Developing a multimedia package for university teaching and learning

Details of idea development

A critical lesson about package development is how important it is to be very clear at the outset about every detail of the idea being developed in the package before it is handed over to the programmer for implementation. This is because the programmer in most cases will have a limited understanding of the subject matter and may need clarity and guidance on learning outcomes envisaged from the design of the particular part of the package contents. Therefore, the programmer needs to be given explicit instructions about what is to be developed, how it will be presented to the audience and how it will help in student learning. Therefore, the team members with subject matter expertise often spent hours with the programmer and associated staff explaining their ideas and coming up together with a design of the multi-media that will work and can be implemented in the package. In some instances, the programmer was given a step-by-step written guidance about the content implementation through multimedia. We learnt that this was particularly important in using the programmer's time and project resources effectively and thus maximising the chance of completing the project on time and within the allocated budget.

Managing the content development

Multi-media development is a very creative task and every new idea to improve better presentation was tempting to the uninitiated academic who was seeking to obtain the multi-media program that will provide the excitement to engage students in their learning task. There was much enthusiasm within the project team for developing the package in the initial stages of its development. There were often detailed discussions on the scope, format and ideas on the various aspects of the package. In such a development, one can be easily enticed into new ideas and develop a desire to cover more of the subject. In this way, the project could quickly become out of control and stretched beyond its scope.

Our experience from this project clearly showed that it is critical that boundaries are set for the work early in the project, both for the subject matter and the depth of coverage. It is therefore necessary to maintain boundaries and focus on developing a high quality product within the subject matter coverage and within the allocated time and budget, rather than try and cover a broader range of topics superficially. That is, it is preferable to do less but do it well, than to do more but do it poorly and to ensure that the project remains focused on a quality outcome in terms of content and production.

During multi-media development it is generally useful to be open minded to better ideas for presentation. However, there is a limit to how far one should go in the search for more ideas as it could affect the progress of the project and it should be remembered that there is no single correct way to present a particular scientific concept. In gathering material, the focus should therefore be on the development of an acceptable rendition of the scientific concepts that convey the message effectively and interestingly. For any extra effort beyond this, 'the law of diminishing return' applies and some other aspect of the project will have fewer resources available.

Hardware and software

The technology of multi-media changes rapidly and the hardware and software available at the commencement of the project may be superseded before the project is completed. This is particularly true as work in such projects are often a segment of the academic’s total workload and, as a result, the development of multimedia product can take from 12 to 18 months from start to finish for a few hours of effective student learning material. Due consideration should therefore be taken of the distribution and potential compatibility with software packages that will be expected to run the program. For example, if the package is to be made widely available, it should be developed for both Macintosh™ and Windows™ operating systems. This is not straightforward and requires considerable work and testing to ensure smooth operation of the package in both systems. This is potentially a time-consuming task and should be decided in the initial allocation of resources.

It is also necessary to consider the hardware on which the package will potentially be targeted for student use. This will influence the size of files for animations, video clips and photographs. If they are too large it will slow the pace of the display on the screen on some computers and will reduce the student’s engagement with the program and hence their enjoyment and learning outcomes.

The future of using multimedia packages

The package was implemented in two subject units, Soil and Water Management and Water in the Landscape offered at 2nd year level in agriculture and environmental science program at University of Western Sydney. The feedback from students on the package has been positive, particularly in learning the concepts at their own pace and time. They also suggested a number of additions (e.g., some advanced topics) and changes to make the package more comprehensive and interactive. This meant the package structure and programming need to be flexible to allow future changes and addition to the package, particularly to cater for student needs and future changes in teaching programs.

The work reported here was more of a trial to develop a prototype and explore and learn about the process of multi-media package development in water management. For this reason, it was difficult to evaluate the cost of the package development against the benefits derived through its use in teaching program. However, once the process of package development is streamlined and thus the cost associated with ‘trial and error’ element of the development is minimised, the next step will be to evaluate the costs and benefits of such multi-media package development and its use in university teaching and learning.

Online learning is relatively new in science courses and most academics have little or no personal learning experience through using multimedia packages. However, there is general openness, excitement and motivation among academics to employ such new technology (Bongalos, et al., 2006). The important issue is for institutions to support such activities by providing appropriate resources for the development of packages.

With computers and the internet now widely available, the multimedia packages can provide further resource support for students involved in off-campus, industry experience or for those enrolled in distance education programs. In general, such packages can complement face-to-face teaching and thus can be readily integrated into existing teaching programs. By using multimedia packages, student learning can be more effective, and staff time more productive, because students are able to access concepts covered in the package at their own pace and time in a self-directed mode. If need be, they can further reinforce their learning of the concepts presented in the package in discussion and consultation with fellow students and resource staff.

The application of computers, internet and e-learning are increasing in universities throughout the world and increasingly more courses are being offered through distance education. The facilitation of student learning in distance education is frequently achieved through making the teaching resources available online and through tools such as WebCT (Evans and Fan, 2002; Bongalos, et al., 2006; Scott and Cong, 2007). Blended learning, the combination of traditional face-to-face teaching methods with online and off-campus learning activities, has the potential to transform overall student-learning experiences and outcomes (Davis & Fill, 2007). It is now increasingly recognised that there is a place for CD-ROM multimedia packages in the overall teaching scenario (Ellis & Cohen, 2001) but the key question is whether the benefit of the packages as a teaching resource is commensurate with the associated cost of producing them. There is certainly a need for careful balancing of the cost of producing packages versus the anticipated benefits and research in this area has been limited to date.