Multimedia: What it is and what it can do for ourstudents

Roisin Vaughan

Whatever our views on the use ofsoftware for teaching English, it is clear that advancements in technology willaffect current teaching practices and challenge our perceptions of the use ofcomputers in the classroom.

What is multimedia?

A consensus definition of multimedia might be that it is the digital integration of:

• Text (written)
• Graphics (the interface of the program)
• Animation
• Audio (dialogues, stories, sound effects)
• Still images (pictures and visual stimuli)
• Motion video

Through the integration of allthese media, the learning experience becomes an interactive one mirroringeveryday experiences.

In the context of the languageclassroom, teachers will already be familiar with all of the above teachingtools. This leads us to a natural point of comparison between multimedia andmore traditional teaching materials.

Most language teaching is stillcentered on course books that exploit two media at any one time: text andvisuals. To incorporate sound or motion video, the teacher needs access to acassette or video recorder, which generally have to be reserved in advance.

Multimedia materials, however,combine all of these media providing teachers with a package offeringflexibility and ease of use as well as more "realistic" contexts forlanguage practice.

Kinds of multimedia materialson the market

With the increasing numbers ofsoftware programs on the market, it is worth distinguishing between the maincategories:

• Edutainment - targeting education and entertainment simultaneously; the most obvious examples being children's adventure games - Instructional programs-tutor- led such as typing courses
• General reference programs- i.e. on-line dictionaries and encyclopedias
• Authoring programs-permit users the freedom to create their own programs, e.g. teachers developing their own lessons/tests
• Task-based programs-based on writing tasks not encapsulated in the program itself
• Authoring tools-allow the users to develop their own multimedia programs

Like all teaching resources, multimedia has a variety of applications in the classroom: as a complete curriculum, a class supplement, a source of reference or review. Teachers will select an approach suitable to their particular environment, influenced by the number of hours they have access to computers, the needs of students and restrictions imposed by the school / state syllabus etc. Feedback from teachers and students suggests that multimedia is most effective in an independent, self-access context in which the teacher determines the order but not the process or speed of learning.

When debating the effectiveness ofusing software, teachers need to question the extent to which this new mediumalters their role. By replacing certain functions of the teacher (correctingroutine error; controlling a tape recorder etc.), multimedia may well allow the teacher to concentratehis/her skills on aspects of learning that can only take place in a classroomenvironment.

What can it do for students?

The features of multimedia in theclassroom can be summarized as follows:

• It creates a rich learning environment by increasing students’ exposure to the target language and making use of authentic contexts.
• The emphasis on experiential, individual learning makes the learning process more natural.
• It provides contexts and allows for the integration of sub skills; learners can listen to texts as they read and exercises are often multi-skilled incorporating listening, reading and speaking tasks.
• It can make the whole process of language learning involving and motivating by providing an exciting, dynamic and autonomous learning environment. The shift in control from teacher-student is often liberating for students.
• It caters for a wider band of learners than other classroom materials, as students are encouraged to work at their own pace and to make choices according to their preferred learning style. This has clear implications for top and bottom layers of the class and the combination of sound, visuals and interactive tasks appeals to different learning styles.

While good multimedia applicationswill do all these things and many more, mediocre materials can result in agreat deal of time wasting or attempts to teach in a way which could be donemore effectively using other methods and materials.

Criteria for Evaluation

Teachers therefore need to developtheir own criteria for evaluating multimedia materials. While most teachershave no doubt developed this skill through experience and instinct, thefollowing list pertains specifically to CD-ROM evaluation:

1. Interactivity
2. Browsability
3. Graphic design
4. Exploitation of individual media
5. Honesty
6. Flexibility

One approach to the development ofmultimedia software is that taken by the Q Group, with their skills-based"Q Review" series. In a recent interview, Dr Roberta Stock,Publishing Director, discusses how the above criteria influenced the overalldesign of the course.

1. Interactivity

Stock claims that one of the mainprinciples of good software is to maximize student exposure to the language."Language learning requires intensive time on taskssomething not possiblein the classroom where factors such as class size mean that most pupils will getonly a few opportunities to interact on a one-on-one basis in the foreignlanguage. When we designed the Q Review line of products, we made sure weprovided maximum interactivity – aiming at an average number of 80 or 90interactions in a 40 minute session."

2. Browsability

CDs are obviously more difficultto glance through than printed materials so clear sign posting and ease ofnavigation are important considerations. "We know that people like to skiparound, look ahead, and are quite capable of making decisions about theirlearning route," says Dr Stock. "All of 16 our materialsallow students the ability to browse, return to previous activities and achievethe objectives in different ways."

3. Graphic design

Many educational materials concentrate entirely on pedagogical value with little attention paid to exciting design. "The point is, students are familiar with the graphic capability of the computer and expect the same quality of design as any best selling game this is after all, a graphic medium," says Stock.

On the other hand, it is importantto remember that the software is meant to be used for many hours, so the userinterface and design should not be too intrusive. Stock emphasizes consistencyin language as being an important consideration, "so that you will notsee, suddenly, a Window popup which is of a different style to the rest of theprogram. These small points give the user the feeling of working in an entireworld developed just for them."

4. Exploitation of individualmedia

"It is important to remember that the technology is a medium and not an objective," she continues. Every decision to use video, sound or graphics should have a clear educational rationale behind it. "We never use a medium just because it is there. Video and animation are only used if they are the right and most appropriate vehicle for learning and not just an accessory."

5. Honesty

This can relate either to the promises made on the box (which are often exaggerated) or to functionality that is assumed to exist but may, in fact, not, e.g. voice recognition which does not actually work or materials which claim to be interactive. Honesty also refers to a product having an identifiable educational approach and philosophy with the ultimate goal of causing learning. "Before we even began designing the Q Review series (and for that fact, all of our materials)," she explains, "we first carry out an educational analysis of our goals and how we want to achieve them. Then we design the entire curriculum based on the goals. Only then do we select the presentation approach that best reflects these pedagogical principles."

6. Flexibility

Flexibility relates to the use of the materials in different classroom environments. "The program, unless developed to be lock-step with a set approach, curriculum or text, should provide a tool that can be used in a variety of settings...I view multimedia language learning materials like a reference book to be used on occasion or to be used intensively for a specific purpose," Stock concludes.

Conclusion

Freedom to opt out of the technological revolution may in future become more limited. As Ray Clifford stated in 1987, "technology will not replace teachers, but teachers who use technology will replace teachers who don't." (Keynote address CALICO 1987). This may seem rather contentious for some, but what we can say with certainty is that, selected carefully and used thoughtfully, multimedia materials offer exciting opportunities for those who want to develop and enhance their teaching.

Roisin Vaughan works as ProductManager for the Q Group Plc. She can be reached at<rvaughan@qgroupplc.com>. This article first appeared in IATEFLIssues, Aug/Sept 1999.