Development

1
Development

• Chun Yi Lee
• Department of Information and Computer Education
• National Taiwan Normal University

Multimedia for Learning Methods and Development
2
Initial

• Development the implementation of a projects
  design.
• All the computer programming necessary to make
  the whole program function.
• The production of graphics, audio, and video
  materials.
• Development of the support materials such as
  directions or manuals, ancillary materials, and
  learner and instructor guides.
• In the world of educational multimedia,
  development refers to the entire process of
  producing, refining, and validating the program.

3
Development

• Prepare the text
• Write program code
• Create the graphics
• Produce audio and video
• Assemble the pieces
• Prepare support materials
• Do an alpha test
• Make revisions
• Do a beta test
• Make final revisions
• Obtain client sign-off
• validate

4
Project Management

• A project manager is responsible for ensuring
  that pieces of the project are completed on time
  and within budget.
• Project management charts are a useful tool to
  keep a project within the budgeted time and cost.
• Taking the time to plan and design as much as
  possible before starting the development phase.

5
Prepare the Text Components

• The best way to produce text materials is by
  using a word processor.
• Make changes easily to wording and structure.
• Grammar and spelling checking.
• The ease of sharing documents with other team
  members
• The ability to track each participants editorial
  suggestions
• The ease of sharing your work as attachments to
  e-mail.

6
Prepare the Text Components

• Using Adobe Acrobat or Words Rich Text Format
  (RTF) is useful for moving text between different
  operating systems and hardware platforms.
• Display text is stored inside the program or as
  an external file?
• Internal security maybe improved, fewer files
  must be maintained, and the actual programming
  maybe easier.
• External it is easily edited, changes is made by
  clerical staff rather than programmers,
  facilitation of language translation.

7
Prepare the Text Components

• Dont convert text information into graphics
  files.
• It makes updates more onerous because you have to
  redraw the graphic if you want to make any text
  changes.
• It prevents the proper operation of text search
  features.
• It precludes the use of text-to-speech devices
  that are intended to make text accessible to
  people with visual disabilities.
• Web users can change the size, font, and color of
  text that appears in their browsers.
• This may cause formatting problems and adversely
  affect the visual aesthetics.

8
Write the Program Code

• Three approaches
• Authoring system authorware or ToolBook
• Programming language visual basic, html, java.
• Applications that serve as an interface between
  you and the computer code FrontPage, DreamWeaver
  and CourseBuilder

9
Write the Program Code

• Working with an experienced programmer rather
  than attempting to program materials yourself.
• More quickly, efficiently, and less money.
• The limitations of your programming ability.
• Building a library of program building blocks
  makes development more efficient and less costly.
• Reuse
• Shared with all developers on your team.

10
Write the Program Code

• Learners operating system
• Windows, linux, or Macintosh.
• Developing for the web
• The type of browser
• Using Java, special features of HTML, or external
  enhancements to the browser, such as plug-ins.
• Different browsers may favor different audio and
  video technologies.
• Different releases of a browser will have
  different capabilities.

11
Write the Program Code

• You must understand the characteristics of your
  target computers and their software before you
  begin programming.
• You should obtain an accurate description from
  your client of all the attributes of equipment
  that learners will be using.
• Document your code well.
• Someone will maintain or make changes to our
  program.
• You need to provide enough information for them
  so that they can figure out what you have done.

12
Create the Graphics

• Ensure that all graphics in your program have the
  same level of richness and character.
• The quality of the graphic treatment should match
  the purpose of the program and the image of the
  organization that will use the program.
• Graphics should take into account the medium of
  delivery.
• Determine whether a customer has corporate
  standards for graphics and other look-and-feel
  issues.

13
Create the Graphics

• Being familiar with a variety of graphics design
  software is becoming essential for multimedia
  developers.
• Object oriented or drawing software Illustrator
  or Freehand. Good for nonatists.
• Bit-mapped or paint software Painter, Corel
  Photo-Paint. Require more artistic ability.
• Photo editing software Photoshop. Alter
  photographic images.
• Web graphics software Fireworks, ImageStyler,
  and WebPainter. Combine features of
  object-oriented, bit-mapped, and photo editing
  software and be especially useful for producing
  graphic images suitable for creating Web sites.
• The most useful graphics tool for multimedia
  producers is still the camera (digital camera).

