What kind of multimedia is used in education?

3.1 Multi Media - Meaning, Nature, Scope, Definition and Approches.

Multimedia technologies enable the users to integrate and manipulate data from diverse sources such as video, images, graphics, animation, audio and text on a single hardware platform. Now multimedia has become the latest cultural phenomena in the information sector. The rapid ascent of multimedia technology over the last decade has brought about fundamental changes to computing, entertainment and education.

The exponential growth of multimedia technologies and applications has presented the computerized society with opportunities and challenges that in many cases are unprecedented. It is becoming more and more popular because of the effectiveness of its applications in all aspects of human life. Multimedia applications have progressed to the point of sparking a fundamental paradigm shift in the very concept of information transfer and presentation.

The Columbia Encyclopaedia has defined multimedia as �in personal computing, software and applications that combines text, high quality sound, two and three dimensional graphics, animation, images, and full motion video.�.

�According to Vaughan �multimedia is any combination of text, sound, animation and video delivered by computer or other electronic or digitally manipulated means. It is a woven combination of digitally manipulated text, photographs, graphic art, sound, animation, and video elements.�

Nature of Multimedia Approach

�      Multimedia approach uses a number of media, devices, techniques in the teaching learning process.

�      Multimedia approach can convey vast information and provide many sources from which student can access the information.

�      Multimedia approach will improve the teaching learning process.

�      Multimedia approach is not restricted to a single type of learning style. It can provide the support of a wide range of activities.

�      Multimedia approach aims at providing meaningful learning experience via a mix of media in order to achieve predetermined objectives.

�      Multimedia approach provides the opportunity to gain mastery of competencies and skills.

�      The choice of the media has to be done carefully so that one does not hamper or reduce the effect of the other. That is each media must complement the other.

�      Multimedia approach will enable the learner to get access to information in dynamic environment.

Role of Teacher in Multimedia Approach

�      Teacher has to adopt a number of methods and techniques.

�      Teacher has to aware of the different available media and their availability.

�      Teacher should be physically competent to use and demonstrate the use of the different media.

�      Teacher should be skillful enough to make a judicious choice of media and competent enough to mix them sequentially and in an orderly manner.

�      Teacher's role is that of a facilitator or manager of activities.

�       Teacher has to lead his student for independent, individualized learning.

3.2 Types of Instructional Aids: Projected & non�projected Aids, Projectors, Radio, Tape Recorder, Television, Films, Computers, whiteboard, Smartboard, e-Flash Cards, Educational Toys

Projected visual aids:

Projected visual aids are pictures shown upon a screen by use of a certain type of machine such as a filmstrip projector, slide projector, overhead projector or TV/VCR.

Advantages of projected visuals.

�      Provides greater enjoyment in learning

�      Stimulates more rapid learning

�      Increases retention: larger percentages and longer retention

�      Makes teaching situation adaptable to wider range

�      Compels attention

�      Enlarges or reduces actual size of objects

�      Brings distant past and the present into the classroom

�      Provides an easily reproduced record of an event

�      Influences and changes attitudes

Non-Projected    Aids

1.    Graphic   Aids:

�      Graphic  aids  are visual aids  such as graphs ,diagrams, charts, etc�,and  are  represented  on plane  surface .Graphic  aids help to  present  data  systematic ally in an abridged form. Graphics  could   truly  be considered  as  the  short hand  language of  the  idea  conveyed  by  the  data  concerned. The principal categories of graphic   aids   are described   below.

�      Graphs: The nature of the relation of two dependent variables could be very easily presented by graphical representation. Graphs could be interpreted and inferences drawn   easily.  Line graph, bar graph, pie graph, etc are different types of graphs.

�      Diagrams:  Diagrams  could  be  used  to  easily  explain  many   facts  at  

the  same  time,  by  using  a  variety  of  symbols  and  labels.  Diagrams   

can explain fact more vividly than charts.

�      Posters:  Posters are bold and attractive representations of an idea concept and are usually given in color. Poster captures the eye and conveys the desired message.

