CHAPTER TWO

MULTIMEDIA IN SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

Introduction

We live in a world that is constantly confronted with rapid changes and this is applicable to education as a field especially Media Services. Gone are the days of the use of schools made use of departments of audio-visual but the present days are characterised by the proliferation of multimedia with the educational institutions, and this is expected to expand in the future.

The primary requirement of teachers is having access to resources for learning that are supportive to learners in terms of concept development in various way so that the learning needs of individuals can be met. The advent and development of multimedia in terms of learning has opened new doors of learning in schools and at home. Teachers’ access to the use of the resources of multimedia enables them to be facilitators of learning when they work with students. With the extension of multimedia resources usage to homes creates educational opportunity to enhance the learning ability of students.

Various elements in use with regards to multimedia are not new; they are only combined into more effective tools amongst teachers and students. Interactive multimedia combines five fundamental kinds of media to form a learning platform and these include graphics, sound, video, animation and text.It is not important to begin from the beginning of linear document and to the end of it. The concept of interactive multimedia learning looks like the construction of spider web in which an idea links to another, thereby making learners to choose his/ her path of learning.

The types of technologies associated with multimedia with meaningful impact in learning are the ones that supplement existing curriculum. They enhance the curriculum and allow further development. One typical case is the WWW which functions as a store house from which each learner can search for information related to specific field of interest. Development of applications related to multimedia has been found useful in single computing platforms like game machines, personal computers and Apple Mac.

The Elements of Multimedia in Social Studies Education

Using latest skills in computer to make representation of information and to develop computer related materials to enhance learning is becoming very interesting. It is however important to note that when these instructional designs are being developed, some factors should be examined carefully and analyzed and these factors be human or technical. Questions like these should be considered; when does sound appear more important than pictures? What amount of text is excess? Are graphics in excess on the screen? From students’ perspective, this enables them to put their acquired skills into test in each subject area. Hence each student should be able to pick suitable multimedia tools they need and then put them into use in the learning environment in which they find themselves so that effective learning can take place.

For effective learning to occur, some important components of multimedia is required and this is referred to as Multimedia learning environment and these are the hardware and software. As noted earlier, five kinds of element of media are integrated in order for students to be flexible in the expression of creativity when using multimedia for learning as shown in Figure 1. These are text, sound, video, animation and graphics.

Text

Text makes the most impact when quality is considered in multimedia interaction. It gives vital information and plays the role of keynote to tie each elements of multimedia together. Without a well text that is well written, multimedia communication can never be efficient.

Sound

Sound has be found useful in emphasising a shift from one page to the next. When sound is synchronized with what is displayed on the screen, teachers are able to present a lot of information at the same time. This can be done is different ways and all of them are based on displaying complex images that are paired with explanations spoken for learners to hear. This is the case of audiovisual where pictures/ art are synchronized with voiceover (here we have a spoken explanation in the background). In this context, when sound is used in a creative form, the imagination of the learner is stimulated but when it is not used appropriately, it hinders learning and becomes annoying.

Video

There is an immediate effectively in the learning ability of learning if information can be represented with visualization in form of videos. Now it depends on how able a learner can make a choice on how he/ she can view and interact with what is contained in the digital video that determines how possible a digital video is used in education. Several instances exist where learners that are engaged in a given studying process are confronted with seemly complex state if they are completely presented in the form of text or by just using diagrams and images. In cases like this, using appropriate video of good quality can help learners to place theoretical concept into perspective. Video has the tendency to stimulate interest especially if it finds relevance in the information on the page and this is when it is not excessive. It can also be employed for citing examples of the context in question. A student reading a note on a given issue can have his reading/ understanding enhanced if a short video clip that shows a teacher making emphasis on the key points in the study is inserted at appropriate moment of the study section. Clips of video can also be used to notify the reader what he is expected to do next. It is important to also note that video cannot fully replace physical contact with lecturers but is only used as supplement to information in form of text.

A major justification for the use of video is that it has the ability to dramatically extract emotional responses from a given user. This response has the capacity to create emotional incentive to persist in task of reading and studying. Animation

Animations are employed in showing changes in state with reference to time or used in gradual presentation of information to a learner in order for the learner to assimilate them in smaller proportion. When animation is interactive (combining user’s input), it helps the learner (student) to view various forms of change with respect to time and this depends on variables involved.