14
Create the Graphics

• Animation production considerations
• Because it is effective for attracting attention,
  animation should be used sparingly and for
  important information.
• The quality of animation should be consistent
  throughout the program.
• The learner should be able to pause, continue,
  repeat, and skip animations.
• When delivery will occur via the Web, the quality
  and speed of animations should be tested on
  computers with different internet connections
  speeds.
• Tools Flash, Director, WebPainter, Poser.

15
Produce Video

• It is difficult to illustrate human behavior in
  interpersonal situations without showing a video.
• The relationship between video quality and cost.
• The same that you face the graphics.
• The medium of delivery must be taken into
  account.
• To produce video you need a video camera and
  video editing software.
• Traditional camera or digital camera
• Video edit program Adobe Premiere, EditDV, Final
  Cut Pro.
• Creating special video effects After Effects
• Compressing and creating your final movie Media
  Cleaner Pro.

16
Produce Video

• The video developer must make decisions about
• The compression method
• The size of the video window
• The frame rate
• The related audio compression and quality
• The final file format for the movie
• The user has to have software on the computer
  that enables a video compressed in a particular
  way to run properly

17
Record the Audio

• Including audio in multimedia programs can offer
  many advantages
• People who have difficulty reading
• People whose skills in reading a second language
  is poor
• Having the ability to play sounds allows you to
  prepare designs that would be extremely difficult
  or impossible otherwise.
• For example, lessons on music or singing.

18
Record the Audio

• Audio is good at attracting attention and it
  combines well with visual stimuli as when an
  unseen narrator describes a picture or a moving
  image.
• Audio and text can be used effectively to
  distinguish different types of verbal
  information.
• A good technique is for a program to give
  directions on each page with audio, while
  presenting the main content with visual text.
• Audio is possible on almost every platform,
  assuming the appropriate hardware is attached to
  the computer.
• Compared to video, it is easier and less
  expensive to produce audio that is of acceptable
  quality.

19
Record the Audio

• Design with audio
• Since the spoken word is slow for many people, we
  recommend that you make listening to audio
  optional.
• When audio is playing, you should put the exact
  words on the screen or provide simple bullet
  points. We strongly prefer the latter.
• Providing users with the option of either text or
  voice is beneficial but designers must be careful
  in using text and voice simultaneously.
• Channel interference it is almost impossible for
  us to understand an audio narrative while reading
  something different.

20
Record the Audio

• The tools for audio are analogous to those for
  video.
• Analog tape recorder or digital tape recorder
• Editing audio SoundForge, SoundEdit 16, WaveLab
• Programs for creating and editing sound effects
  and instrumental music

21
Assemble the Pieces

• Assets all the pieces of a program (individual
  components)
• Keep track of versions of the various assets.
• Version control
• Computer files are renamed and date-stamped
  whenever they are changed
• Documenting exactly which assets are included in
  each version of a program
• Keeping an assets log
• Having one person responsible for overall asset
  management.

22
Prepare Support Materials

• Learner manuals
• Instructor manuals
• Technical manuals
• Adjunct instructional material

23
The Learner Manual

• Title page
• Table of contents
• Important warnings
• Introduction
• Equipment you need
• Startup of the program
• Trial run
• Normal running of the program
• Content summary or supplementary information
• Forms or worksheets used during the program
• Technical information
• Suggestions for further study
• Index
• Quick reference guide

24
The instructor Manual

• Title page
• Important warnings
• Introduction
• Equipment needed
• How to make backups
• Setup of equipment
• Starting the program
• Trial run
• Normal running of the program
• Summary of the content
• Forms or worksheets used during the program
• Test item bank
• Transparency masters or Powerpoint presentations
• How to access and use instructor options
• Technical information
• Suggestions for further study
• Index
• Quick reference guide

25
The Technical Manual

• A technical manual is necessary only if there is
  technical information beyond what is reasonable
  for an instructor manual.
• Extensive directions for
• Using the program on a microcomputer network
• Using the internet
• Using graphics plotters or laser printers
• When a program has extensive authoring
  capabilities that allow instructors to enter
  information and questions of their own.

26
Adjunct Instructional Material

• Extensive adjunct material, such as practice
  sheets, maps, and other large diagrams,
  videotapes or photographic slides, and scoring
  sheets for games.
• They should keep separate from a learner manual
  if the instructor should reproduce them or if
  learners should not receive them until completing
  the program.

