MULTIMEDIA DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT FOR DISTANCE TEACHING
OF ELECTRONICS
M. Castro
1, A. Hilario
2, S. Acha
3, J. Pérez
4, A. Colmenar
5, P. Losada
6, I. Rivilla
7and J. Peire
8
1 Manuel Castro, Spanish University for Distance Education, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain, [email protected] 2
Adolfo Hilario, Technical University of Valencia, Sapain, P. Ferrandiz y Carbonell 2, 03801 Alcoi, Spain, [email protected]
3 Santiago E. Acha, , Burgos University, Avda. General Vigón, s/n, 09006 Burgos, Spain, [email protected] 4
Julio Pérez, DMR Consulting, C/ Plátano, 15 - 4º B, 28029 Madrid, Spain, [email protected]
5
A. Colmenar, Spanish University for Distance Education, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain, [email protected]
6
P. Losada, Spanish University for Distance Education, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain, [email protected]
7
I. Rivilla, Spanish University for Distance Education, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain, [email protected]
8 J. Peire, Spanish University for Distance Education, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain, [email protected]
Abstract Distance teaching and learning involve some
definite problems. One of them has to deal with the loneliness that the student faces and that he has to assume the whole responsibility of the learning process. This requires considerable motivation and a strong tendency to exert himself. The CAEE workgroup in the Electric Engineering and Computer Department of the Spanish University for Distance Education is working to design and develop multimedia applications for distance teaching of electronics engineering and checking its appropriateness. The main target of this work is to profi t from the advantages of the multimedia applications to the transfer of information and to the learning process. It is verified that a correctly designed multimedia application produces reinforcement, and a grater and better assimilation in the learning process. Therefore, in order to ensure the correct profit of the multimedia applications advantages, developers must be very careful in using the right methodology.
Index Terms Distance teaching and learning, Electronics teaching, Multimedia.
I
NFLUENCE OFM
ULTIMEDIAE
LEMENTS IND
ISTANCEL
EARNINGThe loneliness is the hardest problem that distance students’ face. He has no other student near him, and there is no teacher in front of him, so he has to assume the whole responsibility of the learning process. Therefore, this situation could end in loss of motivation.
The CAEE workgroup in the Electric Engineering and Computer Department of the Spanish University for Distance Education is working to design and develop multimedia applications for distance teaching of electronics engineering and checking its appropriateness.
The main target of this work is to profit from the advantages of the multimedia applications to the transfer of information and to the learning process. This could be achieved by holding the mo tivation and participation of the student. Multimedia applications to education considerably
reduce the time devoted to learning. This is due to the convergence of several factors:
• User–application interactivity, resulting in a reinforce of learning.
• Individual learning, where the student learns at his own pace.
• Several communication channels: text, sound, graphics, animations and video. A positive emotional impact is produced in the student.
It is verified that user–application interactivity produces reinforcement, [4], and a grater and better assimilation in the learning process. Working with multimedia applications widely increases the memorization.
Moreover, as individual learning is being, the student can ask and explore with no inhibition everything he wishes, in a quick and simple way, and taking advantage of learning at his own pace without distractions. In short, students feel motivated, satisfied, and responsible for the learning process.
On the other hand, discovery learning leads the students from mere spectator and information receiver to “knowledge searchers”.
Next subsections explain how graphics, animations, sound and video can have influence in the learning process.
Graphics and Animations
Graphical images have education as a natural application field. Although it is a suitable media to transmit knowledge, it is necessary to take into account some restrictions in using it. These advices can be useful:
• Overloading images is not quite didactic.
• Image density has to be adapted to receiver characteristics.
• Graphical images have to try to complete precisse targets.
• High effectivity is achieved when they are used to complement text.
Graphical animation contributes the easiness of the visual learning. It is tried the student to understand the
lesson contents through a series of animated images. An important factor for the learning process is introduced: time. Graphical animations can explain quick and easily what can’t be explained in a whole book.
Digital Sound
Although a large part of the information is transmitted through image, sound should not be underestimated. Sound can be a good help and complement to the visual message.
Our brain mainly receives environment information through viewing and hearing. So, if any of these two elements is not present perception becomes uncomfortable.
Digital Video
Video is a suggestive resource in order to plan educational activities. It is a valuable media to transmit information due to the capability of attraction of moving images (real or synthetic) and the large amount of visual and sound effects available. Video is specially useful in certain characteristic and complex subjects.
Lastly, video sound has to achieve its objective without distracting the student attention.
M
ULTIMEDIAA
DVANTAGES ANDD
ISADVANTAGESAs we said before, user–application interactivity produces reinforcement in the learning process, magnifying and improving the amount of the information handled and the quality of the information assimilated. Working with multimedia applications widely One good way to increase the memorization is throughout multimedia and CAL applications.