�      Maps:  A map is a acute representation of the boundaries and other details of the continents, countries, etc. on a plane surface, in the form of a diagram drawn to scale. A variety of geographical details like location of mountains and rivers, altitudes of places, contours of the earth surface, important cities and other places etc can be represented accurately with reference to a convenient scale & following a suitable color scheme.

�      Cartoons:   A cartoon is a metaphorical, humorous & exaggerated caricature of a person or a situation, in the form of a picture or a sketch. By the humorous or satirical presentation, it attracts the attention of viewers.

�      Comics: A comic strip is a form of cartoon depicting a story in sequence. The events are arranged in the proper order in an attractive pictorial form that is normally appealing to lower age groups.

�      Flash cards:  Flash card is an aid liberally used in language lessons, especially in the lower classes. This facilitates immediate feedback of comprehension and skill in silent reading; hence, the name flash card.

�      Pictures & photographs:  Pictures & photographs play a significant role in making ideas clear & comprehensive.

�      Charts:  A chart may be defined as a combination of graphic & pictorial media designed for the orderly & logically visualizing of relationship between key facts & ideas. The most used charts are flip charts, flow charts, display charts, tabular charts, tree charts & time chart.

2.    Display Board:

The stereotyped atmosphere of the traditional classroom, libraries & corridors of schools is recently giving way to attractive & educative surrounding with a wealth of display materials. Display may be categorized into three main types according to functions they perform, namely, motivational, developmental & summarizing.

Types Of Display Boards

�      Blackboard: It is one of the simplest & oldest of visual aids. It is like a magnifying glass in the hands of teacher. Blackboard planning is precious skill to be developed by any teacher.

�      Roll �up chalk board:  These are usually made of thick rexin cloth. The charts & pictures can be drawn on it well in advance and presented as & when required.

�      Flannel board: Flannel boards have a fiber surface to which similar materials will adhere. This can be prepared by stretching a suitable size of flannel cloth on a heavy cardboard. Only flat, light weight teaching materials can be used on flannel boards.

�      Magnetic board: A magnetic display will be useful to show the relative movement of elements of a visual. A sheet of  iron together with a piece of magnet can be used for the magnetic board.

�      Bulletin board: As the name as indicates, it is aboard for exhibiting bulletins, new  items, announcements, and multifarious items of visual displays to be communicated to the students. It is an information-giving device.

�      Marker board: this is a large sheet of white plastic board with a surface texture suitable for writing or drawing with felt- tip pens, marker or crayons. This can be used in a same way as chalk borders.

Three � Dimensional Aids:

�      Models: Models are concrete representations of objects, their size being adjusted to make it handy & conveniently observable. These are mostly three dimensional or sectional & can clearly exhibit the structure of functions of the original. Most often models prove to be more effective than the real ones.

�      Objects: Objects may be defined as the real things collected from their natural settings.

�      Specimen: A specimen may be defined as a typical object or a part of an object, which has been removed for convenient observation. It may a representative of class or group of similar objects.

�      Mock-ups: When direct firsthand experience is either impractical or impossible, mock-ups can be used. A mock-up is an operating model usually of a process, designed to be worked out directly the learner foe specific training or analyses. Mock �up is an imitation of the real process.

�      Puppets: Four thousands of year�s puppets have been used to stimulate reality, to entertain and to pass on knowledge. The most commonly used puppets are hand puppets, glove and finger puppets, rod puppets, and string & shadow puppets.

�      Audio aids: Radio & tape recorder are the most important teaching aids used for teaching & learning.

�      Radio: Radio adds variety experiences. It is a powerful medium for mass communication. It also plays a major role in imparting instructions to school children�s through educational broadcast provided on specific days at specific school hours. Talks and classes based on prescribed syllabi of the various objects are given.

�      Tape recorder: A tape recorder is used to record sound on magnetic tape which can be reproduced at will as many times as required. It is a very effective aid for classroom instruction. The recorded tapes consisting of lessons handled by eminent teachers on any subjects can be played in class.

