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 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 ATI’s 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. II.II Survey of Input Devices • Considered • Display based • Tablet (Pad) based • Paper based • Others • Tablet PC • Digital Pen

13. 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

14. 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

15. III. Survey of Software

16. III. I Category 1: Adding Multimedia to PowerPoint

17. Category 1: Continued

18. Category 1: Selection • For the development of simple modules • PowerPoint recording facility • Microsoft producer • For the development of more advanced modules • Ovation • Impatica

19. 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

20. 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

21. Category 2: General Purpose Screen Recording Software

22. High-End Software • Turn-key CD and e-learning system development • Time consuming task • Macromedia’s software packages generally dominates the market • Expensive to purchase, in general

23. 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

24. Low-end Software • HyperCam • Microsoft Encoder • Camtasia

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. Category 2: The Choice • From the high-end software category • None • From the low-end software category • Camtasia

30. 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

31. Creating a User in Windows XP

32. Other Features • Software simulation • Creating quizzes

33. Leading Software in the Field • Viewlet Builder • By Qaborn • Captivate • By Macromedia

34. Comparison of Viewlet Builder and Captivate

35. 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

36. Category 3: Selection • Captivate was chosen for the project • Demonstration of software

37. 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

38. IV. Summary • Results • Inference • Recommendation • Conclusion

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

40. 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

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

42. 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

43. The End