimedia design skills as they create a CD-ROM “quilt”that describes local history.

This schoolwide project required a great deal of planning and collaboration among teachers in sev-eral content areas, but the basic goal was to document the history of the local area and the families whosepersonal histories were intertwined with the history of the region. After all the content area teachersworked together to decide on the project design and how it would be carried out, students formed teamsto accomplish the production tasks: researching information about the history of the local region and thefamilies, geometric design of quilted squares to represent various families, gathering video documenta-tion, and multimedia design. This project used a high-end multimedia software (Macromedia Director)along with Adobe PhotoShop and 3D and audio packages. The technology education classes carried outthe actual multimedia design and production.

Source: van Buren, C., & Aufdenspring, D. (1998). Quilting our history: An integrated schoolwide project. Learning and Leading with Technology, 27(5), 22–27.

Exercises

Collaborative Activities

The following activities address ISTE National Educational Tech-nology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) and may be developedin small group work. Completed group products may be copiedand shared with the entire class and/or included in each person’spersonal portfolio. Remember that most hypermedia authoring

systems provide a free player that can play these student-producedproducts.

1. Create a Level I Presentation (NETS-T Standards: I-B;II-C, D; IV-A; V-A) Use a videodisc to design and present a

persuasive presentation. The topic will depend on the disc;examples include:

Drug and tobacco use: Teenagers should not start smok-ing.

Solar system/space travel: The U.S. government shouldexpand its space program.

American history: The United States should/should nothave dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.

2. Develop a Hypermedia Teaching System (NETS-T Stan-dards: I-B; II-C, D; IV-A; V-A) The class divides into smallgroups to create a hypermedia instructional product to teachothers about hypermedia authoring. Each group takes a topicand the class puts the products together at the end. For ex-ample, groups may select one of the one following topics:■ What topics lend themselves to hypermedia? Ideas and

examples■ An overview of the components of a hypermedia product

■ A review of development steps■ A review of effective screen design procedures■ How to add graphic images, movies, animation, and

videoclips■ Criteria and strategies to use when assessing hypermedia

products.

3. Multimedia/Hypermedia Lesson Plans (NETS-T Stan-dards: II-A, B; III-B, C; V-A) Using the integration ideasin this chapter as models and idea sources, develop a class-room integration lesson plan to teach content area skills us-ing one of the following resources:■ CD-ROM or DVD encyclopedia, almanac, or atlas refer-

ence materials■ Level I videodisc curriculum package■ Presentation software such as PowerPoint■ Video production and editing software■ Hypermedia authoring system such as HyperStudio.


References

Adams, G. L. (1992). Why interactive? Multimedia & VideodiscMonitor, 10(2), 20–25, 29.

Bagui, S. (1998). Reasons for increased learning usingmultimedia. Journal of Educational Multimedia andHypermedia, 7(1), 3–18.

Bennett, N., & Diener, K. (1997). Habits of mind: Usingmultimedia to enhance learning skills. Learning and Leadingwith Technology, 24(6), 18–21.

Blissett, G. & Atkins, M. (1993). Are they thinking? Are theylearning? A study of the use of interactive video. Computersand Education, 21(1–2), 31–39.

Boyle, T. (1997). Design for multimedia learning. London:Prentice Hall.

Brown, C. A. (1998). Presentation software and the singlecomputer. Learning and Leading with Technology, 26(2), 18–21.

Brunner, C. (1996). Judging student multimedia. ElectronicLearning, 15(6), 14–15.

Bush, V. (1986). As we may think. In S. Lambert & S.Ropiequet (Eds.), CD-ROM: The new papyrus. Redmond,WA: Microsoft Press. [Reprinted from The Atlantic Monthly,1945, 176(1), 101–108.]

Clark, J. (1996). Bells and whistles . . . but where are thereferences: Setting standards for hypermedia projects.Learning and Leading with Technology, 23(5), 22–24.

Dede, C. (1994). Making the most of multimedia. Multimediaand learning: A school leader’s guide, Alexandria, VA:NSBA.

Dillon, A., & Gabbard, R. (1998). Hypermedia as an educationaltechnology: A review of the quantitative research literatureon learner comprehension, control, and style. Review ofEducational Research, 68(3), 322–349.

Dipinto, V., & Turner, S. (1995). Zapping the hypermedia zoo:Assessing the students’ hypermedia projects. The ComputingTeacher, 22(7), 8–11.

Doty, D., Popplewell, S., & Byers, G. (2001). Interactive CD-ROM storybooks and young readers’ reading comprehension.Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 33(4),374–384.

