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
Overview
• Demonstration of modules
• Survey of hardware
• Survey of software
• Summary
I. Demonstration of Modules
• Module formats
• Module demonstrations
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
Module Demonstrations
• Module 1: PowerPoint lectures
• Module 2: Chalk-and-talk type of
lectures
• Module 3: Software simulations
• Module 4: Software tutorials
II. Hardware Survey
• System unit
• Input devices
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
Comparison of Systems Built
Components
System 1
System 2
System 2 Improvements Over
System 1
Bare-bone
System
Shuttle SB61G2
with Intel
865G Chipset
Shuttle SB75S with
Intel 875P
Chipset
Motherboard with better chipset and
quieter operation.
Processor
Pentium 4 /2.8 GHz
Pentium 4/ 3.0 GHz
Faster processor.
Memory
DDR -2700
512 M Bytes
DDR-3200
1 G Bytes
More and faster memory.
Hard Drive
Maxtor
5000 RPM
Western Digital
7200 RPM
Quieter and reliable operation.
Removable
Drive
Lexmar USB Flash
Drive 512 M
Bytes
Hammer USB Hard
Drive 60 G Bytes
USB hard drive was far superior to the
USB Flash drive in terms of
speed and storage capacity.
Video Card
Built-in
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
(Stand-alone)
A good quality stand-alone video card
such as ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
offered better performance.
Sound Card
Built-in
Sound Blaster SB
Audigy 2 ZS
(Stand-alone)
A good quality stand-alone sound card
such as Sound Blaster Audigy
offered observably better sound
recording quality.
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
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
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
System Units Front View
Systems Units Back View
Stand Alone Audio and Video Cards
II.II Survey of Input Devices
• Considered
– Display based
– Tablet (Pad) based
– Paper based
• Others
– Tablet PC
– Digital Pen
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
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
Seiko InkLink
InkLink Connection
III. Survey of Software
Category
Category 1
Purpose
Adding multimedia to
PowerPoint Presentations
Category 2
General Purpose Screen
Recording
Category 3
Developing Software
Tutorials
III. I Category 1: Adding
Multimedia to PowerPoint
Product
Features
Articulate
Presenter
-
Facilitates the conversion of PowerPoint presentations to Flash modules for web
hosting.
Allows the recording of live narration.
Supports the inclusion of quizzing and gaming activities for learning purpose.
Eteach
-
Enables the conversion of PowerPoint presentations for hosting on the web.
iCreate
-
Facilitates narration to be added to PowerPoint slides and, if needed, allows them
to be converted to Flash format for hosting on the web.
Impatica
-
Allows narration to be added to the PowerPoint slides and the presentations to be
converted for web hosting.
Video clips included in the presentation could also be converted for web hosting.
-
Category 1: Continued
Microsoft Producer
2003
-
Facilitates the addition and synchronization of audio and video with the
PowerPoint slides.
Supports the inclusion of still images and HTML documents in the presentation.
Allows the timing of the different presentation components to be programmed.
PresenterOne
-
Allows audio and video to be synchronized with PowerPoint presentations.
Facilitated streamed versions of the presentations to be created for delivery over
the web using either the Real format or the Windows Media format.
ShowAndTell
-
Supports the creation of online presentations from within PowerPoint.
Allows the addition of narration to the presentation and its synchronization with
the slides.
Facilitates the streaming of modules in Real and Windows Media formats.
PowerPoint Recording
-
Supports basic audio and video incorporation in each slide
Ovation
-
Facilitates the incorporation of voice in each slide
Extensive templates are available to create complete presentation packages
Supports inclusion of animation and other special effects
Allows various formats for incorporating multimedia in the PowerPoint slides
Category 1: Selection
• For the development of simple modules
– PowerPoint recording facility
– Microsoft producer
• For the development of more advanced
modules
– Ovation
– Impatica
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
Software Grouping
• For the purpose of the survey, the
software was grouped into two subcategories, namely the high-end and
low-end software categories
Category 2: General Purpose Screen
Recording Software
Software
Group
Software
Functionality
Cost
(Academic
Version)
High-end
-Adobe Premier
-Macromedia Director
-Macromedia
Authorware
-Macromedia eLearning
Suite
Software in this category
includes real-time screen
capture as part of a more
advanced set of multimedia
authoring features.
-$219
-$499
-Camtasia
-HyperCam
-Microsoft Media
Encoder
Software in this category is
largely dedicated to a
specific task, namely for
capturing screen activities
and adding narration. An
exception in this case is
Microsoft Media Encoder
that is designed for
streaming audio and video.
Low/MiddleEnd
-$499
-$599
-$199
-$39.95
-Free with
XP
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
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
Low-end Software
• HyperCam
• Microsoft Encoder
• Camtasia
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
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
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
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
Category 2: The Choice
• From the high-end software category
– None
• From the low-end software category
– Camtasia
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
Creating a User in Windows XP
Other Features
• Software simulation
• Creating quizzes
Leading Software in the Field
• Viewlet Builder
– By Qaborn
• Captivate
– By Macromedia
Comparison of Viewlet Builder and
Captivate
Criterion
Captivate
Viewlet Builder
Software tutorial creation
features
Very Good
Very Good
Suitability for academic
environment
Very Good
Good
Rapid development capabilities
Excellent
Very good
Ease of learning
Very good
Very Good
Flash compatibility
Excellent
Good
Conforms to e-learning industry
standards
Yes
Yes
Cost (Academic Price)
$199
$299
Overall preference rating on a
scale of 1 to 10
8
7
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
Category 3: Selection
• Captivate was chosen for the project
• Demonstration of software
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
IV. Summary
• Results
• Inference
• Recommendation
• Conclusion
Results
• Hardware Survey
– System components
– Input devices
• Software survey
– Add multimedia to PowerPoint slides
– Screen recording software
– Tutorial development software
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
Recommendation
• Capture the in-class learning experience
for the students
• Rapid application development tools
for the instructor
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
The End