Journal of Educational Multimedia
and Hypermedia
Volume 5, Number 2 1996
Collaborative Hypermedia Development: Considerations
for Academic Publishing
Bryan P. Bergeron and Michael T. Bailin
101
Douglas MacKenzie 113
Multimedia Information and Learning
Lawrence J. Najjar 129
Learning Environment for Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (LEMRS):
Supporting Apprenticeship Learning in Operational Environments
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. Alessi 203
Abstracts
Collaborative Hypermedia Development: Considerations for Academic PublishingCollaborative Hypermedia Development: Considerations for Academic Publishing
Bryan P. Bergeron and Michael T. Bailin
Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Anesthesiology Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
The ready availability of tools for
the authoring and dissemination of hypermedia documents through
the World Wide Web, CD-ROM, and other electronic formats is redefining
the traditional academician-publisher relationship. From an economic
and technologic perspective, self-publishing through electronic
media is now a viable and attractive alternative to traditional
publisher-mediated channels. Despite the many emerging technologies
supportive of rapid dissemination of content, the acquisition,
management, and editing of hypermedia content remain key activities
in any publishing activity, especially when multiple authors are
involved. Defining an optimum process for realizing the maximum
benefits from enabling technologies such as the World Wide Web,
hypermedia authoring tools, and multimedia content management
systems, is especially critical when working with authors and
publishers still rooted in traditional publishing paradigms.
Using Archives for Education Using Archives for Education
Douglas MacKenzie
DMC Ltd, 3 La Belle Place
Glasgow, G3 7LH
Scotland, UK
Sometimes the power of even simple computer systems applied to archival applications seems immense: In a search of well-indexed and catalogued items every German oil painting from between 1950 and 1970 loaned to a gallery can be identified and displayed in seconds. On the other hand, a relatively trivial task for the human eye, selecting images which contain a particular motif is beyond the scope of most computer applications except in a few well-defined domains. A successful application obviously depends on providing the right kind of query tools to the user. In looking at what sort of queries a computerised archive should be able to handle we soon had to ask more fundamental questions. What is the function of an archive? Who should it serve and how should the different needs and expertise of different user groups be met? In answering these questions it became clear that such an archive has enormous educational possibilities but the traditional hypertext approach to navigating through such material is quite inadequate.
The issues discussed here arise mainly out of work
on two specific projects, building an archive of exhibitions and
events held at the Demarco European Arts Foundation in Edinburgh,
Scotland and the TAMH project, an attempt to build a virtual museum
telling the maritime history of the Tay Valley.
Multimedia Information and Learning
Lawrence J. Najjar
School of Psychology
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0170, USA
Multimedia is being used increasingly to provide computer-based instruction. One reason for this trend may be the assumption that multimedia information helps people learn. To find out whether there is empirical support for this assumption, this paper reviews studies from a wide variety of fields to show that multimedia may be able to help people learn more information more quickly compared to traditional classroom lecture. Redundant multimedia does not always improve learning compared to "monomedia." Specific situations in which multimedia information may help people to learn include (a) when the media encourage dual coding of information, (b) when the media support one another, and (c) when the media are presented to learners with low prior knowledge or aptitude in the domain being learned. There is empirical support for concluding that specific multimedia can be used to help people learn specific kinds of information.
Learning Environment for Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (LEMRS):
Supporting Apprenticeship Learning in Operational Environments
Patricia M. Jones and Kenneth J. Schneider*Patricia M. 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 the
operation of scientific instruments is the linkage between laboratory
procedures (i.e., how to operate the instrument) and classroom
instruction (i.e., theoretical perspectives on why and how the
instrument operates as it does). This paper describes a hypermedia
tutoring system for one-dimensional proton nuclear magnetic resonance
(NMR) spectroscopy: LEMRS (Learning Environment for Magnetic Resonance
Imaging). LEMRS provides a simulation-based interactive learning
environment that instantiates an apprenticeship model of instruction.
Listening Skills Development Through Multimedia
Carla Meskill
Department of Educational Theory and Practice
University at Albany, State University of New York
Albany, NY 12222, USA
As multimedia technology (interactive videodisc,
CD-ROM, CD-I, etc.) becomes more accessible to teachers and learners
of other languages, its potential as a tool to enhance listening
skills becomes a practical option. Multimedia allows integration
of 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, when
we now look at the computer as potentially supporting listening
skills acquisition, we need to examine not only aural processing
opportunities, but multi modal, (simultaneous sight, sound,
text) processing as well. This paper examines multi modal processing
and its implications for listening skills development in a foreign
or second language. How multi modal processing as it relates to
listening skills development can be supported by multimedia technology
is presented.
Effects of 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 multimedia
courseware is the use of voice versus text in conveying verbal
information. Voice is generally considered the more realistic
and natural mode than displayed text. It also has assumed advantages
such 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 for
conveying temporal information. In contrast, textual information
has assumed advantages: it can be processed at the learners own
rate, it is rehearsable, it is more efficiently stored and processed
in a computer, and it is better for conveying spatial information.
This paper analyzes the relative advantages of text
and voice and reports results of an experimental study. The experiment
was a 3 (Group: Text vs. Voice vs. Text & Voice, between subjects)
x 2 (Type: Spatial vs. Temporal, within subjects) split-plot design
that investigated the effects of presentation methods on learning
and subjects' preferences. One hundred forty-one college students
attended the experiment. No significant difference was found on
learning. Eighty-two percent of subjects preferred Text &
Voice to the other two methods.