Applying computer-based multimedia in learning and instruction

Bohdan Bilan, Director
Shoppers Drug Mart Multimedia Development Centre

This is the first part of a two-part series by Bohdan Bilan on computer-based multimedia.

With the acceptance of desktop computers as household appliances, we now have more opportunities to study and understand how to apply multimedia computer technology to further learning. With the proliferation of CD-ROM technology and the World Wide Web, we have mass market vehicles for exposing development ideas to a wider audience. We now need to shorten development cycles so that we can compete with commercial developers. Recently, we were given an opportunity to do this. In the first two weeks of September, we accepted the challenge to develop and deliver by December 1, 1995, the first accredited post-diploma baccalaureate course in a multimedia format across the World Wide Web. This pilot course, Nursing 539, Research in Nursing, will be delivered to registered University of Calgary students via the Web through our faculty website (under development) in January 1996. The development team, Associate Dean Jim Rankin (Undergraduate and Distance Education, Faculty of Nursing); Dr. Kathy Oberle, content expert; D'Arcy Norman, Bruce Toll, and Kaylen Gray, our website design team; and myself, as instructional designer, will repurpose this course in the next two months. As part of the pilot, we will supply six test subjects with PowerPC Macintosh computers so that they can take the course from home. From this experience, we hope to create and deliver across the Web the first complete accredited distance post-diploma baccalaureate program in nursing within two years.

Meanwhile, I would like to discuss other methods of delivering computer-based instructional material. Software needs to be functional, adaptable, culturally sensitive, and capable of addressing a wide variety of learning and presentation styles. We need to develop effective instructional software quickly. These issues will be explored in a discussion of four different applications of computer technology to the learning process.

Computer-based presentation software

Computer-based presentation software allows us to create non-linear presentations or lectures in which the order of presentation is under the control of the presenter. Presentations consist of any number of computer-based screens. Screens are equivalent to overhead transparencies. Computer-based presentations are more dynamic because each screen can incorporate digital animation, text, digital audio, video, and pictures. Once traditional or paper-based content is in digital form, it can be easily manipulated and repurposed to meet the needs of a new audience or of an audience outside of the classroom. By making the content available across networks, on the web, or on CD-ROM, learners can access it in the manner and in the place that fits their life and learning styles.

Good teachers create an instructional dynamic or multisensory dialogue with their students be it in the classroom or one on one. This dynamic is more than just a verbal monologue. Presentation software now allows the instructor to add to this dynamic by creating a multisensory experience. This experience can be achieved without the assistance of computer technology; but, the technology enables us to do it easily and allows instructors to have instant access to larger and richer content bases. Presentation software allows information to be structured in both a linear and nonlinear format depending on the nature of the content, the instructional objectives, and the temperament of the audience. Depending on the dialogue that is created with the audience, the software permits the presenter to jump forward and backward within the presentation across or between rich media forms (digital video, audio, pictures, and text.)

These topics, from Sensory Integration Techniques, include digital video clips.

Individual screens in computer-based presentations can consist of many layers of interrelated digital information. This can make the screens rich sources of information. A carefully prepared lecture could consist of as few as five screens, each having multiple layers, and each delivering different but related digital information. Once stored digitally, this information can be easily modified as content changes, ensuring that lecture content is current.

Our first example uses presentation software and is given from the point of view of a presenter. Sensory Integration Techniques was an extensive presentation given on alternate forms of therapy. It addresses issues of functionality and adaptability. In this example, the screen opens with a still picture that gives both the instructor and the audience a visual referent: a psychomotor skills lab and a massage table. Written points appear on the screen separately under the control of the presenter and can either act as presenter cues or reinforce the verbal component of the lecture. To enhance verbal descriptions of the alternate therapeutic techniques being described by the presenter, four digital video clips were integrated into this slide of the presentation. The video sequences were layered on top of the initial picture and appeared in sequence separately under the control of the presenter. Each video clip highlighted a therapeutic technique. This use of video enabled the audience to associate the oral content with the unedited non-static visuals.

Despite the advantages, the instructional application of presentation software isn't appropriate for all content, nor for all instructional settings. We have successfully applied this technology for two years and have learned many lessons from this experience.