We can stand out the following advantages of a multimedia application:
• It presents new advantages and features embedded to new technologies. Moreover, multimedia application presents grater interactivity.
• It offers the possibility of controlling the information flow.
• Because the information is stored in an optical disc, it presents great durability and very small access time. • Computer science and mass media capabilities are
joined in multimedia applications.
• A well-designed multimedia application allows us to update contents easily. Usually, it is not necessary to change the software.
• Multimedia applications improve the learning process interactively involving the individual and allowing its own learning rhythm.
• It produces greater and better assimilation of the transmitted information due to the user-application interactivity and use of several communication channels.
• It increases motivation to an upper level and the pleasure to learn. The learning process becomes an entertaining process.
• Multimedia applications to education considerably reduce the time devoted to learning.
• Pedagogic consistency. Information within the application is always the same one in different times and for different students.
On the other hand, we can stand out the following disadvantages of a multimedia application:
• High cost of the material production and development process.
• Non-standardization.
• Staff problems: teachers generally are not prepared for the use of this technology; even fear or aversion to this technology can appear.
• Mediocre or bad multimedia applications can confuse the students, flooding them with complex and distracting elements.
• Loneliness of learners as stated earlier.
M
ULTIMEDIAD
ESIGNM
ETHODOLOGY We can say that three factors get involved in the process of information storage carried out by the human being: the cognitive factor, the affective factor and that related to previous experience.This means that the way in which the brain stores information in the memory depends of:
• Information structure: cognitive dexterities of one have to be able to assume information complexity.
• The affective impact that this information has produced in the individual. That is, the feelings or degree of affectivity with which information has been received. • Previous experience. That is, how one has previously
reacted to similar information based in a similar or different media.
In order to ensure the correct profit of the multimedia applications advantages, developers must be very careful in using the right methodology.
In designing a multimedia application, one have to take into account that it is not simply transmission of information. This information has to be correctly structured and has to be presented in such a way that a positive affective impact takes place in the user.
Script Design
The script design is a critical stage of the multimedia application design process. Probably, graphical interface and navigation systems are already known, due to these ones are determined by what kind of contents are trying to transmit our application.
The script designer has to plan all the application screens. This means that he has to specify clearly what text, sound, graphic, animation, etc., must appear and disappear, and when to do so.
Furthermore, the script designer decides how user will be able to navigate through the application. A good script designer guides the user through the application contents in a predetermined way, but user is thinking he is free.
Lastly, the script designer has to structure multimedia application contents in such a way that they present logical connectivity. The student has to be able to construct new knowledge from other previous ones. If this fact is not produced, the basic principle of the significant learning will be lost.
Graphical Interface and Navigation System
The graphical user interface design is also a key element in the development process of the multimedia application. The quality of the interaction depends on this design.
It is a set of resources for the user/student to interact with the computer and the multimedia application. Not only technical issues are involved in graphical interface design, but also cognitive and affective facts of the user-application interaction.
The graphical interface determines the user bias, and this in turn determines the learning process. User-application dialogue can be made easier by designing carefully the graphic user interface. In this way, the user will be able to navigate quickly and obtain the required information.
It is advised to develop a systematic graphical user interface. The important fact is the student should receive information through several channels in an effective way. The user of educational multimedia applications —student— should not spend time in understanding the graphical interface each time he goes to a new screen of chapter.
In addition, it is advised to provide the user with an appropriate navigation system. Then the user will navigate quickly and will obtain the information he just wants. If the user doesn’t know to navigate, the learning process will be hindered and delayed.
Multimedia Design Common Principles
There are some basic principles to be kept in mind by the production team of any multimedia application, [1], [6], and especially of an educational multimedia application:
• Multi-input principle: A multimedia system is that which transmit information through graphics, sound and text in a synchronized way, and use several communications channels
• Interactivity principle: This is the most important advantage of the current multimedia applications. It widely reinforces the message.
• Freedom principle: The user thinks he is navigating freely but actually, he is immersing in a predetermined stage scheme.
• Feedback principle: It is to inform the students of their errors, and progresses achieved since they started. • Vitality principle: All application screens should be
alive!
• Attention principle: An important objective of the multimedia application is to maintain the user attention. Next subsections explain the principles of all multimedia application design process.
Multi-input principle
Everything that can be transmitted by a multimedia application will travel through the so-called communication channels, (Fig. 1). That is, all information will be translated to text, graphics and sound.
Message Message receiver receiver Multimedia Application Multimedia Application Message divided in several information channels Message Message receiver receiver Multimedia Application Multimedia Application Message divided in several information channels FIGURE 1. MULTI-INPUT PRINCIPLE
As different people have different easiness of perception for those different channels, the multi-channel principle establish that all the channels available must be used in order to achieve good communication.