27
Alpha Testing

• The alpha test is the major test of the program
  by the design and development team the beta test
  is done by the client.
• Alpha testing should be based on both the
  evaluation (see Chapter 12) form and the style
  manual (see Chapter 13).

28
Alpha Testing

• Evaluation form
• Subject matter
• Auxiliary information
• Affective considerations
• Interface
• Navigation
• Pedagogy
• Invisible features
• Robustness
• Supplementary materials

29
Alpha Testing

• The style manual
• Look and feel
• Use and placement of a logo
• Font style, color, and size for text and
  different levels of headings
• Use of colors
• Overall screen layout (particularly if delivered
  via the Web)
• Look and placement of buttons

30
Alpha Testing

• Style conventions
• Grammar (such as use of active and passive
  voices, tenses, and moods)
• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Language (such as gender-related language and use
  of names and locations)
• Culture
• Graphics

31
Alpha Testing

• Functionality
• Restrictions on amount of information needed to
  create a screen (particularly if delivered via
  the Web)
• Use of certain keyboard conventions
• Requirement for keyboard equivalents for each
  area clickable by a mouse

32
Making Revisions

• On the basis of what you discovered during the
  alpha test, you must make revisions to the
  program to eliminate any problems.
• As with all programs, care must be taken to
  ensure that you do not introduce new problems
  while fixing old ones.
• As you make changes, ensure that you update the
  documentation.

33
Beta Testing

• A beta test is a full test of the final product
  by the client.
• Seven-step process
• Select the learners
• Explain the procedure to them
• Find out how much of the subject matter they know
  already
• Observe them going through the program
• Interview them afterward
• Assess their learning
• Revise the program

34
Select the Learners

• The best learners are those who have the
  characteristics of the programs end users.
• One should be representative of the best of the
  potential learners.
• One an average learner.
• One similar to the slowest of the learners that
  will use the program.

35
Explain the Procedure

• The program is in the process of being developed
  and it is essential to test it before releasing
  it for general use.
• Ask learners to proceed through the programs as
  though taking it for credit and not to ask you
  for any assistance.
• Encourage them to make notes about the program
  whenever they have a comment to make (display
  numbers either on the screen or paper).
• Explain that you will observe them at all times
  and will ask for a variety of information about
  the content and operation of the program at the
  end of the session.

36
Determine Prior Knowledge

• Determine whether each is a good, average, or
  poor learner.
• This information is important when interpreting
  the data you collect during the rest of the
  session.
• The best learners for beta testing will have the
  necessary prerequisites but will not be familiar
  with the program content itself.

37
Observe the Learners Going Through the Program

• As learners progress, take notes about the
  behavior exhibited, noting the type of behavior
  and where in the program it occurred.
• Dont interrupt learners and write your question
  down and ask it after they complete the program.
• Videotape participants and watch the tapes over
  and over at your leisure.
• Plug a video recorder into the computer,thus
  recording the computer screen in real time and
  showing everything the learner saw on the screen.

38
Interview the Learners Afterward

• Keep in mind that any criticism you receive
  during the beta testing phase will ultimately
  benefit your program.
• The type of information you should seek in this
  interview relates both to the content of the
  program and to its operation.
• How they feel about it?
• Make an audio recording of the interview so that
  you can review it later.

39
Assess Their Learning

• How much they learned is ultimately the most
  important information.
• Follow their use of the program.
• A written test
• An oral examination

40
Final Revisions

• If the reviews were contradictory, you could have
  a few more learners use the program and solicit
  their views as well.
• If you decide to make the major revisions to the
  program, you should repeat the beta testing
  process with the new version.
• Your decision should be how much of such testing
  and revision to undertake, not about whether it
  should be done.
• You should not carry testing and revision too
  far.

41
Obtaining Client Sign-Off

• The final client sign-off acknowledge that all
  aspects of the program are acceptable.
• You should keep the client in the loop throughout
  the entire process, getting input and reactions,
  and more important, sign-offs at appropriate
  points.

42
Validating the Program

• Validation is the process of testing whether the
  program meets its goals in the real learning
  environment.
• Validation is important for two reasons
• The real setting in which the program is to be
  used invariably is quite different from where
  alpha or beta tests are conducted.
• Although every attempt should be made during a
  beta test to use learners who span the range of
  abilities of the target population, you will
  typically find many learners in the middle of the
  range and few at the ends.
• Data collected from only three or four learners
  can never generalize completely to the entire
  population.