Films:Although the motion film is mostly used in-group situations, the librarian should encourage individual use as well. Preparing a film catalog, which quite frequently in a book or as a separate computer listing, is an essential tool for the multimedia center staff and the user. Preparing film programs to coincide with special events, holidays, and cultural affairs that affect the community served by the library. Although some users will want to see a film on the library premises, and many use it in-group situations and want to reserve a film so that it will be available when the group convenes.

Documentary Films: There are many ways to categorize films in the library collection, but it is recommended that they be assigned to three major categories: the feature film, the educational film and the art film, which are called as �Documentaries�. The film collection is generally devoted to entertainment, information, and cultural enrichment. The educational film should contain a learning objective; it will supplement, or be supplemented by, other forms of information media. Of the three types of films, the art film usually the shortest, ranging form about 5 to 20 minutes of playing time. Art films are extremely popular in public libraries; they provide users with films that are unavailable from any other source. Subsumed under the categories offeature, educational, and art films are a host of film tapes; history films, science films, cartoons, mystery films, horror films, comedy films, biographical films, and so on. Once the decision is made to acquire a film or a particular type of film for the library collection, the next task is to find what films are available in any given category. The task of selecting a film is a demanding one, but in terms of both the film�s relatively high cost and the number of film titles available for selection, it is a worthwhile endeavor.

SMART Board: A SMART Board is one brand of interactive whiteboard. At its simplest, an interactive whiteboard allows you to project an image and 'interact' with it by writing on it or moving it around. The SMART Board is connected to a computer and works with a projector. The projector displays what is open on the computer and, rather than using a mouse or keyboard (although you can use those also), the SMART Board is a touch screen, which allows you to manipulate anything on the screen using your fingers. It is similar to how you would use a tablet or iPad. Special pens are included in a SMART Board to make writing in different colors quick and easy.

Older versions of the SMART Board only worked with one point of contact on the board, so multiple people could not be touching the board at the same time. The upgraded SMART Board 800 and newer models are equipped with multi-touch technology, which allow up to four students to collaborate using the board by responding to multiple touches at the same time. This means two students could be solving a math problem at the same time on the board or labeling a diagram together easily.

e-Flashcards:In addition to effective methodologies of learning such as mind mapping, note-taking and analyzing; flashcard plays a vital role in motivating learner�s ability to synthesize and memorize information. Flashcard began to appear in the 19th century, bringing significant benefits to learners. Nowadays, it is digitized in the realm of eLearning, which we call e-flashcard. e-flashcard helps with every single basic detail to build a foundation of knowledge. Let�s say that e-flashcard provides you with basic but essential elements. Just like when you want to build a house, you need to collect every single brick first. Without this foundation of knowledge, you cannot comprehend the subject or broaden your advanced knowledge. Many subjects use e-flashcards as a tool to help learners better memorize the facts, notions or formulas. You can also use it to test learner�s understanding of different fields such as a foreign language, chemistry diagrams, historical dates, and formulas. e-flashcards make learning available for you in anywhere and at anytime. 

Educational Toys: Research shows that learning through play is an important part of a child�s development. Though ensuring your child has enough play time is a great benefit to families to allow their children to release some extra energy, a child begins to find out who they are through play, even during infancy. Even early in development, a child�s mind is expanding just by looking at their environment and taking in their surroundings.

The use of educational toys can help children learn many different skills they will need in their life. Educational toys can help develop problem solving skills, teach about conflict resolution and how cause and effect work. It also teaches children about sharing, helps develop their fine and gross motor skills and nurtures their creativity and imagination.

Children can start benefiting from educational toys as early as one month old. Here are some great ideas for educational toys based on age range and an explanation of their benefits.

3.3 Advantages, Limitations and Challenges of Using Multi media in Education

Multimedia in the classroom has evolved rapidly with a progression from audio cassettes to internet sites in classroom learning. Examples of multimedia in the classroom include the use of video, the creation of video by students, the creation of spreadsheets or the development of a website displaying student work.

