FET5622 Creating Interactive Multimedia ASSIGNMENT 1 SCOTT BARKER

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1 FET5622 Creating Interactive Multimedia ASSIGNMENT 1 SCOTT BARKER DUE: 3 December, 2004

2 CONTENTS Criteria for evaluating educational multimedia...2 Bibliography PAGE 1

3 Criteria for evaluating educational multimedia In today s society, interactive multimedia is becoming increasing popular in education entertainment and business (Liu and Jones, 1998). As a result of this trend, educational institutions are becoming more actively involved in teaching students how to use computers, specific computer programs and the Internet as resources for helping them within their educational, work or home living situations. Certain criteria must be followed during the development of Internet related multimedia to ensure that positive learning experiences are achieved. These criteria include: Multimedia should be fast to load on all types of computers, regardless of the speed of the modem, Multimedia should be easy to use and navigate for all levels of learners, The information offered in any form of multimedia should be easily comprehended by the target audience, and The multimedia should be suitably designed to captivate the target audience, thus increasing the length of time spent using the multimedia and increasing the chances of continued use. People can become impatient with interactive multimedia that takes a long time to download. It is therefore important to consider how long it will take for [multimedia] to load over a network (NCSA, 1998), because the longer it takes, the less likely people are to wait especially if they are using a dial up network PAGE 2

4 A suitable metric for measuring the time taken for multimedia to download is to simply measure the download time and then compare the results to those taken from other sites using similar hardware. For example, it might be acceptable for a webpage to download within 10 seconds using a standard 56k modem. Similarly, it might be acceptable for a 56k modem to download a 1Mb multimedia item in 3 minutes. Factors such as ADSL connections or download content will vary the results. ADSL is a faster Internet connection, meaning that downloads will be quicker. Depending on the content of files being downloaded, the target audience may be willing to wait a longer period of time for the download to be completed. For example, critical operating system or anti-virus updates vary in size from between 1 Mb to 20Mb (and above) may be important enough to wait for. Similarly, an MP3 music file purchased over the Internet may also be worth waiting for, but waiting for the home page of an information site to download may be less appealing. Ideally, multimedia should be easy to use and navigate for all levels of learners. As with connection speed, ease of navigation is an important factor to consider when evaluating multimedia. Campbell et al (2000, p. 24) discuss the importance of 'navigational quality' in websites. Navigational quality involves identifying 'how easy it was to navigate around the site [and] how easy it was to return to the main page of the site (Misic and Johnson in Campbell et al, 2000). These are essentially the two main examples of suitable metrics to be used in multimedia evaluation, but also, the positioning and functionality of links, advertising and further contact details are of equal PAGE 3

5 importance. These elements need to be considered during development for multimedia to be functional and accessible to the target audience. Once again, consideration of the target audience is positioned at the forefront of the design of multimedia development and evaluation. The information offered in any multimedia should be easily comprehended by the target audience. NCSA (1998) suggest that the following metrics need to be imposed when evaluating the suitability of certain multimedia for a selected target audience: What is their educational or occupational background, and Will they understand the technical jargon or be confused by it? Rarely will school aged children understand the technical terminology that an adult will understand, and if faced with such detail in multimedia, it could be suggested that the school aged children will lose interest in the content very quickly. Similarly, an adult could feel that their intelligence was being insulted if they reviewed a particular form of multimedia directed towards their level of maturity, only to find that it was executed in elementary terminology. It is therefore critical to ensure the relevance and comprehensiveness of multimedia content based on the desired target audience. The multimedia should be suitably designed to captivate the target audience. Elements of design such as text design and style, Image design and colour (NCSA, 1998) all add to the attractiveness of multimedia, and when a website or multimedia element looks interesting or attractive, curiosity will lead people into the site to explore its contents. Misic & Johnson (in PAGE 4

6 Campbell et al, 2000) suggest that graphics which enhance the site's functionality without overdoing it and detracting from the overall design add to a websites unique functionality or design. Such uniqueness will help to attract new people to use the multimedia, as well as hopefully guaranteeing the return custom of previous users. An example of the metrics that could be used to measure the effective implementation of text design and style, image design and colour could be based around surveying users on why they viewed the site, what they re impressions where after using the site and would they or why did they return to the site and then comparing the results. Other questions could include - did the person use the site because it was visually attractive, or would the person return to the site if it wasn t visually stimulating but offered useful information? Comparisons in the answers could be used to decide how effective the site was in promoting itself through visual means. In conclusion, evaluating the above mentioned elements of multimedia design is an important aspect for ensuring the continued usefulness and relevance of multimedia to the public. Consideration of the target audience is a major factor influencing design and appearance, especially when the multimedia is being used in the educational environment. Thorough planning, consultation and evaluation in each of the four areas mentioned above, positive outcomes will result for the use and service of multimedia in today s educational environment PAGE 5

7 Bibliography Campbell, C., White, G., Babidge, L., 2000, Benchmarking educational web sites: EdNA Online, education.au limited, Accessed from the USQ Studydesk for FET5622, November, Lui, M. and Jones, C., 1998, Interactive multimedia design and productive processes, Journal of Research on Computing in Education, Accessed from the USQ Studydesk for FET5622, November, NCSA, 1998, Multimedia Design for the World Wide Web, Accessed from the USQ Studydesk for FET5622, November, PAGE 6