43
Validating the Program

• Summative evaluation
• Implies evaluation done after all development and
  revision is completed.
• Formative evaluation
• The ongoing evaluation throughout the project.

44
The Four Levels of Evaluation Kirkpatrick (1996)

• Level-1 Evaluation- Assessing reaction and
  attitude
• Level-2 Evaluation- Assessing learning
• Level-3 Evaluation- Assessing behavior change in
  the intended environment
• Level-4 Evaluation- Assessing results and return
  on investment (ROI)

45
Assessing Reaction and Attitude

• Assess how much users like it.
• Assess the attitude of instructors toward a
  program (usually instructors decide to use a
  program in a course).

46
Assessing Learning

• Ensure people learn what is intended.
• Measure the skills or the amount learners know
  about the subject matter before taking the
  program and again afterward.
• Use the results of how learners perform during
  the program itself as an indicator of hw
  effective it is.
• Give learners a test on the subject matter some
  time after they used the program to determine
  whether thy have retained the information or
  skills (retention test).

47
Assessing Learning

• Advantages and drawbacks
• Use a pretest and a posttest
• Advantages you can measure both how much
  learners know at the end of the program and how
  much improvement has been caused by the program
  itself.
• Drawbacks it adds extra time to the overall
  program and requires everyone to take a test (the
  pretest) on material they usually have little
  knowledge about that.
• This can be demotivating for most people.

48
Assessing Learning

• Advantages and drawbacks
• Use a test at the end of the program or have a
  number of interactions during the program.
• Advantages provides both you and and the leaner
  with a developmental measure of performance.
• Drawbacks it is difficult to measure more
  complex mental skills and knowledge, but easy to
  measure simple ones.

49
Assessing Learning

• Advantages and drawbacks
• Use a test sometime after the program has been
  completed.
• Advantages measures both initial learning and
  retention.
• Drawbacks
• both the difficulties in creating a test that
  measures the program goals and the logistical
  difficulties in getting everyone to take the test
  at a later time.
• It is difficult to attribute any gains directly
  to the test.

50
Assessing Behavior Change in the Intended
Environment

• Measures whether learners can use what they learn
  in the setting for which the instruction was
  designed.
• Transfer the extent to which knowledge or
  skills learned in one situation can be used in
  another situation.
• Level-3 evaluation is easier to do when the
  learning is more skill oriented and thus more
  observable than when it is more knowledge
  oriented.

51
Assessing Behavior Change in the Intended
Environment

• Level-3 evaluation is rarely done for two
  reasons
• It is not easy to evaluate the degree to which a
  program impacts on-the-job performance.
• Most people in educational or training settings
  are so busy that there is little time for
  evaluation because there are so many other things
  yet to be done.

52
Assessing Behavior Change in the Intended
Environment

• Level-3 evaluation is also helpful for focusing
  your attention on the real reasons for developing
  a program.
• If you keep in mind what changes in performance
  you want learners to exhibit, you are likely to
  focus the learning activities more directly on
  effecting those changes.

53
Assessing Results and Return on Investment (ROI)

• The productivity of the person
• Ultimate goal
• What return on investment measures is whether the
  money spent on developing and delivering the
  program was worth the investment.

54
Conclusion

• Plan ahead.
• Provide strong project management.
• Keep the client involved and ensure that there
  are no surprises.
• Assemble a development team of professionals.
• Emphasize quality in the support materials as
  much as the program itself.
• Evaluate the program thoroughly and never release
  a program without sufficient evaluation and
  revision.
• As far as possible, include all Kirkpatricks
  four levels of evaluation in your assessment of
  the effectiveness of the program.
• Try to obtain support for level-3 and level-4
  evaluation early in the process because these are
  the most difficult to convince clients to buy and
  the most difficult to carry out.

55
End of This Book

• In part I, we provided an overview of learning
  principles and approaches.
• In part II, we analyzed in detail the major
  methodologies for using multimedia in education
  tutorials, hypermedia, drills, simulations,
  instructional games, open-ended learning
  environments, and tests.
• In part III, we provided a practical approach for
  taking your ideas and turning them into effective
  multimedia programs.