Advantages of Multimedia

�      Increases learning effectiveness

�      Gains and holds attention

�      More appealing

�      Reduces training cost

�      Easy to use

�      Give information to individuals

�      Provides high quality of presentations

�      Multi-sensorial

�      Integrated and interactive

�      Can be used as a wide variety of audience

�      Entertaining and educational

The pedagogical strength of multimedia is that it uses the natural information processing abilities that we already possess as humans. Our eyes and ears, in conjunction with our brain, form a formidable system for transforming meaningless sense data into information. The old saying that "a picture is worth a  thousand words" often understates the case especially with regard to moving images, as our eyes are highly adapted by evolution to detecting and interpreting movement.

Disadvantages of Multimedia

�      Expensive

�      Not always ready to configure

�      Requires special hardware

�      Not always compatible

�      Takes time to compile

�      Information overload

�      Misuse and/or overuse

�       Limitations of technology

Multimedia requires high-end computer systems. Sound, images, animation, and especially video, constitute large amounts of data, which slow down, or may not even fit in a low-end computer. Unlike simple text files created in word processing, multimedia packages require good quality computers. A major disadvantage of writing multimedia course ware is that it may not be accessible to a large section of its intended users if they do not have access to multimedia-capable machines. For this reason, course  ware developers should think very carefully about the type of multimedia elements that need to be incorporated into applications and include only those that have significant value.

3.4 Recent Trends in Multimedia

Greater access to STEM materials

As technology has become increasingly central to all aspects of modern life, schools have put more focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects. To take advantage of this shift, companies can develop engaging curriculum for robotics, coding, and programming.

Privacy for students

Cyber-security and digital privacy rank among the top concerns of all consumers, including consumers of education. As a result, there is a large market for improving the efficacy of existing products and creating new ones that will help manage student data and protect the privacy of these young individuals.

��Flipped learning�

A new approach to education is called �flipped learning,� and as the name suggests, it involves turning traditional teaching methods upside down. In a �flipped� classroom, students take advantage of new technologies to absorb content at home through videos and other digital content and then complete their �homework� at school in small groups under the teacher�s supervision.

Virtual education

Closely related to the concept of flipped learning is the idea of remote, or �virtual,� education, which takes place outside of a physical school building. With this method, students complete courses at home using online content, including videos of instructors in front of an actual class. Another benefit of virtual education is that teachers can utilize video conferencing and social media technologies, as well as a variety of subject-matter experts to convey information and check for understanding.

Digital and media literacy courses

As students spend more and more time online, there is a growing need for a curriculum that teaches digital literacy � systems to help students harness the technological tools at their disposal. This includes developing guidelines for how to interact with others (for more than social and entertainment purposes) and how to process information they encounter online.

New utility for wearable technology

Wearable technology can help keep kids safe. Not only can these devices track the locations of students at school, but they can also monitor the whereabouts of campus visitors. These items can even facilitate paperless transactions in the cafeteria, thus reducing waste, and quite possibly, bullying and theft.

Game-based curricula

Schools are more frequently adopting game-based curricula as a means for creatively engaging students in their lessons. Many kids appreciate the challenge-reward concept of video games, and these digital platforms can incorporate a wealth of problem-solving and social skills.

Improved parent-teacher connections

As schools continue to incorporate Ed Tech into the classroom, communication between teachers and parents will flourish. Teachers will take advantage of programs that track assignments and report student progress to all involved parties. Therefore, businesses will do well to supply new and better communication channels.

Better open resources for educators

A vast array of educational resources exists for teachers looking to incorporate digital content into their lessons. However, many of these are of low quality. Tech developers, therefore, can profit from developing intelligent, polished, and well-researched digital materials.

AI and VR

Artificial intelligence (AI) has gained a lot of traction in the market recently. Tech companies can use this technology to provide educational facilities with virtual mentors and teaching assistants, as well as improved automated grading systems.

Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) is a popular gaming technology that entrepreneurs can use to enhance student learning. At some schools, students are already taking �virtual� field trips with a VR headset. Estimates project instructional AI and VR expanding into a multibillion-dollar industry in the near future.

Paperless textbooks

School districts today must decide whether print textbooks or tablets for every student are more expensive. Over time, the latter usually proves a better financial investment because schools can easily upload new and better classroom materials to the same devices, but they must spend thousands to replace outdated traditional textbooks.

