Hardware and Software Technologies for the Development of Multimedia Instructional Modules

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Hardware and Software Technologies for the
Development of Multimedia Instructional Modules

• Nanda Ganesan, Ph.D.
• California State University, Los Angeles
• K. P. Hewagamage, Ph.D.
• University of Colombo

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Overview

• Demonstration of modules
• Survey of hardware
• Survey of software
• Summary

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I. Demonstration of Modules

• Module formats
• Module demonstrations

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Module Formats

• PowerPoint based lecture modules
• Chalk-and-talk type of lectures
• Simulate the in-class learning environment
• Software simulations
• Software tutorials
• Active learning and learning assessment with
  quizzes

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Module Demonstrations

• Module 1 PowerPoint lectures
• Module 2 Chalk-and-talk type of lectures
• Module 3 Software simulations
• Module 4 Software tutorials

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II. Hardware Survey

• System unit
• Input devices

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II.I System Unit Consideration

• Audio and video synchronization without delay
• Time required to manipulate and process recorded
  audio
• Quality of audio
• Time required to manipulate both audio and video
  together
• Quality of audio and video produced
• Support for high resolution and high color depth
  recording of multimedia

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Comparison of Systems Built
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Minimum Guidelines for Processor and Memory

• A Pentium 4 processor or above that operates at a
  clock speed of 3 GHz or higher
• A total memory of at least 512 M Bytes of RAM
  with preference for 1 G Bytes or more of RAM

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Minimum Guidelines for Hard Disk

• A hard disk with a rotational speed of at least
  7200 RPM and a speed rating of at least 100 M
  Bytes per Second (ATA/100)
• A removable USB 2.0 hard disk with a capacity of
  at least 40 G Bytes

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Minimum Guideline for Audio and Video

• A video card with a memory of at least 128 M
  Bytes and a processor that is at least as
  powerful as ATIs 9600 Graphical Processing Unit
  (GPU)
• A stand alone audio card similar to SoundBlaster
  Audigy ZS that would support recording audio at a
  sampling rate of 44 MHz or more and at a
  sampling depth of 16-bits or more

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II.II Survey of Input Devices

• Considered
• Display based
• Tablet (Pad) based
• Paper based
• Others
• Tablet PC
• Digital Pen

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Display and Tablet Based Devices

• There are certain disadvantages with display and
  tablet based devices
• Display based devices
• Inconvenient to simulate electronic whiteboard
• Tablet based devices
• Sketches cannot be viewed on the tablet while
  being sketched

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Paper Based Products

• Seiko InkLink
• Pegasus NoteTaker
• The above two products had nearly the same
  functionality
• InkLink was chosen due to its wide availability
  for testing in retail stores and it was found to
  serve the purpose adequately

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III. Survey of Software
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III. I Category 1 Adding Multimedia to PowerPoint
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Category 1 Continued
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Category 1 Selection

• For the development of simple modules
• PowerPoint recording facility
• Microsoft producer
• For the development of more advanced modules
• Ovation
• Impatica

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III.II Category 2 Software for General Purpose
Screen Recording

• Screen recording software with audio capabilities
• Modules generated
• Low storage requirements
• Support for popular recording file formats

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Software Grouping

• For the purpose of the survey, the software was
  grouped into two sub-categories, namely the
  high-end and low-end software categories

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Category 2 General Purpose Screen Recording
Software
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High-End Software

• Turn-key CD and e-learning system development
• Time consuming task
• Macromedias software packages generally
  dominates the market
• Expensive to purchase, in general

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Low-End Software

• Mostly centered on a specific purpose
• Recording of screen activities and narration
• Designed for rapid application development
• Studio versions have many features included

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Low-end Software

• HyperCam
• Microsoft Encoder
• Camtasia

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HyperCam

• Shareware
• Limited support
• A relatively good and cheap software for
  recording screen activities
• Advanced editing and processing features are
  limited
• http//www.hypercam.com

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Microsoft Encoder

• Screen recording features are somewhat limited
• Designed for generating streamed multimedia
  modules from other multimedia file formats
• Distributed free of charge by Microsoft
• Demonstration

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Camtasia

• A very good software for recording screen
  activities
• Extensive of set of media processing capabilities
  with respect to screen recording activity
• Supports the creation of modules in different
  media formats

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Uses for Camtasia

• Recording of screen activities
• Adding audio to PowerPoint presentations
• Simulation of chalk-and-talk type of lectures
• Creations of basic but effective software
  demonstrations

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Category 2 The Choice

• From the high-end software category
• None
• From the low-end software category
• Camtasia

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III.III Category 3 Software for Authoring
Software Tutorials

• Extensive features for creating software
  simulations
• In general, the purpose is to record screen
  images with annotations showing the action taken
  at each stage
• Actions relate to key strokes, mouse clicks etc.
• The entire process is done automatically without
  user intervention

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Creating a User in Windows XP
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Other Features

• Software simulation
• Creating quizzes

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Leading Software in the Field

• Viewlet Builder
• By Qaborn
• Captivate
• By Macromedia

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Comparison of Viewlet Builder and Captivate
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More on Comparison

• Both ViewLet Builder and Captivate have nearly
  identical features
• However, Captivate is relatively easier to learn
  and use
• Moreover, Captivate is better integrated with a
  host of academic software such as Macromedia
  Flash

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Category 3 Selection

• Captivate was chosen for the project
• Demonstration of software

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III. IV Category 4 Other Software

• Microsoft Office
• SoundForge sound editing software
• Pinacle, Sony VideoBlaster and Adobe Premier
  Elements
• Adobe Photoshop Elements
• Roxio Easy CD-Creator
• CD-Stomper Label Creator

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IV. Summary

• Results
• Inference
• Recommendation
• Conclusion

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Results

• Hardware Survey
• System components
• Input devices
• Software survey
• Add multimedia to PowerPoint slides
• Screen recording software
• Tutorial development software

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Inference

• Technologies for producing multimedia modules
  have advanced in power and capabilities
• A combination of hardware and software can now be
  used for the simulation of the in-class learning
  environment
• A new generation of software is available for
  rapid application development
• Hardware and software now available at
  affordable cost for multimedia content
  development

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Recommendation

• Capture the in-class learning experience for the
  students
• Rapid application development tools for the
  instructor

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Conclusion

• Properly designed instructional modules can have
  a positive impact on the learning environment
• Learning effectiveness
• A host of other benefits
• Simulation of in-class learning experience and
  rapid application development features will
  encourage instructors to design, develop and use
  multimedia instructional modules
• Use of instructional multimedia modules is likely
  to become as prevalent as the use of course
  websites

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The End