This position supports one of the most important educative arguments in favor of multimedia applications: A multimedia system is that which transmit information through graphics, sound and text in a synchronized way, and use several communications channels. Therefore, this media can do a message to arrive to a bigger number of people, due to its capability of use several communication channels.
Interactivity principle
Interactivity is a very important computer systems resource. This is the most important advantage of the current multimedia applications on traditional video products. Therefore, the interactivity principle imposes that there must be interactivity if it is possible.
It is interesting to keep in mind some useful rules in designing multimedia applications interactivity:
• Interactivity, as any other resource, has this common target: to reinforce the message. A well-planned interactivity guides the user to interact only when necessary.
• Computer provides the possibility of high-interactive applications. Therefore, we are wasting this potentiality if we don’t plan interactivity. Very large periods without interactivity should be avoided: very large texts, long sequences of sound and animated graphics, etc. • Interactivity implies active participation, not repetition
of actions. It is very uncomfortable to be pressing “Enter” each time you want to access next screen. • Sensitive areas apparently but inert ones in fact should
be avoided.
• Interaction allows you to obtain a log file containing descriptive data about user behavior. User reactions in front of certain situations can be studied.
Freedom principle
Once we have achieved interactive design, where the user is not only a spectator of the events, one of the most important targets has been reached: the user becomes an actor in the application.
The objective of the multimedia application developer now is to make the user to think he is navigating freely, but actually he is immerse in a predetermined stage scheme.
The script developer has to hide this scheme. That is, a not well-designed application is that which appears as a lineal sequence of contents to the user eyes.
Feedback principle
This is a principal characteristic of the educative applications. It is to inform the users and students of their errors, how to correct them, and the advances and progresses achieved since they started with the application. Each application must have its own specific feedback system, (Fig. 2). User User Multimedia Application Multimedia Application User information, statistics, important data to decide to modify the application. Answers analysis module Answers analysis module Stimulus Answer Elaborated information User User Multimedia Application Multimedia Application User information, statistics, important data to decide to modify the application. Answers analysis module Answers analysis module Stimulus Answer Elaborated information FIGURE 2. FEEDBACK PRINCIPLE
This information elaborated by the application can be also used to do an application test, and to obtain important data in order to modify certain aspects of the application and
to get user information. Furthermore, statistics can be outcome from data available after the feedback process.
Vitality principle
All application screens should be alive! That is, the user should perceive the application like something that works alone, in an autonomous way. The multimedia application should be a world the user looks into.
This way, we are leaving beyond the principle of interactivity: something is happening in the application, although the user doesn’t interact with it.
Some characteristics and elements in a screen can do this:
• The user likes animated icons moving even no click on them occurs.
• Icons have to react instantly to the user requests. When the application is very slowly to react, it doesn’t seem to be alive. If the user has to wait for the application to do something that takes time, it is advised to notice the user with a message like “Loading images, please wait…” • It is not advisable to allow buttons be visible if they
can’t react to the user clicks. It is better to hide them. Attention principle
If the script designer is not in charge of the attention, then the entire project crumbles. The problem is that important information is not read, nor heard, nor seen, if it doesn’t get the attention of the user.
An important objective of the multimedia application is to maintain the user attention. That is, to achieve that the receiver be continuously expectant in front of the application. This can be reached using two different factors: the idiosyncrasy and the appearance of the application, t hat is, cognitive and affective attention.
• Cognitive attention: It is based on the value of the information the application provides. This kind of attention is characteristic of professional applications with very specific contents. Then the application becomes very attractive to the specialized users for which it is designed. This kind of attention can be achieved by providing relevant and well-structured information.
• Affective attention: It is based on the affective knot that is established between the user and the application. One aspect that will always contribute to this kind of attention is the literary outcome: If you start telling a story, you are sowing curiosity in the user, he will want to know the end of the story. This narrative resource will avoid the user leaves the application.
M
ULTIMEDIAA
PPLICATIONC
ASES
TUDY A practical example of the application of this methodology is the last work of a set of publications related to simulation an electronics teaching: “Circuit Simulation Multimedia Guide”, [2].This publication includes a CD-ROM containing, among other materials, a Spanish/English multimedia application concerned with this topic, (Fig. 3 and 4).
FIGURE 3
MAIN MENU OF “CIRCUIT SIMULATION MULTI MEDIA GUIDE” IN ENGLISH
FIGURE 4
MAIN MENU OF “CIRCUIT SIMULATION MULTIMEDIA GUIDE” IN SPANISH
This multimedia application has been designed as an introduction to circuit simulation within the process of electronic circuit design. In addition, an introduction to the interpretation of the simulation results is provided in this multimedia application.