Big data analysis

Just as big data helps businesses obtain a better grasp of their consumer base, it can help teachers learn more about their students. Technology-assisted learning can yield valuable information about how children learn and in which specific areas they are struggling. For example, a student might fully understand the material but get confused by the format of a test.

Social media

Educators have recently embraced the utility of social media for organizing group projects. Moreover, online conversations and homework-related hash tags can help students build their own peer community. It can also encourage new ways of learning.

3.5 Implication of Multimedia in teaching learning.

The revolution in the information and communication technology arena has produced a techno-savvy and media-hungry generation, which uses digital media as a way to learn and share with each other. It is affecting communication strategies in education environment and influencing the ways teachers teach and students learn. Multimedia or the use of multiple digital media elements in an interactive learning application is becoming an emerging trend in the communication of educational information. Multimedia offers an excellent alternative to traditional teaching by allowing the students to explore and learn at different paces where every student has the opportunity to learn at his or her own potential. People enjoy multimedia and they prefer multimedia learning materials because the multiple media help them to learn. Many educators now consider multimedia as a burning topic in education, because it represents the topic through various media elements and introduces new ways of thinking in the classroom. Studies have shown that multimedia based instruction increases effectiveness at least 30% more than the traditional or any other form of instruction.

Multimedia with its capability to present information using multiple media is being increasingly used worldwide in e-learning. E-learning is the use of new multimedia technologies and the internet to improve the quality of learning by facilitating access to resources and services as well as remote exchanges and collaboration. Multimedia is used in distance learning through stored presentations, live teaching, and participation by the students.

In India, multimedia is used in different ways for teaching and learning i.e. e-learning, distance learning, virtual learning etc. The Virtual Lab Project is a multimedia based e-learning program for technical education for technical training centres and engineering colleges in West Bengal in India (Chaudhury, Bhattacharyya & Akuli, 2003). EDUSAT (Education Satellite) is launched by India for serving the educational sector of the country for emulating virtual classroom in an effective manner. It is specially configured for the audiovisual medium, employing digital interactive classroom and multimedia multi-centric systems. Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC), an autonomous body of University Grants Commission (UGC) has started regular transmission through EDUSAT from 2005 (Behera, n.d.). UGC has established Educational Multimedia Resource Centres (EMMRCs) in different parts of the country for the production of multimedia resources for educational purpose.

The University Grants Commission (UGC), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and several state institutions of education continued to broadcast educational programs through national and regional channels of Doordarshan. The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) together with UGC had initiated setting up of four satellite television channels for educational purpose named as Gyan Darshan 1, 2, 3 and 4. An FM Radio channel named as Gyan Vahini operating through FM stations from various parts of the country was initiated in 2001, now having more than 40 stations. Each Gyan Vahini station operate as media cooperatives, with multimedia products produced by various ministries, educational institutions, autonomous bodies, national level institutions such as UGC, NCERT, IGNOU, IITs and open universities. IGNOU has developed many multimedia programs for teaching various subjects like chemistry, language, biology etc. to its students.

Multimedia is a fertile ground for both research and development of new products, because of the breadth of possible usage, the dependency on a wide range of technologies, and the value of reducing cost by improving technology. The technology is being used in developing many applications for primary as well as higher education, entertainment, health services, public places and many more. With the advent of low cost computers and easy to use word processing software, computer based image processing techniques paved way for digitized information comprising textual to multimedia - data consisting of text, images along with digitized voice and video. Thus the information stored in libraries has taken a major shift from volume-limiting printed to limitless multimedia digital form. The libraries and information centres instigate production of multimedia resources in various forms, however archival collection of library also have audiovisual and multimedia resources. All these resources are either organized on shelves in the multimedia library or in a digital multimedia library having different content forms. i. e. text, music, videos, images, which can be accessed simultaneously from geographically distributed areas through internet.

What is multimedia as used in education?

What are the types of educational multimedia resources?

What types of multimedia are used in learning process?

What are the four types of educational media?