Interactive Multimedia
James D. Lehman
Educational Technology
Purdue University
Menu
CBI
Optical Media
Videodisc
CD-ROM
DVD
WWW
Interactive Video
Multimedia/Hypermedia
Computer-Based Instruction
 CBI
• computer-based instruction
 CAI
• computer-assisted instruction
 CBT
• computer-based training
Types of CBI
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Drill and practice
Tutorial
Simulation
Instructional game
Problem solving
Other
Advantages of CBI
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Interactivity
Ability to individualize
Consistency of delivery
Motivation
Learner control
Administration
Cost effectiveness
Limitations of CBI
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Hardware requirements
Start-up costs
Limited intelligence of most software
Limited modalities (rapidly disappearing as
a limitation due to multimedia)
Typical CBI System
CPU
+
Memory
RAM ROM
Keyboard and Mouse
(Input)
Display Monitor
(Output)
Floppy Disk
Hard Disk
CD-ROM/DVD
(Mass Storage)
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Optical Media
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Laser videodisc
CD-audio
CD-ROM
DVD
 WORM (e.g., CD-R)
 Erasable/rerecordable (e.g., CD-RW)
Advantages of Optical Media
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Very large storage capacity
Inexpensive duplication
Long media life; no wear when playing
High data integrity
Capable of storing multiple media
Computer accessible
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Videodiscs
 Oldest of the optical storage technologies
 When was the first videodisc and videodisc
player invented?
Videodiscs
 The answer...
 In 1926. Scotsman John Logie Baird, a
pioneer in the development of television,
created a system based on Edison’s
phonograph technology that he called
phonovision. However, the modern laser
videodisc wasn’t developed until the 1970s.
Videodiscs
 Although the reflective laser videodisc is
now the standard, there have been other
types, including: CED (RCA), VHD (JVC),
laser transmissive (Thompson), and
laserfilm (McDonnell Douglas). These
forms have all but disappeared today.
Laser Videodisc Formats
 CLV (constant linear velocity)
• Long-play format, developed primarily for
linear playback of movies, capable of 60 min.
of video per side.
 CAV (constant angular velocity)
• Capable of 30 min. of video per 12” side.
However, also capable of freezing still images.
Format of choice for interactive video.
CAV Videodisc Characteristics
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30 min. of motion video per side
54,000 individually accessible frames
ability to freeze any still image
rapid random access to any frame
2 - 4 audio channels
high picture quality
durable construction and long life
low cost per image
Videodisc Players
 All videodisc players today are capable
playing both CLV and CAV format.
 Most players today support bar code access
to frames and motion sequences.
 “Industrial” players feature a standard
serial interface for computer control.
 U.S. market is dominated by Pioneer and to
a lesser extent Sony.
 Prices ranges from $700 - $2000.
Limitations of Videodisc
 Videodiscs, while still useful and fairly
widely used, have two flaws that ultimately
will doom the technology:
• They are an analog, not digital, medium which
means they are not naturally computer
compatible.
• They are large (12” in diameter) in an era when
the trend is toward smaller.
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CD-ROM
 Newer digital cousin of the videodisc and
digital audio CDs.
 Capable of storing up to 650M of data or
the equivalent of a quarter of a million
pages of textual information.
 Today can store text, graphics, digital audio,
and compressed forms of video.
CD-ROM
 Designed as a mass storage medium for
personal computers.
 While many are so-called hybrids (able to
work with different PCs), CD-ROMs often
are specific to certain platforms only.
 Now accepted as one of the most popular
ways to distribute computer software.
CD-ROM
 Players are now standard equipment on
most PCs; player cost has dropped to under
$100 for typical models.
 The prerecorded medium itself is relatively
durable, has high data integrity, and is very
inexpensive to mass produce.
CD-ROM
 In addition to prerecorded CD-ROMs,
recorders and recordable media (CD-R and
CD-RW) have become economical and
widely available for even casual users.
 Large installed base should insure viability
into the near future despite the arrival of
DVD.
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DVD
 Emerging format that promises to replace
both videodiscs and CD-ROMs in the
future.
 DVD discs are the same size as CD-ROMs,
but first generation formats hold 4.7G or
seven times the capacity of a CD-ROM.
 Later versions may hold up to 17G on a
single, double-sided disc.
DVD
 The first large-scale consumer application
of DVD is feature length films (encoded in
MPEG format) on CD size discs.
 DVD-ROM players are now options on
many personal computers. DVD recorders
are now becoming economical options.
 Conflicts over related standards have
delayed acceptance of DVD, but, in time, it
seems certain to take over.
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WWW
 The World Wide Web, or just WWW or the
Web, supports multimedia using a
hyperlinking format familiar to users of the
MacOS or Windows.
 First developed at CERN, the European
physics research center, the Web has
become so pervasive that it is synonymous
with the Internet for many users.
WWW
 The Web offers a key advantage in
distribution of interactive multimedia; users
access materials without the need for media
distribution channels.
 Today, interactive multimedia on the Web is
subject to bandwidth limitations, but these
limitations will diminish over time.
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Interactive Video
 The use of a video delivery system in which
the user has control over the presentation.
 Most of the literature in the field relates to
the use of laser videodisc technology, often
under computer control. However, newer
forms of multimedia may fit this definition
as well.
Levels of Interactive Video
 Level 1
• player with remote control
 Level 2
• special “intelligent” player
 Level 3
• computer interfaced to and in control of player
Interactive Video
 Level 1
• A hand-held remote control device offer easy
access to videodisc images.
• A bar code reader makes it even more
convenient to access images. Many textbook
companies now include laserdisc bar codes in
their school textbooks, especially in science.
Interactive Video
 Level 2
• Once popular in the training sector, but almost
non-existent in traditional education.
• An “industrial” model videodisc player has an
on-board microprocessor. A program is encoded
on the videodisc along with the video. This
program permits rudimentary interaction and
branching through the use of the hand-held
remote control.
Interactive Video
 Level 3
• Addition of a computer provides the
opportunity for a high level of interaction with
the user.
• Simple systems use two monitors and a
connecting cable. Costlier systems use
computer boards that permit overlay of the
videodisc video on the computer screen.
Two Monitor System
Separate computer and video monitors
Overlay (One Monitor) System
Special overlay board
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Interactive Multimedia
 Generic term that denotes any system in
which the computer is capable of
controlling and delivering multiple media.
 Most often today, the term is used to
describe a PC-based system involving
CD-ROM, DVD, or the Internet
Hypermedia
 A term that traces its roots to Vannevar
Bush’s proposed memex machine.
 The idea was translated into computer
systems by Douglas Englebart and Ted
Nelson. Nelson coined the term hypertext to
describe an associational text retrieval
system consisting of interlinked nodes.
 Hypermedia extends the hypertext concept
to multimedia.
Hypermedia
 Hypermedia is a form of interactive
multimedia, but not all interactive
multimedia is hypermedia.
 Hypermedia is distinguished by interlinked
nodes of information that may contain
multiple media.
Hypermedia
 The first widely popular hypermedia
software was Apple’s HyperCard.
 Today, there are many hypermedia
authoring tools available including:
HyperStudio, Toolbook, eZedia, Director,
and various web authoring programs.
Hypermedia
 Of course, the most dramatic example of
hypermedia today is the World Wide Web.
 You can find course information on the web
at:
http://www.edci.purdue.edu/lehman/edci663/intro663.htm
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The End