As it can be seen in figure 3, this multimedia application answer some frequently asked questions about simulation:
• What is simulation? • Why and what to simulate? • How to simulate a circuit? • Types of simulation • Results interpretation • Simulation tools
In this project, simulation is not proposed to substitute present practical exercises but to support the learning of electronics engineering, [3]. Simulation tools can be applied from the constructivist point of view of “the learning by guided discovery or finding” in order to achieve a “significant learning” jointly presenting a “theoretical” view of electronics, (Figs. 5 and 6), together with a modern view of simulation and case and results (examples and exercises) presentation.
FIGURE 5
AN EXPLANATION OF “WHAT DIGITAL SIMULATORS ARE ?”
Furthermore, it must be kept in mind that electronics simulation tools are widely used by the industry engineers and researchers. This way, we are providing to the student practical skills that will do easier him to find a job.
FIGURE 6
TYPES OF SIMULATION A ND CIRCUIT EXPLANATI ON
In the design there is included too a navigation window, where the reader could find himself or go directly to any place of the application, (Fig. 7).
FIGURE 7
PowerPoint Presentation Included in the “Circuit Simulation Multimedia Guide” application CD-ROM
Integrated with this application is an interactive PowerPoint presentation in Spanish, related to electrical circuit simulation, (Fig. 8), presenting different approaches to analog and digital simulation, since a basic view to an in-depth presentation (depending the student objectives), and devoting a chapter (presentation) to the integration of circuits and applications in word processing for student reporting.
Introducción General a la Simulación - 2 • • Introducción al Proyecto ‚ ‚ Objetivos al Proyecto ƒ ƒ Áreas del Proyecto „ „ Herramientas del Proyecto … … Bibliografía
Guía Completa de Simulación
2000 Guía Multimedia de Simulación Simulación Básica de Elementos de Física Simulación de Electrónica Analógica Simulación de Electrónica Digital Introducción General a la Simulación
SIMULACIÓN
SIMULACIÓN
Integración de Herramientas en Documentos Electrónicos Simulación Básica de Circuitos y Componentesü
FIGURE 8POWERPOINT PRESENTATION INCLUDED IN THE “CIRCUIT SIMULATION
MULTIMEDIA GUIDE” APPLICATION CD-ROM
And finally, the CD is full of various tutorials and complementary materials (in electronic format – Adobe Acrobat PDF) and near two hundred examples of different schematics and circuits from different tools and applications, as they are PSpice, OrCAD, MultiSIM (Electronics Workbench), Micro CAP, MathCAD, etc., together with these application installation programs
C
ONCLUSIONS ANDF
URTHERW
ORKSDifficulties with which students face in distance teaching are revised in this paper. On the other hand, advantages of multimedia applications in distance teaching are described.
Methodology for developing multimedia applications that exploit all the potentiality of this media is explained. A fully operative practical case is exposed: “Electronic Circuit Multimedia Guide”.
Future works could be focused on the verification of the advantages of distributing multimedia material for distance teaching. It can be performed an analysis of the influence of the multimedia applications in the learning process. This can be achieved analyzing:
• What is the way in which the student navigates through the application? That is, what is the way the student traveled in order to find the contents he wanted to find? • How long does the student in each screen application? • How many times the student passes through a certain
application screen?
• Self-evaluation tests of the application contents. Another working line is to develop multimedia applications to provide guided exercises for electronic engineering learning via circuit simulation. These multimedia applications have to be designed keeping in mind the guided-finding learning and the spiral model of the teaching-learning process. This means that the objectives of such an exercise should be:
• To endow the student of a basic kernel of theoretical knowledge. This kernel will allow any student to go on learning in a guided way personally in the next stages. • To guide the student in finding and discovering new sets
of knowledge in order to complement the first kernel. • To develop a set of procedural skills in the student.
These ones will allow the student to face similar problems in the future.
• To achieve critical thinking by students with regards to the results of any circuit simulation.
R
EFERENCES[1] Bou Bouzá, G., “E1 Guión Multimedia”, Ed. Anaya, 1997. [2] Castro, M. et al, “Guía Multimedia de Simulación de Circuitos”, Ed.
UNED, 2001.
[3] Castro, M.; Pérez, J., Hilario, A. et al, “Application of Modern Simulation Tools to Electronics Teaching and its Dissemination”, in
Proc. 1998 Melecon Conf., Tel-Aviv, Israel, 1998.
[4] Colmenar, A., PhD Thesis: “Propuesta de diseño curricular en un marco constructivista para los diferentes niveles del nuevo sistema educativo: aplicación a las energías renovables”, Director: D. Manuel Castro. ETSII – UNED, 1999.
[5] Lee, E. A. and Messerchmit, D. G., “Engineering an Education for the Future”. IEEE Computer, January 1998, pp. 77-85.
[6] Marquardt, M.J. and Kearsley, G., “Technology-based learning”. Ed. ASTD, 2000.
