Journal of Educational Multimediaand Hypermedia
Volume 5, Number 2 1996
Collaborative Hypermedia Development: Considerations
for Academic Publishing
Bryan P. Bergeron and Michael T. Bailin101
Douglas MacKenzie 113
Multimedia Information and Learning
Lawrence J. Najjar 129
Learning Environment for Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (LEMRS):
Supporting Apprenticeship Learning in OperationalEnvironments
Patricia M. Jones and Kenneth J. Schneider 151
Listening Skills Development Through Multimedia
Carla Meskill 179
Effects of Text Versus Voice on Learning in Multimedia Courseware
Yu-Fen Shih and Stephen M. Alessi203
Abstracts
CollaborativeHypermedia Development: Considerations for Academic PublishingCollaborativeHypermedia Development: Considerations for Academic Publishing
Bryan P. Bergeron and Michael T. Bailin
Massachusetts General Hospital Department of AnesthesiologyFruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USAThe ready availability of tools forthe authoring and dissemination of hypermedia documents throughthe World Wide Web, CD-ROM, and other electronic formats is redefiningthe traditional academician-publisher relationship. From an economicand technologic perspective, self-publishing through electronicmedia is now a viable and attractive alternative to traditionalpublisher-mediated channels. Despite the many emerging technologiessupportive of rapid dissemination of content, the acquisition,management, and editing of hypermedia content remain key activitiesin any publishing activity, especially when multiple authors areinvolved. Defining an optimum process for realizing the maximumbenefits from enabling technologies such as the World Wide Web,hypermedia authoring tools, and multimedia content managementsystems, is especially critical when working with authors andpublishers still rooted in traditional publishing paradigms.
Using Archives for Education Using Archivesfor Education
Douglas MacKenzie
DMC Ltd, 3 La Belle Place
Glasgow, G3 7LH
Scotland, UK
Sometimes the power of even simple computer systemsapplied to archival applications seems immense: In a search ofwell-indexed and catalogued items every German oil painting frombetween 1950 and 1970 loaned to a gallery can be identified anddisplayed in seconds. On the other hand, a relatively trivialtask for the human eye, selecting images which contain a particularmotif is beyond the scope of most computer applications exceptin a few well-defined domains. A successful application obviouslydepends on providing the right kind of query tools to the user.In looking at what sort of queries a computerised archive shouldbe able to handle we soon had to ask more fundamental questions.What is the function of an archive? Who should it serve and howshould the different needs and expertise of different user groupsbe met? In answering these questions it became clear that suchan archive has enormous educational possibilities but the traditionalhypertext approach to navigating through such material is quiteinadequate.
The issues discussed here arise mainly out of workon two specific projects, building an archive of exhibitions andevents held at the Demarco European Arts Foundation in Edinburgh,Scotland and the TAMH project, an attempt to build a virtual museumtelling the maritime history of the Tay Valley.
MultimediaInformation and Learning
Lawrence J. Najjar
School of Psychology
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0170, USA
Multimedia is being used increasingly to providecomputer-based instruction. One reason for this trend may be theassumption that multimedia information helps people learn. Tofind out whether there is empirical support for this assumption,this paper reviews studies from a wide variety of fields to showthat multimedia may be able to help people learn more informationmore quickly compared to traditional classroom lecture. Redundantmultimedia does not always improve learning compared to "monomedia."Specific situations in which multimedia information may help peopleto learn include (a) when the media encourage dual coding of information,(b) when the media support one another, and (c) when the mediaare presented to learners with low prior knowledge or aptitudein the domain being learned. There is empirical support for concludingthat specific multimedia can be used to help people learn specifickinds of information.
Learning Environmentfor Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (LEMRS):
Supporting Apprenticeship Learning in OperationalEnvironments
Patricia M. Jones and Kenneth J. Schneider*PatriciaM. Jones and Kenneth J. Schneider*
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1206 W. Green St., Urbana IL 61801, USA
*Now at Strategic Technology Resources, 343 W.Erie, Suite 600
Chicago, IL 60610, USA
A critical issue in the training of students in theoperation of scientific instruments is the linkage between laboratoryprocedures (i.e., how to operate the instrument) and classroominstruction (i.e., theoretical perspectives on why and how theinstrument operates as it does). This paper describes a hypermediatutoring system for one-dimensional proton nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) spectroscopy: LEMRS (Learning Environment for Magnetic ResonanceImaging). LEMRS provides a simulation-based interactive learningenvironment that instantiates an apprenticeship model of instruction.
ListeningSkills Development Through Multimedia
Carla Meskill
Department of Educational Theory and Practice
University at Albany, State University of NewYork
Albany, NY 12222, USA
As multimedia technology (interactive videodisc,CD-ROM, CD-I, etc.) becomes more accessible to teachers and learnersof other languages, its potential as a tool to enhance listeningskills becomes a practical option. Multimedia allows integrationof text, graphics, audio, and motion video in a range of combinations.The result is that learners can now interact with textual, aural,and visual media in a wide range of formats. Consequently, whenwe now look at the computer as potentially supporting listeningskills acquisition, we need to examine not only aural processingopportunities, but multi modal, (simultaneous sight, sound,text) processing as well. This paper examines multi modal processingand its implications for listening skills development in a foreignor second language. How multi modal processing as it relates tolistening skills development can be supported by multimedia technologyis presented.
Effectsof Text Versus Voice on Learning in Multimedia Courseware
Yu-Fen Shih
Department of Educational Media and Library Science
Tamkang University
Taipei, Taiwan
Stephen M. Alessi
Department of Instructional Design and Technology
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA, USA
An important variable in the design of multimediacourseware is the use of voice versus text in conveying verbalinformation. Voice is generally considered the more realisticand natural mode than displayed text. It also has assumed advantagessuch as being more easily comprehended by children or poor readers,does not distract visual attention from stimuli such as diagrams,is more lifelike and therefore more engaging, and is good forconveying temporal information. In contrast, textual informationhas assumed advantages: it can be processed at the learners ownrate, it is rehearsable, it is more efficiently stored and processedin a computer, and it is better for conveying spatial information.
This paper analyzes the relative advantages of textand voice and reports results of an experimental study. The experimentwas a 3 (Group: Text vs. Voice vs. Text & Voice, between subjects)x 2 (Type: Spatial vs. Temporal, within subjects) split-plot designthat investigated the effects of presentation methods on learningand subjects' preferences. One hundred forty-one college studentsattended the experiment. No significant difference was found onlearning. Eighty-two percent of subjects preferred Text &Voice to the other two methods.