Hardware and Software Technologies for the Development of Multimedia Instructional Modules

1
Hardware and Software Technologies for the
Development of Multimedia Instructional Modules

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

2
Overview

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

3
I. Demonstration of Modules

• Module formats
• Module demonstrations

4
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

5
Module Demonstrations

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

6
II. Hardware Survey

• System unit
• Input devices

7
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

8
Comparison of Systems Built
9
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

10
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

11
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

12
System Units Front View
13
Systems Units Back View
Stand Alone Audio and Video Cards
14
II.II Survey of Input Devices

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

15
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

16
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

17
Seiko InkLink
18
InkLink Connection
19
III. Survey of Software
20
III. I Category 1 Adding Multimedia to PowerPoint
21
Category 1 Continued
22
Category 1 Selection

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

23
III.II Category 2 Software for General Purpose
Screen Recording

• Screen recording software with audio capabilities
• Modules generated
• Ease of learning and use
• Low storage requirements
• Support for popular recording file formats

24
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

25
Category 2 General Purpose Screen Recording
Software
26
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

27
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

28
Low-end Software

• HyperCam
• Microsoft Encoder
• Camtasia

29
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

30
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

31
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

32
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

33
Category 2 The Choice

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

34
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

35
Creating a User in Windows XP
36
Other Features

• Software simulation
• Creating quizzes

37
Leading Software in the Field

• Viewlet Builder
• By Qaborn
• Captivate
• By Macromedia

38
Comparison of Viewlet Builder and Captivate
39
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

40
Category 3 Selection

• Captivate was chosen for the project
• Demonstration of software

41
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

42
IV. Summary

• Results
• Inference
• Recommendation
• Conclusion

43
Results

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

44
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

45
Recommendation

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

46
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

47
The End