Lessonware creation

Our second example, Inside the Cell, was developed to meet the needs of both instructors and students at a post-secondary level. This is an example of rapid software prototyping and production when the developer has a good understanding of how best to deliver the content. This software shell can be used as a presentation tool or as a computer-based multimedia course supplement and tutorial.

We knew that it was important to gain the perspective of potential users of the software before beginning programming and to maintain that dialogue during the production process. Opinions were sought from faculty members from Physical Education, Engineering, Education, and General Studies as well as from Dr. Jerre Paquette, past Chairman of the English Department at Mount Royal College. The student perspective was provided by students from the faculties of Nursing, Education, and General Studies. My collaborator, D'Arcy Norman, and I discussed at length which attributes were necessary to meet the needs of the instructor, the student, and the needs of various faculties on campus.

A screen from Inside the Cell

Software production is usually a lengthy process. One of the purposes in creating this piece of software was to demonstrate that given a specific set of instructional design objectives, a functional and effective piece of software could be created quickly. We believe that it is important to create software prototypes rapidly so that they can be placed quickly in the hands of typical users. Why? This allows the end user to provide us with immediate feedback before programming constraints make the software difficult to modify. It also provides the developer with valuable insight as to the intuitiveness, functionality, and use of the software.

The Biology software shell, Inside the Shell, took two weeks to create. It was designed as a simple but functional and adaptable presentation and lessonware creation tool. We decided that the shell should not get in the way of student learning; therefore, it had to include hypertext, allow for the inclusion of all forms of media, and have a complete set of note-taking tools. The student interacts with the content of the shell by pointing and clicking the mouse.

To be useful to the instructor, the shell also had to allow instructors to create and modify courseware without having to follow a lengthy set of procedures. With all the media forms present in a digital format, the shell can be used to create a new computer-based course in two mouse clicks. The instructional shell can import 250 pages of text and link related media forms in about one minute. The shell was prototyped in HyperCard, and we are now developing a cross-platform version of the shell using MacroMind Director.

The screen design for this shell was created so that all of the actions a student or instructor may want to accomplish with the content can be done by clicking a single on-screen button. For example, by clicking on any word in the text field on the right side of the screen, the shell searches for all references of that word and then indicates to the user how many were found. By selecting Search, a pop-up field appears listing all pages that contain the selected word. Any one of these pages can be jumped to by selecting that page title from the pop-up list.

If the user is browsing the content and intends to return to specific portions later, the word Mark can be clicked; the displayed page will be remembered by the shell. An editable note pad allows students to copy and edit text from the text field or to make notes. These notes can be exported to a floppy disk for future reference. Pages can be accessed sequentially using the arrow keys or jumped to using the slider on the side of the text field.

The image window on the left side of the screen can hold pictures, animations, or digital video and audio. The control buttons under the picture window allow the user to control playback of animations or digital video. Using these arrows, the user can step through individual frames and advance and back up at normal and double speeds. The user can also set audio levels from within the shell. This tool set allows the digital video to be examined repeatedly but also allows for more in-depth study since the user can access any single frame in the video sequence.

Course evaluation has increasingly relied on multiple-choice exams. The shell incorporates this evaluation format. A test bank of exams can be included. With this tool, the student can select one of many exams. The exam can include audio, pictures, and digital video.

Creating course content is a three-step process. The first step involves the creation of a text file. The file contains all of the written material the instructor wants to share. The second step involves collecting, organizing, and digitizing supporting visual or auditory content. The text files are then imported by clicking an Import Text button under the image window on the Edit Chapter page of the program. The Import Text button imports the instructor's notes, automatically creates the required number of pages, and then cross references and imports all of the multimedia components and places them on the correct page. The structure of the shell is such that personalizing the look of the shell to reflect the faculty colours or a logo, for example, would only involve importing a picture file. The Faculty of Nursing is currently creating eight instructional CDs using this shell, while Engineering is creating three tutorials.

Applying computer-based multimedia in learning and instruction, Part two

If you would like to interact with any of these projects, or if you would like to discuss the possibility of joint development, please contact Bohdan Bilan, 220-7768, e-mail: bilan@acs.ucalgary.ca