Monthly Archives: December 2011

Illustrative Multimedia: Meaningful Enhancement of Online Course Content

Multimedia is not a new concept. It’s been around in multifaceted forms long before learning management systems and the development of online courses came to fruition.

If asked “what’s the most popular form of media in today’s society?” one would be able to argue the Internet or television depending on your generation, technological savviness, etc. With the evolution of the Internet and the creation and mass use of online video services such as Hulu and video sharing websites such as YouTube, having access to varied forms of multimedia is becoming increasingly more common. So should professors and instructional designers incorporate multimedia from sites like these into an online course? In my humble opinion, absolutely. These sites offer content from a variety of credible entities. With course design, whether face-to-face or online, vetting what peripheral resources are included is essential.

For the purposes of this blog, let’s look at Merriam-Webster’s definition of multimedia:

  • Multimedia (noun): a technique (as the combining of sound, video, and text) for expressing ideas (as in communication, entertainment, or art) in which several media are employed; also : something (as software) using or facilitating such a technique

When developing an online course, the collective use of audio, video, and text can certainly enhance course content, but can it detract from it? I would argue yes. Clark and Mayer (2003) suggest that instead of presenting words alone, we recommend presenting words with pictures. Our recommendation is not to add pictures that decorate the page (called decorative illustrations) but instead to add pictures that help the learner understand the material (called explanative illustrations).

Being strategic is imperative not only in identifying which textbook to use, journal article to reference, or technology to incorporate into your course, but also when deciding which forms of multimedia will enhance the fundamental concept being discussed.

So, what should one consider when selecting media? The first question I would ask myself is “does the medium help illustrate and contextualize the concept(s) for a given topic?” If the answer is yes, then utilizing differentiated media can address varied learning styles. The use of audio, visual, and kinesthetic multimedia and learning activities helps to liven up the course by supporting learner engagement.

In a course that I recently developed, I had the pleasure of working with an innovative professor who identified television sitcoms and motion pictures to help articulate the course concepts. When she was unable to find existing media, this professor strategically utilized resources such as theater majors on campus to portray and video record these concepts.

There are a plethora of resources that exist on the Internet and internal resources available through most higher education institutions. The need to develop new content is unlikely given that individuals and organizations have made acquiring content much more conducive via proper permissions (i.e., creative commons, licensing rights via authentic websites, etc.) to utilize their content.

Once you have the framework of your course solidified, identifying (and in the professor’s case, creating) illustrative multimedia can help to ensure that your course content is relevant and piques students’ interest.

Resources

Designing Across Nine Time Zones: Twiddla to the Rescue!

Sometimes you need a no-cost way to work collaboratively and synchronously at a distance. For instance, earlier this year I was a member of a graduate-student team designing an interactive app for the iPad. We had a member in Saudi Arabia, another on the eastern seaboard, and several members spread across the Chicago metro area. We obviously couldn’t meet in person to sketch out ideas and critique them. We needed a way to post design documents, mark them up, and discuss in real time. Fortunately for us, we discovered Twiddla, a collaborative workspace with a free version that proved indispensible.

Getting Started

Twiddla describes itself as a real-time collaboration tool. I liked that it was simple and easy to use; just navigate to http://twiddla.com and click Start a New Meeting:

Twiddla gives you a clean, easy-to-use interface. The toolbar has controls for a virtual whiteboard, tools for adding and annotating documents, images, and web pages, and a real-time collaborative text editor that Twiddla calls an EtherPad. There’s a basic text tool for annotating the display and simple drawing and shapes tools too. Twiddla also offers some fundamental tools to edit and arrange items and a basic administrative tool that allows you to add users and edit your profile.

Once you’re in your meeting room you can edit your profile, invite other users, and load your images, documents, Web pages, or media.

Add and Mark Up Documents

My team needed to be able to see, discuss, and mark up each other’s sketches in real time. Here’s an example of a PDF uploaded to Twiddla and marked up with the drawing tool:

This ability to view and mark up sketches was invaluable to my team, allowing us to review, critique, and iterate in real time, despite being separated by thousands of miles. Twiddla now has a real-time voice tool, but we opted to use Skype for synchronous voice and created a no-cost, real-time collaborative workspace with a combination of ease-of-use and powerful visual tools I haven’t found elsewhere.

While I consider Twiddla far easier to use, more powerful, and better for my purposes than wikis, Google Docs, or Web-conferencing tools like Wimba, it also has extended functionalities like the ability to insert math formulas or upload widgets and code that make it a great collaborative tool for math, science, multimedia, or programming:

Is It Right for You?

There are of course some limitations to the free version. You don’t have a named user account, so you can’t set up a workspace far in advance and send out invitations later. You can’t hold simultaneous meetings, and you’re on your own for tech support. You also can’t archive or save your work for future use, and you can’t have a password-protected private meeting, which might preclude using Twiddla with students in some situations. Paid versions eliminate those shortcomings and add features like unlimited storage, SSL security, custom URLs, and presenter/moderator controls for as little as $14 a month.

However, the free version works really well for me. So if you’re looking for a powerful, no-cost, easy-to-use collaborative workspace, Twiddla deserves your attention. Check it out at http://twiddla.com.

Happy Holidays!