This chapter explores ways students can use multimedia tools to explore, think about, and involve themselves with course content in ways that are personally meaningful. We examine some ways multimedia is used in the delivery of content and consider if multimedia offers advantages or presents disadvantages in such applications.

Use these questions to guide your study:

• What changes might multimedia tools bring about in the functioning of schools?
• In what ways can multimedia and hypermedia support verbal instruction?
• What kinds of content can multimedia present to students in particularly powerful ways?
• How do multimedia applications support students’ meaningful learning?
• What are some concerns related to multimedia applications that classroom teachers need to recognize?

I. What are multimedia, hypermedia, and hypertext? (pp. 245-246) Multimedia translates as “many formats.” It may take the form of a product using more than one modality (e.g., visual, auditory), at least two symbol systems within a modality (e.g., words, pictures), or at least two genres within a symbol system (e.g., still images, video).

Hypermedia allows multimedia to be experienced in a nonlinear and flexible fashion. Units of information (segments of words, an image, video clip) are interconnected in multiple ways and the learner has some control over the order in which these units of information are experienced.

Expanded discussion of differences between multimedia and hypermedia

Hypertext was an early form of hypermedia made up of interconnected text segments.

Brief History

II. What are videodisc, CD-ROM, and DVD? (246-253) We include a description of videodiscs, CD-ROMs and DVDs in this chapter for a very practical reason. Multimedia requires a great deal of storage space and these “transportable” media offer large capacity storage options.

II.A Videodisc technology

A videodisc is the oldest of the three formats as a commercial product and is likely losing market share to the other two formats at this point. You may never have seen a videodisc. It is about the size of a 33-RPM record and silver in color. I must admit that I describe a videodisc in this way out of habit and describing an object as similar to a “record” may not be that helpful. The surface of a videodisc is marked with microscopic pits. A laser beam is bounced off the surface of the disc and these pits cause deviations in the reflected light allowing a pickup device to “read” information. Videodiscs are sometimes called “laserdiscs.”

It is important to understand that information is stored on a videodisc in analog format. In a way, the storage method used on videodiscs is more similar to that used on videotape than to a CD or DVD.

Videodiscs come in two types - CLV (constant linear velocity) and CAV (constant angular velocity). CLV is more appropriate for extended play - as might be the case in viewing a movie. CAV allows less information to be stored, but is a more flexible format. It is particularly useful for showing individual images, for changing the speed of presentation, for displaying a sequence in reverse, etc.

Classroom videodisc presentations often make use of a “television” monitor (like videotape). CAV presentations are controlled in several ways:

• a hand-held device much like that used to control a videotape, but allowing start and stop points to be set
• a bar code reader - bar codes are sometimes imprinted in a teacher’s manual and the teacher plays segments or images by “swiping” the codes
• a computer is connected to the player and software running on the computer is used to control the presentation

II.B CD-ROM

CD-ROM stands for compact disc - read only memory. The read only implies that once a CD is prepared, it cannot be rewritten with new data. You may also encounter CD-RW - a type of CD that can be rewritten (read, write). A CD-ROM holds about 600 megabytes of information.

CD-ROMS store information in digital form. Images and music can be stored in digital form and so can computer programs. Most commercial programs now have grown to the point that they are purchased on CD rather than on diskettes (some computers come with CD as the standard input device and do not even include a disk drive unless the customer wants to pay extra to have one added).

The technology used in producing commercial CDs is different from the method used in “burning” individual CDs. A commercial CD is “stamped” from a master - the master is expensive to produce, but copies can be made very inexpensively. The CD you might “burn” on your personal computer requires a special “blank” (a CD-R) that is altered by a laser. By the way, the price for a CD-R ($3) included in your textbook is out of date. Fifty CD-Rs cost approximately $40.

III.C DVDs

A DVD is the same size as a CD, but the DVD player uses a more sophisticated laser system allowing more tracks and more tightly packed pits. DVD technology can make use of both sides of the disc and multiple layers of information on a side. Even the lowest capacity DVD can store an entire movie at a level quality exceeding a videotape (check one out at your local video rental establishment). High end DVDs could hold 8 hrs of video of a similar quality.

If instructional content moves toward heavier use of “high-quality” video, DVDs will likely become the next big thing.

IV. Educational Applications of Multimedia (pp. 253-264). IV.A Multimedia can be used as a delivery system for computer based instruction.

IV.B Other applications of multimedia in the classroom

IV.B.1 Talking books

Talking books duplicate and extend the function of a traditional book. Talking books typically allow the text content to be narrated and may provide this narration in multiple languages. Readers may be able to hear the pronunciation of words they select.

IV.B.2 Multimedia References

Reference tools (encyclopedia, almanac) are available as multimedia. The multiple formats available (audio, video) allow some unique experiences that books cannot offer. Lower cost and superior search capabilities are other advantages.

IV.B.3 Cooperative problem solving

Multimedia allows the presentation of complex problem solving environments designed for cooperative learning. Individual members of a team can familiarize themselves with different aspects of a problem (resource interdependence) and then contribute their unique knowledge in the collaborative effort to achieve a successful team solution (reward interdependence).

V. Evaluating Multimedia and Hypermedia (pp. 264-272) V.A Strengths of Multimedia

V.A.1 Practical delivery system for effective learning

The availability of multiple formats (video, text, images) and the easy transition among formats allows the use of a format best suited to the content and instructional task. Explanations can be combined with visual or auditory examples when appropriate.

The multiple formats also allow a more realistic approximation of "out of classroom experiences." The realism allows learners to experience both the demands imposed by greater complexity and to also anchor concepts in more realistic settings.

V.A.2 Dual coding theory

Pavio's dual coding theory argues that imagery and verbal memory codes are unique and the availability of both codes provides cognitive advantages. Mayer argues that linking these unique codes is important.

V.A.3 Meeting individual needs

Hypermedia and redundant multimedia allow more options for learners.

V.B Concerns related to multimedia

V.B.1 Multimedia may needlessly duplicate less expensive alternatives

V.B.2 Students may not have the skills to take advantage of the theoretical advantages of hypermedia

Research that has studied the approach learners take as they explore hypermedia material has identified several categories of learners:

• knowledge seekers - strategic learners who use goals to determine viewing patterns
• feature explorers - learners who are distracted by interesting resources
• apathetic users - learners who take very limited advantage of what the resource might offer

It appears that experience plays a role in determining how effectively students use a hypermedia environment. With poor background knowledge, learners have little insight into what might be important examine carefully.

Review Questions