The primary use of animation is to demonstrate/ illustrate a concept whereas videos are extracted from real life issues. The two kinds of animation that exist are the Cel based animation and the object-based animation. The former is made up of multiple drawings with each of them slightly different from the other. If these drawings a displayed in rapid succession, the drawings will appear to be moving. The later (also referred to as slide or path animation) simply moves an object across a screen but the object doesn’t change.

Graphics

Graphics is one way to provide effective creative learning session. This can be in form of pictures accessed from a CD-ROM, drawings, and graphs or similar things accessed from the internet. If a scanner is available, works drawn with hands can also be incorporated. It has been noted that the ability to draws information from stored memory when pictures are involved does not have limit. This is due to the fact when dealing with images, a large proportion of cortical skills are used. This involves colour, texture, dimension, form, lines and imagination.

Educational Requirements

Though there is great reward in the employment of multimedia in learning, there are challenges involved because they involve complex tasks. Visually every format (graphics, sound, animation, text and video) for multimedia exists in majority of libraries and student can take advantage of them to explore innumerable types of information. The process of exploring vast range of information usually leads to new discoveries but if consumption is not accompanied by productivity, the learning exercise ends at that stage. If there is no opportunity to demonstrate newly discovered (acquired) information, knowledge acquired will be forgotten within a short period of time.

When students are given opportunity to develop their own multimedia document, they have many educational advantages. Giving students particular information, they work of it from four point of view:

  1. from the perspective of a researcher, information they need as a matter of necessity is located and selected in order to understand the topic chosen.

  2. from the viewpoint of an author, they give consideration to the audience they intend to reach out to before they make decision on the type/amount of information that is required to make readers understand the topic concerned.

  3. From the perspective of a designer, suitable media must be selected in order to effectively share the concept in question.

  4. Lastly, from the viewpoint of a writer, a way to fit the information to the container must be devised and this must include how to link the given information so that it can be retrieved easily by readers.

In defining the suitable medium to be used, it is important to have adequate knowledge of who the audience is and the machine specification of users. This will influence the choice of element of multimedia that will be employed to adequately communicate the concepts to the users. Depending on the medium selected, in applying any of the aforementioned principles to all digital media element, it is vital to make sure that a congruent visual that conforms and consistent with every other information presented for learning can be effective. No matter how advanced the technology adopted is, the principles of instructional design must be applied. When one visual element is misused, it can result in information being misrepresented and this can cause a hindrance to learning even if every other part is in conformity with instructional design principles. Hence the nature of audience must be put into perspective, and this could be their age group or the cultural environment of the target audience/ learners.

Human - Computer Interface

Just as it is application to other applications, appliances or tools, the benefit of multimedia is that it is user friendly and requires minimum training. Hence designing an effective human-computer interface which may be in form of a screen or audio is acceptable. Standards are set for computer-based publication, and these are normally set by publishers of books, producers of music, television producers and Walt Disney cartoons. As High Definition Television has been developed there is the tendency that there will be increased demand for computer-based multimedia systems.

Access, Delivery, Scheduling and Recording

Access times for computer information must be less than one second if it must be usable in real time. Otherwise, it is also important to note that it is acceptable for information to be delivered at a later time if it can be scheduled as in the case of TV broadcast. One advantage that scheduling has over demand delivery is that learners have control of the time that is convenient for them, and this is done by making request of the multimedia units at a later time. This makes it convenient for computer users to record a films or schedule learning session for a later time.

Interactivity

Multimedia that is computer based needs to be incorporated with the same kind of interactive section available in school exercise books or like the handbooks of laboratory experiments for such multimedia to be considered credible enough to be used as a learning medium. It has been noted by most Educationist that for learning to be easier and knowledge acquired to be retained permanently, it most give learners the opportunity to somehow participate with the learning materials. The one of the responsibilities of the designers of application is to make sure that interactivity is incorporated in the application. The concept of interactivity is enhanced if the network can accommodate two-way communication while in other application; it is enhanced by incorporating ability delivering moving pictures or sound swiftly in order for two-way interaction to be generated. One typical example is real time video conference.

Classroom Architecture and Resources

There is an increasing number of complex technologies used to support teaching nowadays. Not too long before now, the only things teachers need were just a number of seats for students, blackboards, lecterns and tables.

