Multimedia For Web Learning

Multimedia in Online Education Multimedia includes any combination of text, graphic art, sound, animation, and video. While state-of-the-art video or audio production would be outside budget limits for college instructors, there are some free or almost free resources that can be utilized to provide multimedia for online courses. Windows Options The Windows XP and Vista operating systems come with Windows Movie Maker, which facilitates creation of short videos with sound. All you need are a sound file, easily created using a microphone and the Windows operating system sound recorder, and digital video or a series of digital photos. While these free products probably will not provide award winning multimedia for your online courses, they can give you the opportunity to expand your course content. Online Presentation of Content Multimedia enlivens an online presentation of content, but course designers should consider bandwidth during design and development. Most universities and colleges have broadband access to the Internet, but many of the online students are using dial up connections. This severely limits the multimedia content students can download or requires so much time to download that it becomes frustrating to the student. If you choose to incorporate large multimedia files, consider offering students an alternative to getting the content. Free software programs, such as CamStudio, provide the course developer with the ability to create videos from animated screen captures. The software also allows voice recordings. For audio recordings that can be edited, Audacity is a good software choice. A Google search on the software name will take you to the appropriate download site. Large Download Alternative When developing large files for an online class, one alternative to downloading would be to offer all multimedia content you have created to the students on CD-ROM in exchange for a blank CD. Another alternative would be to provide the files in a zip format, using Microsoft Windows compressed folders or WinZip to decrease download time. Static Learning Sites Not Engaging Marc Prensky (2005) has made an extensive study of the way younger learners think and learn. The research population he studied are now, or will be soon, moving into higher education. His research has shown that digital natives, as he calls younger learners, must be engaged or they turn off. They simply stop listening. This research can be extrapolated to indicate that simply putting lectures, outlines and graphics online is not enough to reach the online learner. Text and pictures are not engaging. Multimedia is the future of online education. Resources: Prensky, M. (2005) Engage me or enrage me. Educause Review. September/October 2005.