Frederickson, S. (1997). Interactive multimedia storybooks.Learning and Leading with Technology, 25(1), 6–10.

Galbreath, J. (1997). Multimedia communications: An update onstandards. Educational Technology, 39(2), 49–55.

Integrating Technology Across the Curriculum Activities

The Integrating Technology Across the Curriculum CD-ROM is aset of technology integration ideas and links to online lessons,arranged as a searchable database. The CD comes packaged withthis textbook. Complete the following exercise using this CD.

What role can multimedia/hypermedia play in your own con-tent area? Select a content area and locate a technology integra-tion idea for each of the five types of multimedia/hypermedia.Make a chart listing the types and the integration ideas.

Sample Integration Ideas for Hypermedia in Social Studies

Types of Hypermedia Tools Name of Integration Idea

Commercial software package

Commercial IVD

Authoring: presentation

Authoring: video

Authoring: hypermedia


Gibbs, W., Graves, P., & Bernas, R. (2000). Identifyingimportant criteria for multimedia instructional coursewareevaluation. Journal of Computing in Higher Education,12(1), 84–106.

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Glasgow, J. (1997). Keep up the good work! Using multimediato build reading fluency and enjoyment. Learning andLeading with Technology, 24(5), 22–25.

Gustafson, K., & Smith, M. (1995). Using a bar-code readerwith interactive videodiscs. TechTrends, 40(1), 29–32.

Harrison, A. (1998–1999). Power up! Stimulating your studentswith PowerPoint. Learning and Leading with Technology,26(4), 6–9.

Hoffenburg, H., & Handler, M. (2001). Digital video goes toschool. Learning and Leading with Technology, 29(2),10–15.

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Litchfield, B. (1995). Helping your students plan computerprojects. The Computing Teacher, 22(7), 37–43.

Lookatch, R. (1997). Multimedia improves learning: Apples,oranges, and the Type I error. Contemporary Education,68(2), 110–113.

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APPENDIX

Instructional planning. Target audience and prerequisite skills are specified.

Support. Computer hardware and software requirements are specified.

Instructional adequacy. Instructional objectives are clearly stated. Practice activities are provided that actively involve thelearner. Instructional activities needed to complete learning tasks are made explicit.

Information content. Information is current and accurately represents the topic. Examples, practice exercises, and feedbackare meaningful and relevant.

Information reliability. Information is accurate, that is presented in a truthful, valid way.

Clear, concise, and unbiased language. Courseware content (text, pictorial, graphical, auditory, and video information) ispresented clearly.

Interface design and navigation. Courseware screen elements (titles, text areas, navigation buttons, etc.) are easy tounderstand. Directions are understandable.

Feedback and interactivity. If tests are present, they are matched to objectives. Feedback is appropriate to content, learningtasks, learner response, and learning environment.

Evidence of effectiveness. During student uses of courseware, there is evidence of learning/performance gains. The coursewaresupplies information to teachers and students on how it measures student learning.

Figure A.7 Criteria for Evaluating Commercial Multimedia Software Products

Source: Based on Gibbs, Graves, and Bernas, 2000, p. 102.

24

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APPENDIX

Language

_____ No ethnic, slang, or rude names; content presented in a professional way

_____ Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar

_____ No questionable vocabulary, slang terms, or curse words

Type and Font

_____ Controlled use of fonts and type sizes (no more than 2–3 in product)

_____ Type large enough to read when projected

_____ Color contrasts with background for easy reading

_____ Bold or plain for writing main text; avoid shadow and outline for more than a few words

_____ Have only brief main ideas in each frame; do not have paragraphs of text; save explanations for your presentation

Graphics, Visuals, and Sound

_____ Content includes text, graphics, visuals, and sound; each frame contains text and graphics

_____ Graphics, visuals, and sound are appropriate to the topic, add to your project, and help communicate the informationrelevant to the topic

_____ No obscene or rude graphics or visuals

_____ Controlled, nondistracting use of screen changes such as wipes, zooms, and fades

_____ Buttons on each card; each works as indicated

_____ Pictures and sounds associated with buttons are appropriate to purpose and content of the card(s)

Content

_____ All information is current

_____ All information is factually accurate

Figure A.8 Criteria for Evaluating Students’ Multimedia Projects

Source: Based on Litchfield, 1995; Brunner, 1996; and Clark, 1996.

Documents

Using Multimedia and Hypermedia in Teaching and · PDF fileDefinitions and characteristics of multimedia and hypermedia systems ... and Learning Multimedia learning ... Multimedia