This was later followed by overhead projectors, the slide projectors and TV/ video players. In the contemporary world, teaching is enhanced with the use of computers, networking systems and the associated display tools. Starting from periods of learning materials that were almost maintenance free to a contemporary period where teaching rooms are not just expensive to equip but costly to maintain (this include rising cost of security).

Learners can access study materials used for multimedia classes directly from server when classes are on or can be downloaded by the student before class starts. Demands placed on connecting networks are different with regards to every access mode. Students normally learn how to employ multimedia as aid to obtaining information from various sources like the digital library and multimedia servers with the help of computer-aided learning environment.

Some of the benefits that lecturers enjoy as a result of the use of multimedia include:

  1. Accomplishing educational objectives

  2. Enhancing students’ understanding of concepts

  3. Demonstrates events

  4. Showing places and

  5. Helping to conduct experiments which previously were impossible.

The sharing of outputs from multimedia is carried out in such a manner that it does not distract other learners in the learning environment. Despite the fact that many student can perform similar activities simultaneously in a particular network, teachers/ lecturers are able to decide to control students’ activities through the media of the computer. A typical example is the multi-party desktop conferencing in which lecturers chair the conference session and shows the selected part of the video that he wants the students to see.

Most reform models used by schools pay attention to how to significantly restructure classrooms. Their proposition is shifting from teacher-focused instructive model to learner-focused constructive model. Though there are varieties in constructive model, they all emphasize cooperative learning and project-oriented learning. Virtually every school reform model recognizes the fact new dimension to reading and writing comes by the advent of multimedia and this makes it important for student to build their skills in retrieving information with the use of multimedia environment.

Training and Staff Development

These innovative teaching can only be achieved by means of methodology that can support the technology. This requires changing direction with regards to how academics is planned and how lectures are delivered. Hence lectures have to be smartly structured to maximize the advantages that interactive system of teaching offers.

Introducing and installing new technological approach with regards to teaching must be accompanied with staff training courses and it should be noted that training comes along with its corresponding financial costs. This training involves two set of people; lecturers and support staff. It should also be noted that students should also be trained with respect to presentation skills. Resources - WWW and Virtual Environments

The purpose of the creation of the world-wide-web is to enhance collaborative research from remote locations. This also primarily resulted in the development of the provision of information connected to several sources of information. This is a vital means to access, deliver and exchange information. By means of the WWE, resources that would have been difficult to access are readily accessed; these including virtual libraries and museums. There are several resources that are built for students’ use and a typical example are question and answers which are developed to be searched and designed to be routed through experts (in the case of a new query) with the answers to the questions logged for future reference. Students can access this kind of teaching program in form of modules during their course of training.

The World Wide Web is a type of digital multimedia library but in a global scale. Hence, it becomes imperative for students to build their skills in order access information available in multimedia resource as the number of classroom multimedia facilities are on the increase.

Adopting multimedia as a tool in learning has the capacity to break the boundaries of just interaction and exploration in education. If adopted adequately, stakeholders in educational environment would be able to bring into existence a “Virtual Education Space” (VES). Here learners/ students will be able to create artefact which is the reflection of their understanding of what is understood from what they have learned with the combination of text, voice and animation. Teachers can as well develop a customized lesson plan for specific purposes and by this education laboratory that is innovative can be created.

Concerns

The blending together of all the various kinds of media world puts together a new age of technology. Multimedia (made up of text, sound, video, images) has the capacity to offer efficient learning aid. Not until schools find solution to the needs of professional development, make suitable software available, improve on classroom management, enhance curriculum integration, employment of expensive technology will not yield enough educational return. .

The only way to realize the complete benefits of the use of multimedia technology in teaching and learning in both primary and secondary school is to reengineer learning experiences in schools. One vital element is to make teachers to be conversant with multimedia technologies so that they can understand how to employ them in their curriculum.

In addition, the unrestricted display of information on the internet has some kind of demerits. It is on the part of a student to make decision the important information they need. Hence, they should be taught how to make distinction between what is good and relevant to him/ her. This is due to the fact that there exist no rules on what kind of material that can be display on interment.

Review Questions

Attempt the following questions:

  1. Define the term multimedia in the context of Social Studies.

  2. Itemize the basic elements of multimedia resources in Social Studies teaching and learning.

  3. What is animation as an element of multimedia resources? Identify and discuss the types of animations known to you.